South Indian Coconut Rice
South Indian coconut rice is a mildly spiced rice made with fresh coconut. It is a savory, nutty, and flavorful rice. It makes a perfect lunch box recipe in no time!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice uncooked or 4 cups cooked
- 3/4 cup Grated coconut I used frozen
- 8-10 Curry leaves
- 1/4 inch Ginger finely chopped
- 2 Green chillies chopped into 2-3 pieces
- 2 Dry red chillies break into 2-3 pieces
- 2 tbsp Chana dal/Split chickpeas * see notes
- 1 tsp Urad dal/skinned split black gram
- 2 tbsp Roasted peanuts * see notes
- 8 Cashew nuts halved
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds/Rai
- 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds/Jeera
- 2 tbsp Ghee divided
- 1/2 tsp Salt or as required
Instructions
For Rice
- Triple wash some rice and cook with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Once it cools down, fluff it with a fork and set aside. Spread some rice on a wide plate to make it cool down fast.
For Tempering
- In a pan, melt 1.5 tbsp of ghee and add chana dal. Roast it for 10 seconds and keep it aside in the same pan.
- Add mustard seeds and let them crackle. Now add cumin seeds, urad dal, cashew nuts, peanuts, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, and ginger. Combine chana dal and mix well.
- Now add coconut and sauté for 1 minute. Combine cooked rice, salt, and mix everything well. Add ½ tbsp ghee, mix well, and serve the rice.
Notes
- Use any long grain or medium grain rice. I have used basmati rice but you can use sona masoori rice as well.
- You can skip adding chana dal or urad dal in the recipe.
- Soak the chana dal for 10 minutes if you don’t like its crunchiness.
- You can skip adding dry red chillies in the recipe. Adding dry red chillies and green chillies gives amazing taste to the dish. Each type of chillies have their own taste and that they bring out in the dish. Adjust the spice level as per your taste.
- Skip adding cashew nuts or peanuts for a nut-free option.
- You can use raw peanuts as well. You will need to roast them for 10 seconds and set them aside in the same pan, just like the chana dal in this recipe.
- For a vegan diet, add coconut oil instead of ghee.
- If fresh or frozen grated coconuts are not available, you can cook the raw rice in coconut milk and plain water. For every 1 cup raw rice, add 3/4 cup coconut milk and 1 cup plain water. Once it cools down follow the rest recipe in the same manner.