10 ways of eating rice in India

One Page Cookbooks 10 ways of eating rice in India All recipes copyrighted. No reproduction / commercial use without permission. Siramki@Gmail.com
1.: Thin flattened rice Rice is parboiled, flattened and dried. It can then be eaten as a breakfast cereal, with just sugar or mixed with yogurt / milk / fruit puree .Sample Recipe : Choora Dahi .( Rice flakes and yogurt) Take a handful of thin rice flakes. Mix with half a cup of yogurt and three pinches of jaggery / sugar. Replace yogurt with mango puree and it becomes Chura Aam ( Bihar)	Rice is the staple food of South India, East India, Kashmir and most of North East India. Different regions have their own special ways of eating rice as listed below. Soaked Rice: Soaking rice is a method of ‘cooking’ it. In fact, Kumol saul, a rice from Assam can be eaten without cooking. It is soaked in water for 15 minutes till it is soft and fluffy. It is then eaten mixed with milk,/ yogurt & jaggery / sugar. Pressed and Puffed rice Another Assam specialty called Hurum rice is both pressed and puffed and can be eaten straight. Rice crepes Sample Recipe :Mangalore Neer Dosa: Take a cup of rice. Soak in two cups of water overnight. Drain. Mix in half a handful of grated coconut, three pinches of salt and blend to a smooth paste. Mix in enough water to make a thin batter. Pour a ladle on a hot non stick skillet and spread to a thin pancake. Cover with a lid and cook till done. Leavened Rice crepes: In the recipe above, replace coconut with cooked rice and mix in a pinch of yeast. Let ferment overnight. This batter is used to make Kerala aappam (usually cooked in a hemispherical pan) Seasoned rice flour: Soak two cups of raw rice in water for about 3 hours. Drain water. Spread the rice in a cloth and let dry for 3-4 hours. Grind the dried rice to a fine powder. Heat a pan. Add the powder. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. This semi cooked rice powder is the basis for a whole class of recipes below. Steamed flour (Puttu) : Take half a cup of rice powder. Add four pinches of salt and half a cup of grated coconut. Mix in water if needed so that the flour holds its shape when you press it together, but falls apart easily. The flour should resemble wet sand. Press gently in a mould and steam for 3-5 minutes. The mould should let steam pass through the bottom, through the packed flour and exit through the top, cooking it. Can also be steamed in a idli cooker. Steamed Rice noodles (Nool Puttu / Idiappam): Boil two cups of water. Add a pinch of salt and a spoon of oil. Reduce flame and gradually stir in a cup of rice flour. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate, cover with a wet cloth and knead while the dough is still hot. Pinch off tomato sized balls, place in a steamer and steam for 5 minutes. Place in an extruder and extrude into fine strands. Steamed rice dumplings: (Modak / Kozhukattai) From the dough above, pinch off a lemon sized ball of the dough and shape it into a cup. Add filling (sweet/ spicy coconut paste), close cup and steam for 5 minutes. Shopping List 250 gms : Flattened rice ( thin & thick), Puffed rice, Plain Rice, Basmati rice, Rice grits, Rice flour. 250 gms : Yogurt, coconut, mung dal, onion, Coconut 50 gms : Jaggery, peanuts, green chili, onion, oil, ghee, cumin, mustard, urad dal, turmeric powder, chili powder, salt, lemon, mint, pepper.
2.: Puffed rice Rice is soaked in salt water, drained and mixed in with hot sand, which puffs it up. This crunchy snack can be eaten straight or mixed with various additives. Sample Recipe : Jhal Muri (Puffed rice salad ) Take three handfuls of puffed rice. Mix in half a handful of crushed, roasted peanuts, three pinches of grated coconut, a chopped green chili, half a handful of chopped onion and a dash of oil. ( Bihar / Bengal /Orissa)
3.: Thick flattened rice Sample Recipe : Poha (Stir fried rice flakes ) Thick rice flakes cannot be eaten straight and need to be cooked. Sample Recipe : Take two handfuls of thick rice flakes. Dunk in water and drain. Heat a spoon of oil. Add a pinch of cumin & half a handful of chopped onions. Stir and cook till onions brown. Add a pinch of turmeric powder, chili powder, two pinches of salt and two handfuls of rice flakes. Sprinkle a bit of water. Stir and cook for 2 mins.
4.: Parched / Roasted rice flakes Thick / thin rice flakes can be dry roasted into a crunchy snack that doubles as a breakfast. Choora Ka Bhuja .( Toasted Rice flakes) Heat a spoon of oil. Add half a handful of chopped onion and a finely chopped green chili. Add two handfuls of pressed rice and two pinches of salt. Stir and cook till rice is crisp. ( Bihar)
5.: Boiled rice Rice is boiled in water and is eaten mixed with ghee / yogurt/ boiled lentils/ curries. This is by far the most common way rice is consumed in India. Sample Recipe : To one cup of rice, add two cups of water. Add to pressure cooker, close lid and pressure cook for two whistles.
6.: Fermented rice Cooked rice is fermented, mixed in with yogurt and consumed as a breakfast in rural India. Sample Recipe : Pakhala Bhat (Fermented rice) To one cup of cooked rice, add two cups of water, three spoons of yogurt and cover. Let ferment for 2-3 hours (or overnight). Mix in two pinches of salt, half a handful of chopped cucumber, a finely chopped green chili and a pinch of mint leaves. The watery portion serves as a refreshing drink. ( Orissa, Bengal)
7.: Stir fried rice Cooked rice is stir fried with a variety of additives into South India’s much loved variety rice. Sample Recipe : Fry two pinches each of mustard, curry leaves, urad dal, a chopped green chili and two pinches of salt. Mix in two handfuls of cooked rice. 1. To this rice, mix in the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of turmeric powder to make lemon rice. 2. Mix in a handful of grated and stir fried coconut to make coconut rice. 3. Mix in a handful of chopped mint to make Mint rice. Or mix in a cupful of yogurt to make curd rice ( Tamilnadu, Andhra, Karnataka)
8.:. Rice Gruel (Conjee) Rice grits are cooked in water into a soup. Sample Recipe : To one cup of rice grits , add six cups of water. Add to pressure cooker, close lid and cook for five whistles. Add seasoning to taste and serve.( Tamilnadu, South east asia)
9.: Pulao / Khichidi Rice is cooked with meats / vegetables / into Pulao or with lentils into the mushy Khichidi / Pongal. Jeera Pulao : In a pressure cooker with lid open, heat a spoon of ghee. Add three pinches of cumin. Add a cup of basmati rice, three pinches of salt and two cups of water. Close and pressure cook for two whistles. Mix & serve. ( Muglai) Khichidi / Pongal In a pressure cooker with lid open, heat a spoon of ghee. Add a pinch of cumin, 3 pinches each of crushed black pepper, salt and a pinch of chopped ginger. Add half a cup of mung dal , half a cup of rice & 4 cups of water. Close and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Mix well & serve.
10.: Rice Flatbread Sample Recipe: Ari Pathiri: Take a cup of rice flour. Mix two pinches of salt and around half a cup of boiling water. Let cool for a few minutes. While still warm, knead into a dough. Pinch off lemon sized balls, roll into thin circles and cook both sides on a hot skillet ( tava) ( Malabar / Bihar).

