As with so many recipes around the world, there are many different versions of this rice salad – also known as yoghurt rice. I’ll give the more simple version here and add a note about “boosting” it at the end.
INGREDIENTS
- 150g basmati rice (jasmine rice will do)
- 300 ml (½ pint) natural yoghurt
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons Hara Masala (see below)
This dish takes about 30 minutes to prepare, but the rice also has to be cooled, so make it quite some time before the meal.
Hara Masala
This is simply a mix of herbs. Simple, but you have to have them on hand. For this recipe (100 gms rice) you’ll need the following:
- 2 – 3 Tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander leaves
- 1 Tablespoon of chopped mint leaves, 3 to 5 chopped (de-seeded) green hot chillies.
Make sure all ingredients are well-chopped, without “pasting” them and use in this recipe as per instructions below.
METHOD
Cook the rice by the infusion method, drain it thoroughly and leave until cold. Ideally, spread it out flat on a large plate.
Mix the cold rice with the yoghurt, seasoning (salt & pepper), the Hara Masala, and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
…simple!
Note: If you want to make this more festive (read; more complicated!) you can insert the following procedure BEFORE mixing together the rice and yoghurt.
Heat 1½ Tablespns oil in a wok and fry 1 teaspn mustard seeds, 10 dried curry leaves and 3 dried red chillies until the mustard seeds begin to pop.
Immediately add scant ½ cup broken raw cashews, ½ cup chopped onion, ½ cup capsicum (green, preferably), 2 teaspns minced ginger and light-fry for 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and put aside, draining and cooling on kitchen paper.
Add this to the Hara Masala at the moment of mixing in with the rice and yoghurt.
…….YUMMO!!!
