Eesha Kulkarni

R Madhavan loves (and lives) to eat, and well, there are plenty of vegetarian dishes that run through his mind all day. The Rocketry actor is a hard-core foodie and interestingly, a pure vegetarian too. He loves exploring novel cuisines and regional flavours when he is travelling for both film shoots and leisure.

Although he gives into his cravings once in a while, the actor also works towards maintaining a healthy diet and fitness routine. The incredible part is that the 52-year-old has managed to maintain his fit physique only through his vegetarian diet full of native dishes and without the use of any supplements.

Being a true blue Tamilian, the actor enjoys having traditional Tamil meals on most days and his favourite dish is curd rice. For the uninitiated, curd rice is a combination of soft cooked rice and unsweetened yoghurt with a few tempered spices.

Another dish that Madhavan swears by is rice kanji, as per an interview on YouTube. Kanji is a sour rice gruel and an excellent homemade probiotic, made by leaving boiled rice overnight until it ferments slightly. This soupy concoction is mixed with water and homemade curd and is usually drunk hot or cold, like a rice porridge of sorts. This is a good old traditional recipe passed down from generations to keep a healthy gut.

If you want to know the recipe for this delicious rice dish, keep reading.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 cup Cooked Rice

2 cup Water

0.5 cup Curd, homemade

1.5 tsp Salt or as required

2 tbsp fresh Coriander Leaves, chopped

To Temper

1 tbsp Coconut Oil

0.5 tsp Mustard Seeds

0.5 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Gram

2 tsp Curry Leaves, finely chopped

1 tsp Green Chilies, chopped

8 tbsp Onion, finely chopped

2 tsp Ginger, grated

1 tsp Asafoetida/Hing

Method

1. Soak the cooked rice in water in a clay pot for about 10-12 hours or overnight.
2. Next day, transfer fermented rice to a blender and blend to smooth paste.
3. Transfer blended rice into a mixing bowl.
4. Whisk the homemade curd and add it to the rice paste and stir well. Preferably add slightly sour curd or yoghurt to make it tastier.
5. Now add salt to taste and mix well.
6. For the tempering, take a tadka pan and heat some coconut oil.
7. Drop in some mustard seeds, jeera seeds, urad dal, chopped curry leaves and chopped green chillies and fry well.
8. Add chopped onions and fry till it turns light brown. Turn off the stove
9. Now add in grated ginger and hing (asafoetida) and mix well.
10. Pour the tempered mixture over the prepared rice kanji.
11. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.