Seasoned Yogurt Rice (Mosaranna)

Diwali came by and went on in a jiffy as usual. But along with that came flurry of activities, cooking, hoarding, more cooking and packing of caloriesJ. Diwali is just an excuse, but frankly the hoarding starts a week before when the preparation of sweets, snacks starts and ends a week later with goodies brought from guests. This festival involves preparing so many different varieties of eatables that it is hard to resist the temptation. Why do inviting, decadent, tasty stuff have to be so bad for health? I wish I were transported to some unknown planet where oil and sugar were a man’s best friend and fruits and vegetables just lay around biting dust!

I know this is way too much wishful thinking! Anyway back to planet earth and to reality. To offset all those extra calories, we eat one meal that is light yet satisfying and nutritious. One such dish is seasoned yogurt rice also called Mosaranna in Kannada. This is very easy to prepare, cool for the body and is usually eaten at the end of a meal. Yogurt is mixed to the already cooked rice, seasoned and then garnished with pomegranates or grapes. The fruit adds a mild sweet flavor and also gives a crunch. The fruit is optional though.

On yet another note, I do acknowledge the various awards conferred to me by my dear fellow bloggers. Thank you very much for thinking of me and passing them to me. Sorry for the delay in posting them here.

• Uma “Chocoholic award”
• Ujwal “Butterfly award”
• Bhawana “Just Nice Photos – Beautiful Site” & “2008 Best Blog Darts Thinker“
• Bhawana “Brilliant Weblog”“
• Seema “Blogging with Purpose”
• Trupti “You make my day”

Here is the Recipe:

• Ingredients:
• 1-1 cups cooked rice (regular or basmati)
• ½ cup milk (if the yogurt is sour)
• 2 cups yogurt
• 1/2 cup water
• Salt
• 1-2 Green chillies
• 2 Tbsp pomegranate seeds
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• Chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing

For seasoning:

• 2 tsp Oil
• Mustard seeds
• Cumin seeds (Jeera)
• Asafetida a pinch
• 1 tsp urad daa
• 2-3 curry leaves

Method:

• Spread out the cooked rice on a big plate and then add the yogurt. If required add little water to thin it out, so that it can be mixed well.
• Add salt and also little milk, if the yogurt is sour.
• Add chopped green chillies, grated ginger, pomegranates and mix again.
• Meanwhile prepare a tadka of oil, mustard seeds, jeera, asafetida, curry leaves, urad daal and add it to the yogurt rice.
• Add chopped coriander leaves, pomegranate seeds just before serving.