Rice Recipes from the British Raj

The Raj Cuisine A fusion of Indian spices & cooking techniques with western stuff (vinegar, beef, ham, smoked kippers etc) created this cuisine, so loved by the British. These recipes were adapted from traditional Indian recipes and modified to suit the English palate. The Indian Khichidi became Kitcheree / Kedgeree, the Pulao became the Pellow and unusual ingredients like smoked kippers found their way into rice dishes.
This One page cookbook lists 10 simple rice recipes popular in British kitchens during the British Raj. The following recipes are listed in this cookbook. 

1.: Boiled rice 

2.: Rice Kheer (Rice pudding) 

3.: Pish Pash  (Chicken rice) 

4.: Mung Dal Bhoonee Kitcheeree / Kedgeree (Lentil rice )  

5.: Masoor Dal Bhoonee Kitcheeree 

6.:  Chana Dal Bhoonee Kitcheeree 

7.: Green Pea  Bhoonee Kitcheeree 

9.: Chicken Pellow ( Pulao) ( Flavoured Chicken rice ) 

10.: Prawn Pellow ( Pulao) ( Flavoured Prawn rice)  

And this goes to Bombay foodie Simran's AWED Britain event, started by DK.

10 simple Variety rice

This cookbook lists 10 simple variety rice cooked across South India. The recipes are greatly simplified so that a first time cook can easily cook them. For more variations, check out 1001 variety rice. The following recipes are listed in this cookbook.

