Seasoned Broken Wheat with Yogurt

What could be more refreshing than  seasoned yogurt rice? Growing up in the South of India, where yogurt rice (or curd rice) is a staple, our meals feel incomplete without a small bowl of it.

I’ve experimented extensively with broken wheat, making kheer, sweet pongal and spicy pongal—all with great results. This broken wheat with yogurt is an extension of those experiments and, thankfully, has a delightful outcome. It’s very easy to prepare, cooling for the body, and highly nutritious. Yogurt is mixed into the already cooked broken wheat and then aptly seasoned with traditional tadka ingredients. Taste-wise, I found no difference compared to regular yogurt rice; however, you might notice a slight difference in texture.

Adapted from: Blend With Spices

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup broken wheat/dalia
• 2 cups of yogurt ( I used low fat)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
• 1 tsp urad daal
• 2-3 green chillies(slit and chopped)
• 2-3 dried red chillies (cut into bits)
• 5-10 curry leaves
• hing a pinch
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp oil

Method

• Boil two cups of water, add salt and add the cracked wheat to it. This does not take a long time to cook, partially cover with lid, stirring so that it does not stick to the bottom and then turn off the flame. Drain any remaining water and set aside.
• After it has cooled completely transfer it to a plate.
• Meanwhile beat the yogurt well in a bowl making sure there are no lumps. Add little milk or water if required, to get to the correct consistency.
• Add this yogurt, chopped green chillies to the boiled dalia and mix well.
• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add urad daal and mix until it turns light brown.
• Add the curry leaves, broken red chillies,hing and fry briefly. Switch off the heat and let it cool down.
• Add this to the yogurt dalia and mix well. Let this seasoning marinade well with yogurt for about an hour before serving.