South Indian cuisine boasts a large variety of food in all tastes and manners. And as much as I love a hearty meal in the form of a sumptuous mutton biryani or rice with sambar and rasam, my comfort dish remains the simple and uncomplicated curd rice.
Don’t let its simplicity and preparation time fool you. It is highly versatile and customisable. If you are running short of time, you can mix curd and rice and let it be. If you want to elevate it or take it to the next level, some dressing in oil, curry leaves, mustard seeds and dried chillies will do the trick. Anyone who wants to add more variety and nutrients can mix in an assortment of vegetables, such as carrot and beetroot, giving it a pop of colour. Or, if you have a sweet tooth like me, a handful of pomegranate seeds will suffice.
I know many will agree with me when I say any afternoon meal is incomplete without curd or even buttermilk, its more watery form. The latter is also highly adaptable, with the the seasoned versions satisfying our spicy palate, while also serving as a lifesaver for our parched throats.
Some of my friends have asked me about my need to wax eloquent about the pleasures of curd rice. A large part of why I feel so strongly about this dish is the connection it gives me to my childhood.
In kindergarten, the school let us out early and we would be back home about two hours before the rest of the school day. With working parents and an older brother still in school, it was my grandfather who took care of me for a larger part of my childhood. Every day after coming home, he would feed me a plate of curd rice, telling me the stories of just about anything. About freedom fighters, politicians, economists, kings, queens, and politicians, in a way my five-year-old brain could grasp. He was the one who introduced me to Che Guevara and Fidel Castro and other revolutionaries and the one who taught me to question authority. After my satisfying second lunch of sorts, he would put me to sleep with a lullaby.
It has been three years since my grandfather passed away, but I think of him every day, grateful for his unconditional love.
I am known in my family for a proclivity for curd rice, so you can credit him for that.
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