Curd Rice & Mango Salsa Buddha Bowl
Summers!!!! Phewwwww!!!!
Long boring days.
Who wants to cook and slog in the kitchen for long hours in the sweltering heat. At least I am not of that type. Come Summer and I find all the excuses to not make any elaborate meals.
There are days when I just want to slouch in my PJs, a comforting cooling meal in my hand and a thriller or romcom on my T.V.
This bowl gives me pleasure of having a hearty meal and that too guilt free. And above all made in almost half an hour. What else do you want?
This is the ultimate summer comfort food bowl for me. When our humble Curd Rice meets Mexican Salsa the marriage is a Party for your taste buds. Though a very uncommon and unconventional combination, the way they were complimenting each other, was a big surprise for me.
The Mango in salsa makes it the ultimate and soooo soooo scrumptious and delicious and ohhh so summery too!!! And with curd rice, oh man you should make it to believe me. I just love only one thing about summers, and that has to be Mangoes ;)
This bowl has all the components of food cleverly chosen by me (Smart me ;))
Carbs in Rice, Proteins in Curd and Cottage cheese/Paneer, Veggies, Fruits and Salad too.
And just look at the riot of colors in one single bowl. Ahhhh! It’s pure bliss.
Pass this to your kiddoos and trust me you will get a clean bowl in no time.
So, what is a Buddha Bowl? A “Buddha Bowl,” as defined by urban dictionary, is, “a bowl which is packed so full that it has a rounded ‘belly’ appearance on the top much like the belly of a buddha.”
There is nothing spiritual about this bowl. You can put in it whatever you want. Basically you can say it’s assortment of different components. How you pair your components, totally depends on your choice. But yes the bowl becomes delicious and scrumptious if all the paired components compliment each other well.
Artfully arranging different types of food which brings balanced meal in a bowl is BUDDHA BOWL. All the food components are arranged in a way so that they not only look pretty and appetizing but at the same time you won’t end up eating too much of any one thing.
I will share what I have included in my Buddha Bowl-Curd Rice- Curd Rice is the most simplest of dish I have made by far. It can be prepared with steamed rice and plain curd or with additional tempering of urad dal, mustard seeds, chillies, coriander leaves and steamed rice. The tempering does give it a very distinctive aromatic taste.
It is a “must have” item as part of meal in south Indian household and can be prepared instantly in short amount of time with very little effort. This recipe is an ideal Bachelor’s recipe for stomach filling instant food preparation at any time. Or rather I should say that this is an IDEAL SUMMER RECIPE, for when you don’t want to drench yourself in sweat in front of stove in the kitchen.
Basically, you need just two ingredients to make it, Rice and Curd. This is also known as Thayir Sadam.
Mango Salsa- When mangoes are in season and plentiful at the market, it’s hard to resist making mango salsa.This simple and colorful mango salsa is super easy and quick to make!!!
It has sweetness of mangoes, spiciness of peppers and it’s absolutely delicious and looks soooo gorgeous at the same time.
Serve this fresh mango salsa with chips, nachos or tacos, or you can serve it as a salad itself.
It’s so good and it’s so easy and it’s so tasty!!
Pan sautéed Broccoli and Cottage cheese- To add in greens and protein I have added these two to my bowl.
I will be giving recipes of all the components separately. You can make your own combinations with whatever you and your family like.
1. CURD RICE
INGREDIENTS:
For Rice:
Rice- 1/2 cup uncooked
Water- 1.5 cups
Curd- 1 cup
Milk – 1/4th cup
Salt to taste
For Seasoning or tempering:
Ghee or Clarified Butter/ Oil- 1 tablespoon
Mustard Seeds- 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Whole Red Chillies- 2
Urad Dal- 2 tsp
Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Peanuts- 1 tablespoon
Cashew nuts- 7-8
For Garnishing:
Coriander leaves- handful, chopped
Pomegranate Arils- 4-5 tablespoon
DIRECTIONS:
Wash and soak rice for 20 to 30 minute in enough water.
Add 1.5 cups water and salt to the pan along with soaked rice.
Cook the rice till they are soft and done.
Switch off the flame and mash the rice lightly.
Keep it aside to cool completely.
Add curd to the cooled rice. Mix well until combined.
Add Milk and mix well.
Tempering or seasoning:
Heat ghee/oil in a pan.
Add cumin and mustard.
When they begin to splutter, add urad dal, cashews and peanuts and fry until golden.
Add Chili and curry leaves.
When the curry leaves turn crisp, add asafoetida and turn off the heat.
Pour the seasoning over the curd rice and mix well.
Curd Rice is ready!!!
2.MANGO SALSA
INGREDIENTS:Mangoes- 2, diced
Onion- 1 big, chopped
Tomato- 1 big, chopped
Jalapeño Pepper- 2 tablespoon(I have used the bottled ones), chopped
Cucumber- 1, chopped
Olives- 2 tablespoon
Lemon Juice- 2 tablespoon
Salt according to taste
Chaat Masala- 1 teaspoon( or adjust according to taste)
Mint Leaves- handful, chopped
Coriander/ Cilantro leaves- handful, chopped
DIRECTIONS:In a serving bowl, combine the prepared mango, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and jalapeño.
Drizzle with the lemon juice and mix well.
Season to taste with salt and chaat masala.
Add chopped mint and coriander leaves.
For best flavor, let the salsa rest for 10 minutes or longer.
Salsa is ready.
You can serve salsa with chips, nachos or tacos.
