Thengai Sadham (coconut Rice)

Flavored rice varieties like coconut rice,lemon rice,tamrind rice are known as 'chithrannam' in Tamil.These kind of rice varieties don't call for basmati rice and they are very easy to prepare.Coconut rice is generally prepared during the third day of Pongal festival as a tradition along with tamrind rice and aviyal. This is the recipe followed in most tam-bram homes.
 
How to make coconut rice-Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups rice
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 teaspoon channa dal
1 teaspoon urad dal
4 slit green chillies
2 dried red chilli
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons oil+ghee
10-12 curry leaves chopped
Salt

Method
1. Pressure cook rice with just enough water so as the grains remain separate.Cool it thoroughly.
2.Heat oil in kadai,temper with mustard seeds.Add channa dal,urad dal,green,red chillies,asafoetida and curry leaves one by one and saute for few minutes till a nice aroma comes out.Next add grated coconut and saute till it turns slightly dark in color.Add required amount of salt and a pinch of sugar and remove from heat.
3.Now add the cold rice little by little and mix gently but thoroughly.Add one or two teaspoons of ghee,mix well and serve.

Notes:
1.Generally in our home we do not use basmati rice for coconut rice,but if you prefer basmati rice you can use.
2.A pinch of sugar enhances the flavor of coconut.
3.Instead of ghee you can use coconut oil if you prefer.
4.Adding few drops of oil along with water while cooking rice helps in retaining the grains separate.