Udupi Beetroot Rasam and Cucumber Curd Rice

August 17, 2009 at 9:07 pm · Filed under Cooking, indian cuisine

long bean flower ~ in early morning light

and a double flower ~ unexpected beauty in the midst of a cloudy morning

udupi beetroot rasam ~ spicy rich!

Well, as usual I am late late late for an event.

I didn’t want to miss RCI Udupi and Mangalore at Sia’s lovely Monsoon Spice,
but of course life got ahold of me and I was away at the deadline.
When I visited today, lo and behold, she’s been very busy too!

So, if I am too late for the roundup dear Sia, I certainly understand!
All the same, I have cooked a little something for you 🙂

The recipe for this rasam was taken entirely (and followed precisely,
except I boiled my beets) from this blog, which, sadly, seems defunct.
If you’re out there Pavithra, thank you so much for the delicious recipe!
The combination of beet and coconut was absolutely amazing and
I know I’ll make it again.

Since I don’t know the blogger, I won’t reprint the recipe here —
please visit Pavithra’s Udupi Kitchen to get it.

To go with the gorgeous ruby red rasam, I made some cucumber curd rice;
which I am sure isn’t authentically anything, but it made good use of the gigantic cuke I picked 🙂

cucumber ~ straight eight variety

In making the rice I referred to Pedatha’s recipe, which calls for pressure cooking. I didn’t do that, but I did cook the rice with some extra water to get a softer consistency. Then I mashed it lightly while still warm. I used thick greek yogurt rather than the boiled milk and regular yogurt called for — less fat for me, but still very creamy. The rest of it I just sort of made up 😉 … many thanks to all the great cooks whose curd rice recipes I have read over the years!

Cucumber Curd Rice

scant 1 c rice, rinsed well and cooked with a little extra water,
slightly mashed while still warm

mixed with

1 small tub (7oz) greek yogurt

and

1/2 big cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated, then salted and
drained well in a colander lined with coffee filters
(once drained and squeezed thoroughly, this amounts to about 1/2 c cucumber)

season with tadka:

1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp cumin
few curry leaves
1 big green chile, seeded and minced, added at the very last

salt to taste
(careful, the cucumber has already been salted)

Set overnight in a cool place for the spices to mingle.

The pretty, flavorful beet rasam and the spicy yet cooling curd rice made
a most appealing lunch.

udupi beetroot rasam with cucumber curd rice ~ a comforting combination
even if you don’t feel much like eating

Here are a few more beet rasam and curd rice recipes that I am craving 😉

Asha’s Bangalore Style Beetroot Rasam

Shreya’s Beetroot Rasam

Red Chillies’ Beetroot Rasam Rice

Mythreyee’s Many Curd Rice Variations

Indira’s classic: Yogurt Rice with Mango

Vineela’s Beautiful Dadhojanam (with cashews!)

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