Samak rice with curd (vrat ke chawal)
The fasting "rice" of North and West India: samak (barnyard millet, also called sama, vari or bhagar) cooked like a pulao in ghee with jeera, green chillies, potato and crushed peanuts, salted with sendha namak and eaten with curd on Navratri, Ekadashi and other vrat days. As the fast requires, there is no onion, garlic, turmeric or ordinary salt; Maharashtrian homes eat bhagar with a peanut amti.
- 45 minTime
- 28 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- 12 gprotein per portion
- 430kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 250 gSamak rice (barnyard millet)
- 50 gPeanuts, raw
- 2 tbspGhee
- 1 tspCumin, seeds
- 2Green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 tspGinger, grated
- 2Potatoes, peeled, in 1 cm cubes
- ≈ 800 mlWater, hot
- to tasteSendha namak (rock salt)
- 2 tbspCoriander leaves, chopped
- ½Lemon (nimbu), juice
On the side
- 400 gCurd, chilled
Method
- Wash the samak in two or three changes of water and leave it to drain.
- Dry-roast the peanuts in a kadai on a medium-low flame for 4–5 minutes, until spotted brown. Let them cool a little, rub off the skins and crush them coarsely in a mortar or the mixer.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Chop the green chillies finely and grate the ginger.
- Heat the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the green chillies, ginger and potatoes and sauté for 4 minutes, until the potatoes start to colour.
- Add the drained samak and the crushed peanuts and stir for 2 minutes, until the grains look dry and smell nutty.
- Pour in the hot water, add sendha namak and bring to the boil.
- Cover and cook on the lowest flame for 12–15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are soft. Switch off and leave covered for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the curd smooth with a pinch of sendha namak.
- Fluff the samak with a fork, squeeze over the lemon juice and sprinkle with coriander leaves. Serve hot with the curd.
