Thengai Sadam, Coconut Rice

     
          Thengai Sadam/ Coconut Rice, this is one of the easiest rice preparations, might be next to the Lemon Rice. As the name says, the main ingredient other than rice, is coconut, so grating the coconut is the only time consuming part in this dish. Of course we can use frozen coconut but fresh coconut has its own taste and texture. The rice is very simple and the fresh coconut and curry leaves are the only flavors in it. You can serve this rice with a spicy potato fry or even with simple chips or papads..

Need To Have

• Cooked Rice - 3 cups
• Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
• Broken Cashews - 1 tablespoon
• Chana Dal/Bengal Gram Dal - 1 tablespoon
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1/2 tablespoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chilly - 1. broken into halves
• Green Chilly - 1, chopped
• Curry Leaves - 15
• Salt to taste

Method

          Cool and keep the cooked rice ready and grate the coconut and keep. Heat some oil, add the cashews, chana dal, urad dal and mustard seeds, when the cashews turn golden and the seeds start popping, add the asafoetida followed by the red chilly, green chilly and curry leaves.

          Mix for 1/2 a minute, then add the grated coconut and saute for a minute or two and switch off the stove. Add the salt and the cooked rice and mix everything together and serve.

Note
The rice should be cooked perfectly, it should be soft and well cooked but the grains should be separate.
Usually we use raw rice ( pachai arisi ) for making mixed rice, but you can use whatever rice that you regularly use,
I forgot to add the cashews in the beginning, so I roasted it and added at the end, you can also add some roasted peanuts if you like.