3. PAN SAUTÉED BROCCOLI AND COTTAGE CHEESE
INGREDIENTS:
Broccoli- 1 big, around 14-15 florets
Cottage Cheese/ Paneer- 2 cups, cut in cubes
Oil- 2 tablespoon
Lemon juice, Salt, Red chili flakes- According to taste
DIRECTIONS:
First, we will blanch the Broccoli.
For that, in a big pan boil 5-6 cups of water. Put broccoli florets in the boiling water.
Do not cover it with lid otherwise Broccoli will lose it’s color.
Let the florets boil on medium high heat for about 10 minutes.
After that, strain them and immediately put them in ice cold water.
Keep them in ice cold water for 10-15 minutes.
Strain again.
In a pan put oil.
Sauté broccoli and paneer cubes.
Keep turning them with the help of a spatula so that are evenly cooked from all the sides.
Once done, take them out from the pan and drizzle some lemon juice, salt and chili flakes.
Sautéed veggies are ready.
HOW TO ASSEMBLE A BUDDHA BOWL
Take a wide bowl.
Since I am going to put four components so I just eye measured the bowl into four compartments.
Fill the bowl with Curd Rice, Mango Salsa, Sautéed Broccoli and Sautéed Paneer.
You can serve it with chutney, pickle, chips or papad.
Enjoy the wholesome bowl aka Meal in a Bowl!!!!
I am sharing this ultimate cooling recipe with my blogging facebook group “Healthy WELLthy Cuisines” for the current theme Summer Comfort Foods. You can check other summer comfort food recipes by my fellow blogger friends:
Recipe Card
Curd Rice & Mango Salsa Buddha Bowl
This is the ultimate summer comfort food bowl for me. When our humble Curd Rice meets Mexican Salsa the marriage is a Party for your taste buds. Though a very uncommon and unconventional combination, the way they were complimenting each other, was a big surprise for me.
I will be giving recipes of all the components separately. You can make your own combinations with whatever you and your family like.
1. CURD RICE
Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking Time : 20 to 30 mins
Serves : 3 to 4
INGREDIENTS:
For Rice:
Rice- 1/2 cup uncooked
Water- 1.5 cups
Curd- 1 cup
Milk – 1/4th cup
Salt to taste
For Seasoning or tempering:
Ghee or Clarified Butter/ Oil- 1 tablespoon
Mustard Seeds- 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Whole Red Chillies- 2
Urad Dal- 2 tsp
Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Peanuts- 1 tablespoon
Cashew nuts- 7-8
For Garnishing:
Coriander leaves- handful, chopped
Pomegranate Arils- 4-5 tablespoon
DIRECTIONS:
Wash and soak rice for 20 to 30 minute in enough water.
Add 1.5 cups water and salt to the pan along with soaked rice.
Cook the rice till they are soft and done.
Switch off the flame and mash the rice lightly.
Keep it aside to cool completely.
Add curd to the cooled rice. Mix well until combined.
Add Milk and mix well.
Tempering or seasoning:
Heat ghee/oil in a pan.
Add cumin and mustard.
When they begin to splutter, add urad dal, cashews and peanuts and fry until golden.
Add Chili and curry leaves.
When the curry leaves turn crisp, add asafoetida and turn off the heat.
Pour the seasoning over the curd rice and mix well.
Curd Rice is ready!!!
2.MANGO SALSA
Preparation Time : 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Mangoes- 2, diced
Onion- 1 big, chopped
Tomato- 1 big, chopped
Jalapeño Pepper- 2 tablespoon(I have used the bottled ones), chopped
Cucumber- 1, chopped
Olives- 2 tablespoon
Lemon Juice- 2 tablespoon
Salt according to taste
Chaat Masala- 1 teaspoon( or adjust according to taste)
Mint Leaves- handful, chopped
Coriander/ Cilantro leaves- handful, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
In a serving bowl, combine the prepared mango, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and jalapeño.
Drizzle with the lemon juice and mix well.
Season to taste with salt and chaat masala.
Add chopped mint and coriander leaves.
For best flavor, let the salsa rest for 10 minutes or longer.
Salsa is ready.
You can serve salsa with chips, nachos or tacos.
3. PAN SAUTÉED BROCCOLI AND COTTAGE CHEESE
INGREDIENTS:
Broccoli- 1 big, around 14-15 florets
Cottage Cheese/ Paneer- 2 cups, cut in cubes
Oil- 2 tablespoon
Lemon juice, Salt, Red chili flakes- According to taste
DIRECTIONS:
First, we will blanch the Broccoli.
For that, in a big pan boil 5-6 cups of water. Put broccoli florets in the boiling water.
Do not cover it with lid otherwise Broccoli will lose it’s color.
Let the florets boil on medium high heat for about 10 minutes.
After that, strain them and immediately put them in ice cold water.
Keep them in ice cold water for 10-15 minutes.
Strain again.
In a pan put oil.
Sauté broccoli and paneer cubes.
Keep turning them with the help of a spatula so that are evenly cooked from all the sides.
Once done, take them out from the pan and drizzle some lemon juice, salt and chili flakes.
Sautéed veggies are ready.
HOW TO ASSEMBLE A BUDDHA BOWL
Take a wide bowl.
Since I am going to put four components so I just eye measured the bowl into four compartments.
Fill the bowl with Curd Rice, Mango Salsa, Sautéed Broccoli and Sautéed Paneer.
You can serve it with chutney, pickle, chips or papad.
Enjoy the wholesome bowl aka Meal in a Bowl!!!!