If I had to choose one cuisine to eat for the rest of my life, I think it would be Indian. So many styles and flavours! Such delicious, rich spices. Even thinking about Indian food it makes my mouth water.
The other night at Ajanta, we tried a dish we'd never even heard of before--dhahi rice. Chilled rice is mixed with yogurt, cottage cheese and spices. The perfect foil to a spicy chicken chettinadu.
Dhahi Rice
1 cup rice
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup cottage cheese (small curd)
1/2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 tsp black mustard seed
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
pinch asafetida powder
2 green chiles, split and deseeded
Salt to taste
Wash the rice and soak for 30 minutes, then bring to boil and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the rice breaks between your fingers but is not hard inside. Drain, then spread to cool.
In the ghee, toast the mustard seed and fenugreek until they pop. Mix with the yogurt and cottage cheese. Add the asafetida powder and salt to taste.
Stir yogurt mixture into cooled rice. The consistency should be similar to oatmeal with milk. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more yogurt or some milk. Top with the chiles and serve.
Wow I can't wait to try that. I thought if I had to pick one cuisine it'd be Ethiopian but then I remembered Lassi. Do the Ethiopians make a yogurt drink?
Sounds delicious, but impossible for someone like me with zero culinary skills. :-((
I am curious how you managed to get the recipe from the Ajanta chef. :0)
actually, dahi rice is an everyday dish in Southern India, where I come from. I have never seen or heard of it being made with cottage cheese though.
This recipe is my reverse-engineering of the Ajanta recipe, not actually from the Ajanta chefs. It definitely had a distinct flavour and texture of cottage cheese, though maybe that's a concession to the Japanese palate. :-)
Kavitha, what is your recipe for dhahi rice?