I love sesame seeds and this sesame rice is a delicious yet different South Indian rice recipe. Whenever a recipe calls for 1 tsp of it, I dunk in 1 tbsp. The same goes for coriander powder but that’s a totally different topic that should be discussed in a different context. For now, let’s stick to sesame seeds rice.
I am a huge sucker for different kinds of mixed rice recipes. I am very South Indian like that I guess. But this is one recipe I had never heard of until I was gifted Chandra Padmanabhan’s ‘Southern Spice’.
It’s a fabulous book on South Indian cooking and I am still wondering why it took me this long to finally get to it.
Ellu Sadam great to pack for a trip and tastes best at room temperature with some raita. Now, how many South Indian Variety Rice recipes can you say this for?
If you love easy rice recipes, then you must check out this easy egg biryani recipe, my favourite soya biryani, and this fabulous paneer peas pulao recipe.
Ellu Sadam / Sesame Rice Recipe
Source: Southern Spice by Chandra Padmanabhan
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice
Salt to taste
Salt to taste
For the Spice Powder:
1/2 cup white sesame seeds / til / ellu
2 tbsp grated coconut
4 dry red chillies
1 tsp oil
For Tempering:
2 tbsp gingelly oil / nallennai
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 tbsp shelled peanuts
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
2 dry red chillies, halved
1 tsp urad dal / ulutham paruppu
1 tsp channa dal / kadala paruppu
A few curry leaves
Instructions:
1. Dry roast the sesame seeds and grated coconut separately in a pan until nicely browned. Add oil for spice powder and lightly fry the red chillies, taking care not to burn them. Cool, grind to a fine powder and set aside.
2. Heat oil for tempering and add the roasted peanuts. When almost fried and brown, add the rest of the ingredients. When the mustard seeds pop and the dals turn golden, remove from heat.
3. Stir in the rice and the spice powder. Serve at room temperature with raita.
great looking sesame rice, photo looks too tempting. We call this yellu pudi chitranna in Kannada & the change there is we use black sesame seeds. I wonder how you manage to take such wonderful pictures.
sush, wonder no more. check out the food photography link at the top of this page 🙂
I made it too..yet to post it though..but this one is defntly different that wat I made.
Nags – looks wonderful as usual. I was surprised that you had not heard about this before Chandra's cookbook. (Chandra is a not a buddy or anything btw)
I agree with you that there is something so south indian about a person when it comes to variety rice. It touches a south indian in levels that only a south Indian can know. To me, it brings back memories and smells of many things – like sunday lunches, with oil on the hair, and watching ramayan on tv and eating with a spoon so you dont have to get up to wash hands and mom can take the plate away. Well…I have many issues, I think.
I never tasted the sesame seeds rice- I am huge fan of rice variety! Lovely shots 🙂
Never tasted this one…i love the taste of the sesame seeds though, especially in the molagapodi…Must try this..
Lovely recipe and snapshots!
YUM! I made this Ellu rice last year, took photos and then deleted all the pics accidentally!!:D
Looks tasty, might make some later.
Despite loving variety rice, I've never eaten this before. Looks lovely.
I love mixed rice like this. blessed to be a South Indian I say .. I have never tried sesame rice. sounds super easy