East Indian
Pakhala (Fermented Rice in Water)
Pakhala (Fermented Rice in Water) is East Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked rice, day-old
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp mustard oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 dried red chili
- 8 curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp salt
How to cook it
- Rinse the cooked rice gently with a little water to loosen the grains, then place it in a wide bowl or earthen pot.
- Pour in enough water to fully submerge the rice, cover loosely, and let it sit at room temperature for at least 6 hours, or overnight, until it turns lightly sour.
- Just before serving, heat the mustard oil in a small pan and temper with the mustard seeds, dried red chili, cumin seeds, and curry leaves until they crackle.
- Pour the tempering over the fermented rice and water, add salt, and stir gently.
- Serve cold or at room temperature, traditionally alongside saga bhaja, aloo bharta, and a curd or chutney side.
Serve it with
A East Indian lunch is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Pakhala (Fermented Rice in Water), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The cooked vegetable
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The protein alongside
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What it is eaten with
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The sharp little thing
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Something cool and fresh
A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand. Pakhala (Fermented Rice in Water) carries none of them. That is a checked answer rather than an ingredient list nobody read.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Light
- Protein
- Low
- Food groups it covers
- Grains
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Pakhala (Fermented Rice in Water) takes about 15 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is easy going. It is eaten at lunch. It is at its best in summer, which is when what goes into it is worth buying.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on rice.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from East India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.