1.: Curd Rice (Thayir Sadham) )

2.: Lemon rice (Elumichai Sadham)

3.: Mango rice (Manga Sadham)

4.: Mint rice ( Pudhina Sadham)

5.: Tomato Rice (Thakkali Sadham)

6.: Coconut Rice(Thenga Sadham)

7.: Sesame Rice ( Ellu Sadham)

8.: Pepper- cumin rice (Milagu Sadham)

9.:. Tamarind Rice (Puliodharai)

10.: Eggplant rice ( Vangi Bhat)

Off this goes to Srivalli's Rice Mela

1001 South Indian 'Variety Rice'

:. Variety Rice – A Primer .:
Variety rice or Kalavai Sadam ( Mixed rice) as it is known in Tamil is a popular travel dish. It is so popular among travelers that it is referred to as Kattu Sadam ( packed rice).Variety rice is just cooked rice mixed with flavouring and a variety of goodies to create a quick meal. Papad / Vadam / Pickles are served as accompaniments. Traditionally a dozen types of variety rice are normally cooked. This cookbook expands the definition to showcase many more varieties. The recipes in this table are arranged in increasing order of difficulty. Recipe number 000 is the simplest to cook and 999 the toughest.

If you have come here looking for traditional Kalavai Sadam / Variety rice, they are all here, but buried deep inside. Recipe numbers 711 – 718 covers traditional Variety rice – Coconut rice, lemon rice etc. Apart from the handful of traditional variety rice, hundreds more can be cooked by changing the base, flavouring and goodies used.

Change Base :
Don’t be shocked to see Puffed rice / Rice flakes listed here. These are just processed rice and can be used to create some of the easiest, tastiest and quickest rice dishes. Puffed rice is eaten as a staple food in parts of north Karnataka and Bengal. They require little or no cooking and so you can make your dishes in no time at all. It is a pity that the easy to cook, nutritious and cheap rice flakes / puffed rice do not enjoy the reverence accorded to the better marketed corn flakes / popcorn. Rayalaseema’s Buggani is nothing but a variety rice made using puffed rice. The Tamil Avil Uppuma is a variety rice prepared using rice flakes instead of rice. Replace cooked rice with rice flakes in Tamarind rice and you get Puli Avil.
The simplest ‘variety rice’ you can cook up is recipe number 000 which is just moist puffed rice mixed with Poriyals( dry vegetable curries), Podis ( Spicy lentil powders) or Pickles. This gives you a great tasting dish, but is not considered a traditional recipe, which usually calls for cooked rice.
Moving down the table, you can use different types of rice (Long grained / medium grained) Each will impart its own taste, texture and flavor to the dish.
Most rice is usually polished to give it the coveted pure white colour. This is at the cost of many nutrients and fiber in the outer layers getting polished away. Use unpolished rice and you get a dish which might not look great, but would be far more nutritious.

Most rice used in South India is parboiled rice (rice steamed in husk and dried). Though it takes longer to cook, it is more nutritious and easily digestible than raw rice. Stir frying rice imparts a nutty flavor and also prevents rice from sticking to each other.

There is an implicit assumption that certain kinds of recipes demand certain kinds of rice. For example, Basmati is not traditionally used for curd rice or tamarind rice, most probably because Basmati was just not available down south. Similarly, new varieties of rice like the Ponni and the Sona masoori were not available 50 years back. So the traditional recipes were not able to call upon these delightful varieties. But we now have easy access to a wide variety of rice from across the world. Rice is a favourite the world over and hundreds of delicious rice varieties are cultivated across the world. Fortunately, almost all these varieties are cooked the same way. Some may require a the use of bit more or less water, but do not let this trivial detail stop you from discovering the treasurehouse of rice. Experiment with many different varieties and cook up never-before-cooked variety rice.

Change flavouring :
Cooked rice tastes great with just about anything. Many ‘variety rice’ recipes call for no extra flavouring. Just add ghee to hot cooked rice and ghee rice is ready. Add boiled tuvar dal to ghee rice and you have Paruppu sadam, another favourite, though not recognized as a Kalavai Sadam. Mix in yougurt to cooked rice and Thayir sadam is ready. However, many other kinds of variety rices like coconut rice or lemon rice require extra flavouring as listed in column 2.
Flavouring for all kinds of variety rice is almost the same. A mixture of fried mustard, urad dal, chana dal, chili, asafetida and curry leaves form the basic flavouring. Nuts like peanuts / cashew may also be added. Different combinations of these spices and different methods of cooking them gives us scores of flavouring.

Change Goodies
Don’t be shocked to see Poriyals / Podis / Pickles listed in column 3. Any poriyal (dry vegetable curry), pickle or podi ( spiced lentil powder) mixed with rice gives a Kalavai Sadam, though these are traditionally not recognized as such. Apart from these, all the other goodies listed are traditional and are widely used.

Play by varying these building blocks to cook up a never ending variety of rice dishes. Be bold and experiment and you have enough variety rice recipes to last a lifetime.

And this goes to Easycrafts Variety rice event.