South Indian Coconut Rice Food

COCONUT RICE RECIPE | THENGAI SADAM | SOUTH INDIAN COCONUT RICE

Steps:

• Wash and soak rice: Place rice in a bowl and wash under running water, gently stirring and mixing the rice with your hands, draining each time the bowl fills up. Do this 2 to 3 times till the water runs clear; then let soak in fresh water, covered, for at least 30 minutes. Drain.
• Cook rice: Place a saucepan over medium heat. Pour in 4½ cups water (about 1100 ml) and bring to a boil. Tip in drained rice and bring back to a boil. After about 4 minutes of cooking, add salt, and then cook another 3 to 4 minutes; rice should be al dente - giving a little resistance when bitten into - and not overcooked. Drain and set aside.
• Place a kadhai or wok over high heat and add ghee. once hot, toss in the cashew nuts and stir fry till golden brown. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and the dried red chilli. Stir then add asafoetida (hing), curry leaves, and green chillies. Stir well. Add coconut and salt. Sauté for about 1 minute.
• Tip in the cooked rice and stir gently for about 3 minutes to mix the rice, coconut, and spices evenly. Note that this needs to be done carefully and gently so that the rice grains stay intact and don't break.
• Transfer to a serving platter and serve hot. Recipe Credits: This recipe has been adapted from "The Bangala Table: Flavors and Recipes from Chettinad" by Sumeet Nair, Meenakshi Meyyappan, with Jill Donenfeld Serves: 4 to 6 as part of a larger meal Prep Time: 15 minutes plus 30 minutes unattended soaking time for rice Cook Time: 19 minutes

COCONUT RICE (THENGAI SADAM)

Steps:

• Wash rice at least thrice and drain the water. If using basmati rice, soak it for 20 to 30 mins.
• To cook rice in pot, bring 2 cups water to a rolling boil and add the rice. Cook covered on a low heat until fully done but not mushy.
• To pressure cook basmat rice, pour 1¾ cups water & pressure cook for 1 whistle. To pressure cook normal rice, pour 2 cups & pressure cook for 2 whistles. The rice must be grainy and not mushy. When the pressure releases, open the lid.
• Fluff up the cooked rice with a fork and cool completely.
• Slit the green chilies, fine chop ginger, and grate the coconut. If using frozen coconut, break up the lumps and loosen the coconut.
• Pour 2 tablespoons ghee or oil to a pan and heat it.
• Fry cashews or peanuts until golden. Remove to a plate and set aside.
• Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilli, chana dal and urad dal. Saute them and fry until the dals turn golden and aromatic.
• Then add ginger, slit green chilli & curry leaves. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds until the curry leaves turn crisp. Add hing.
• Optional - Quickly pour 2 to 3 tablespoons water to the pan. This will soften the dals and bring out the flavors of the ginger and curry leaves. If you want your dal to be very soft, then you can add little more water. Cook until all of the water evaporates.
• Then add fresh coconut and sprinkle salt on it. Then add rice. Off the heat. If using frozen coconut, then saute the coconut a bit until it becomes hot. Then add the rice.
• Mix well and taste test. Add more salt if needed. Serve coconut rice with a simple curry or plain yogurt.

SOUTH INDIAN COCONUT RICE

Steps:

• Wash the rice well and cook until tender in a rice cooker or by the absorption method.
• While the rice is cooking, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a medium-sized pan or skillet, and when hot add the chillies, chana dal, urad dal and mustard seeds. Stir and fry until the chillies darken and the dals turn golden brown.
• Add the curry leaves, salt, asafetida and coconut, and stir and fry for a minute or two before reducing heat.
• Gently cook the coconut mixture until the coconut turns a toasted reddish-brown and becomes quite crisp. It burns easily, so don't take your eyes off it for a second, and keep the coconut moving by stirring and tossing constantly.
• As soon as the coconut is the right colour and texture, turn off the heat. If the rice is not ready, transfer the coconut mixture to a bowl, so that it doesn't continue browning in the hot pan.
• Mix the coconut mixture gently through the hot, cooked rice, then stir through the chopped cilantro and serve immediately.