Bagalabath is Indian yogurt rice made by mixing plain yogurt and rice and finished off with tadka (tempering). Creamy comfort food that is ALSO healthy and loaded with nutrients. Customize it by adding your favorite toppings.
Rinse 1 cup of rice and add 2¼ cups of water. Cook in the instant pot or rice cooker for 12 minutes. If using pressure cooker, wait for a whistle, reduce flame and cook for 10 minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally. The rice should be slightly more overcooked than your usual boiled fluffy rice. Transfer it to a deep bowl.
Mash Rice
Mash the cooked rice with a ladle or a potato masher.
Boil 1 cup of milk and add 1½ teaspoons of salt. Slowly add it to the rice and mash again. Keep aside to cool.
Make curd rice tadka
Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small pan. Add 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds start popping, add 2 dried red chilies and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger. Roast for a couple of minutes.
Stir in a handful of curry leaves. Add about 10 to 12 chopped cashews and 1 tablespoon of raisins. Stir until the cashews start turning brown.
Keep the tadka aside and let it cool down.
Add yogurt and mix-ins
Once the rice cools down, add 2 cups of yogurt. Mix well until you get it smooth without lumps.
Prepare ½ cup each of pomegranate seeds, grated carrot, grated apple, and 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves. Add them to the curd rice along with the cooled tadka.
Mix all the ingredients well. Add ¼ to ½ cup more yogurt as necessary. The dahi bhat should be creamy and easy to scoop out.
Notes
Type of rice: I have tested bagalabath with all types of rice and found white, regular-sized rice to be the best suited for this recipe. I use Indian parboiled rice but any white rice (like Jasmine rice) is fine.
Yogurt: You can use either homemade or store-bought.
Milk: Regular whole milk is fine. You can use skimmed milk if you prefer that. I would advice you against full-fat milk, though many recipes recommend that. There won't be much difference in taste, and the excess fat and calories are not worth it.
Fruits and vegetables: I've used pomegranate, apples and carrots. You can use others like grapes, strawberries, grated pears, and cucumbers.
Nuts and dry fruits: Cashews, almonds walnuts, peanuts, raisins, cranberries, dates, anything works here.
Mashing the rice: Do not mash the rice all the way to a paste. You don’t want your dahi bhat to look and taste like baby food. Mash until you can no longer find full grains of rice.
Adding milk: This is another secret to a creamy thayir sadam. When you add hot milk and mash again, the rice becomes even creamier.
Adding yogurt: Add yogurt AFTER the rice has completely cooled down. Exposing curd to heat will cause it to separate and turn lumpy. Also, rice tends to absorb a lot of moisture and dries up over time. If you’re not serving the curd rice right away, make sure you reserve some yogurt to mix in just before serving.
Scaling: This recipe can be easily multiplied to serve more or fewer people.
Make ahead: Dahi bhaat is best eaten fresh. You can store it in the refrigerator for a maximum of 2 days. Add more yogurt before serving. It is not suitable for freezing.
Storing leftovers: Store leftovers in the fridge and use them up within a day or two.