The Summer Cool OG

Mention 'curd rice', and it Is easy to understand why the curry leave-tempered Thayir Sadam is the first to come to mind. The beloved Tamil Nadu's signature dish has been the invincible poster boy of great tasting, healing Indian food for ages thanks to its palatable taste and a near obsessive marketing and love professed by its patrons and admirers alike.

Yet, turn the annals of history, and one realises that Thayir Sadam is but one fascinating variety of the wider concept called curd rice - a dish that began its journey as a functional food before it graced the tables of Gods and Kings. A dish that predates the likes of Dholavira and Indus Valley civilisation. And a dish, says Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, "which initially was a delicious marriage of curd and leftover little millet before rice became a staple and replaced the latter."

The warm characteristic of curd and the cooling nature of rice fortified further with spices like ginger, cumin, curry or lemon leaves and pepper (latter chillies) in fact made curd rice an irreplaceable part of the Charaka Samhita, as the antidote against seasonal ailment including bad stomach, acidity, dehydration, gas among others. In fact, Kamasutra too advocated it as a dish that helped calm and realign the circadium rhythm during summers. Result: the homemaker's trick to repurpose leftovers began musing varieties that was designed as per a region and the food culture there.

Different Takes

Like the Chottogram version of Panta Bhaat. While the basics are the same, says Bengali food specialist Chef Sumanta Chakrabarti, "there is cooked rice soaked in water overnight and slightly mashed before more water and curd is added. The unique aspect is the tempering.

Unlike the West Bengal's frugal Panta Bhaat, the Dhaka version uses the fragrant Gobindbhog cooked with kalonji and hand crushed Gondhoraj lemon leaves and then seasoned it with chopped green chilli, sugar, coriander leaves, ghee, salt and finished with a dash of Gondhoraj." A peer to it is the Odia Dahi Pakhala, which is seasoned with curry leaves, red chillies and mustard seeds and a drizzle of cold pressed mustard oil with roasted cumin powder. These gut flora-friendly versions of curd rice were a standard fare in the ports popular among sailors, who used it as the food to acclimatise to the Indian weather.

Another interesting version is Kasher Mayeer from Jammu and Kashmir. A celebratory dish made during the birth of a calf, it is like a savoury pudding that is made with buttermilk instead of curd and flavoured with roasted cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, hing, mustard seeds, red chilli, curry leaves and finished with a dash of oil. And is served with haak.

Not All Savoury

An exception to the standard rule of curd rice are the two varieties called the Assyrian Gurdthu and the Rajasthanio Oliya. While the former has bay leaf, cinnamon, figs and honey, the latter has pomegranate along with saffron, cardamom, cashew, raisins and misry.

Fit For the Kings

Of the more gourmet varieties is the one from southern Bihar, where the basic curd rice recipe is tempered with red dry chilli, curry leaves, cholar/ channa dal, peanuts and topped with carrot, fresh coriander leaves, curd, cucumber, green chilli, pomegranate, peanut and raisins, salt and sugar.

A recipe that, says Chef Chakrabarti, was specially developed from the staple curd rice that had salt and mustard oil and was had with a raw onion on the side.

Another fine-dine version of curd rice is Karnataka's Mosaranna, a wedding special that has cashew nuts, pomegranate and grapes as part of its seasoning. The jugalnbandi of sweet and savoury in fact is part Odisha's Meetha Pakhala, which is part of the chappanbhog offered in temples, including in Jagannath Puri.

The dish which today often uses freshly made rice, was initially made with fermented rice to which orange segments, flowers, ginger and cumin powder are added along with gur to give it that sweet note.

Interestingly, while fruits and nuts were an obvious choice to spruce this summer treat, not all versions used them for creating a creamy gourmet version. Take the case of Maharastrian Dahi Bhaat that uses milk to lent the ginger-green chilli paste and chopped coriander-seasoned dish its creamy taste and texture.

Just like Andhra Pradesh's Daddojanam or Bagalabath. Part of the temple cuisine, this version has a silken velvety appearance thanks to the use of ponni raw rice, which is cooked fresh before curd is added along with ginger, cumin and pepper paste and tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, pepper, and urad dal with hing or ajwain. Thus, lending it a creamier, delicious palate play."