Curd Rice / Yogurt Rice / Mosaranna / ಮೊಸರನ್ನ

Rice with curd/yogurt or Mosaranna is a part of every South Indian meal. Every meal has to end with curd rice. As we like both rice and cud, this is one of the comfort foods for most South Indians :) In our everyday meal we just mix rice and curd , but we add few more ingredients to make it even more tastier for festivals and special occasions. Here is one such recipe.



Servings: 1 cup cooked rice(anna) makes around 2 servings of curd rice.

Ingredients:
1 cup - cooked rice / anna / ಅನ್ನ
1/2 to 1 cup - Curd/ yogurt / ಮೊಸರು
1/2 to 1 cup - milk / ಹಾಲು
10 to 15 - green grapes /ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ (whole or cut into 2 halves)
3 to 5 - Green chillies / ಹಸಿರುಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ (slit them)
few sprigs Coriander leaves / ಕೊತ್ತಂಬರಿ ಸೊಪ್ಪು
few Curry leaves / ಕರಿಬೇವಿನ ಸೊಪ್ಪು
small piece ginger /ಶುಂಠಿ (finely chopped/grated)
1 fist full - fresh Grated Coconut /ಕಾಯಿ ತುರಿ (optional)
Cashews fried in ghee/ ಗೋಡಂಬಿ - ತುಪ್ಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರಿಯಿರಿ (optional)
2 tbsp - cream/ಹಾಲು ಕೆನೆ (optional)
salt / ಉಪ್ಪು to taste

Seasoning / ಒಗ್ಗರಣೆ
2 tbsp Oil / ಎಣ್ಣೆ, 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds /ಸಾಸಿವೆ, Asafoetida/ Hing / ಇಂಗು, 1 tsp Chana Dal / ಕಡಲೆಬೇಳೆ, 1 tsp Urad Dal / ಉದ್ದಿನಬೇಳೆ

To prepare the seasoning, Heat a small pan on medium flame. Add 2 tbsp oil, when its hot add mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, hing. Once they start sizzling add slit green chillies and curry leaves. stir for a minute till chillies get cooked , then switch off the stove.

Take 1 cup of cooked rice in a big bowl. Heat 1/2 cup milk and pour it into the bowl. Leave it aside for 15 minutes. The rice will absorb the hot milk and becomes soft. Then add salt and curd/yogurt. Now add rest of the ingredients (chopped ginger, chopped coriander leaves, prepared seasoning, green grapes, grated coconut, fried cashews). Mix it well. If the curd rice looks dry add some more milk/yogurt. Adding cream prevents the curd rice from turning sour quickly and also increases the taste. Now Curd rice is ready to be served. Usually it tastes great by itself. You can enjoy it with some pickle too.

Variations:
-You can use pomegranate seeds instead of grapes. This gives a different taste.
- You can also add grated carrot to curd rice.
-You can add chopped onion which gives a crunchy effect to curd rice. When using onion, I don't add any fruits.
-When curd rice is made as naivedya I usually don't add any onions.