Vegan Yogurt Rice

I thought I would start with a classic Southern Indian yogurt/curd dish, a comfort food for many. I use homemade soy yogurt instead of cow’s milk yogurt in this recipe. Not only is the soy yogurt cruelty-free it is also guilt-free in every sense of the word. It has no cholesterol and only around one-third the calories and fat of cow’s milk yogurt. In addition, yogurt from cow’s milk has about eight times more sugar and twice as much sodium than soy yogurt.

Personally, I loved it and could not tell the difference between this one and the traditional one made with yogurt from cow’s milk. Hari and Veda also loved it! In fact, Hari hates yogurt and would never in a million years go anywhere near curd rice, but he loves this one! As always, don’t forget to adjust the spice level to your preference. I like to add more ginger, cilantro, and lemon juice depending on my mood. So go ahead, give it a try, and please let me know if you also thought it was deliciously satisfying! Good health!

Ingredients:

1 cup rice, cooked

Vegan Yogurt 

1 12-oz package of silken firm tofu

3/4 cup soy milk

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

For tadka or tempering

1 tsp  sesame oil

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 sprig of curry leaves

1 tbsp grated ginger

1/4 cup peanuts or cashews chopped

1 tbsp urad dal (black gram dal)

2 whole dried cayenne chilies

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

A  pinch of powdered asafetida

Directions

Prepare vegan yogurt by blending all of the ingredients listed under “vegan yogurt” in a blender until smooth. 

Mix cooked rice and prepared vegan yogurt in a large bowl and set aside. 

Heat sesame oil in a small skillet and add urad dal,  mustard seeds, red chilies, and curry leaves. 

Put a lid on it immediately to prevent the mustard seeds from spluttering everywhere. 

Listen to the mustard seeds pop and as soon as the popping slows down, take the lid off and add the asafetida and chopped nuts to it and saute for a few mins until the nuts turn golden brown. 

Now add chopped cilantro and ginger to the skillet and saute for just a few seconds.  

Mix this into the rice mixture we set aside earlier and enjoy. This goes really well with spicy pickles and pappadum.