Coconut Rice or Thengai Sadham is made by tempering nuts, lentils, chillies and curry leaves along with grated coconut and mixing it through the rice. Coconut rice is most popular in South India. There is another variant of coconut rice that is made with coconut milk. For this recipe though I have used grated coconut. Fresh coconut always tastes best. If you can’t get your hands on freshly grated coconut, you can use frozen coconut. The combination of mild sweetness from coconut, the crunchiness from the nuts and the spiciness from the chillies makes this coconut rice delectable.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Urad dal/Split and husked black gram
- 1 tablespoon Channa dal/Bengal gram
- 2 tablespoons Cashew nuts
- 2 sprig Curry leaves
- 2 Green chillies, finely chopped
- 2 Red chillies
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Coconut, grated
- 2 cups cooked Rice
Preparation:
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan on a low to medium heat. Add mustard seeds. Let it crackle. Add urad dal and channa dal. Allow it to turn golden brown. Add cashew nuts, green chillies, curry leaves and red chillies. Let the cashew turn golden. Make sure not to burn anything.
Reduce the heat to low and add grated coconut and give it a quick mix.
Add rice and mix through gently.
Serve hot with potato fry or pickle.
Notes:
- I have used Ponni rice while preparing coconut rice. You can use Basmati rice or any other regular rice variety that you normally use in your home. Just make sure that the cooked rice is not sticky or mushy. It will ruin the flavour of the coconut rice.
