8 underrated South Indian rice dishes perfect for a light and healthy dinner

From pulao to biryani, rice is loved in many forms and makes for one of the most popular staple foods in India. But when it comes to South Indian cuisine, they celebrate the grain in many ways. South Indian cuisine boasts a wide range of rice dishes that are easy-to-make and are full of flavours and nutrition. These rice dishes make for a filling one-pot meal that can be enjoyed for lunch, dinner, or can be packed for office or school tiffi too. But, do you know what is the right way of cooking rice? Amita Gadre, a Mumbai-based nutritionist recently posted a video on Facebook explaining the right way of cooking rice.In her video, she says that there is one way, where rice is boiled in water and excess water is drained out,with some soluble starch in it. And the other method is the absorption method, where you add just enough water in rice that gets absorbed completely. According to Gadre, there’s one more method of cooking rice that’s been found useful to reduce arsenic and it's called ‘Par-boiling and refreshing water method’. According to this method, the rice is parboiled in excess water, after which the water is drained. After draining, the water is replaced and cooked again using a draining method. Whichever way you cook, these 8 underrated South Indian rice dishes will surely tempt your taste buds.

Vangibath is a flavorful South Indian rice dish made with brinjal (eggplant), tamarind, and a special spice blend called Vangibath powder. Cooked rice is mixed with stir-fried brinjal and aromatic spices, giving it a tangy, spicy, and slightly smoky taste.

As the name suggests, it is a variety of fried rice, where leftover rice is cooked along with gunpowder and is tempered with coconut oil, curry leaves, dried red chillies, and curry leaves.

Podi Rice is a simple and flavorful South Indian dish made by mixing cooked rice with spiced podi (dry chutney powder) and ghee or sesame oil. The podi is usually a blend of roasted lentils, dried red chilies, sesame seeds, cumin, and other spices, giving the rice a spicy, nutty taste.

Ven Pongal is a popular South Indian dish made from rice and moong dal (split yellow lentils), cooked together with ghee, black pepper, cumin, ginger, and curry leaves.

Tomato Rice is a flavorful South Indian dish made by cooking rice with spiced tomato gravy, tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilies, and aromatic spices like cumin and cinnamon.

Tamarind Rice (also known as Puliyodarai, Pulihora, or Puli Sadam) is a tangy and spicy South Indian rice dish made by mixing cooked rice with a tamarind-based paste. The paste is prepared with tamarind extract, jaggery, mustard seeds, curry leaves, dried red chilies, and roasted spices, giving it a bold and flavorful taste.

Lemon rice is a famous South Indian delight, made with leftover rice, pan-fried with oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, salt, turmeric, roasted peanuts, and is topped with lemon juice.

It refers to a comforting, one-pot meal made with rice, toor dal (split pigeon peas), tamarind, vegetables, and a special aromatic spice blend called Bisi Bele Bath powder.

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