Chia Thair Sadam - A delicious , nutritious and cooling food from South India

Chitra Amma's Kitchen

By: Chitra Amma's Kitchen

17 January 2026 at 09:14

CHIA THAIR SADAM

Thair Sadam / Curd Rice gives a satiating feeling at the end of a simple meal as well as a festive meal . It is a comfort food , hence can be relished during any meal time of the day . Most of our children gobble up any kind of food without much fuss when served with a cup of curd ! A simple mix of Curd and Rice we relish on a daily basis becomes a specialty when dressed up with different seasonings and garnishes for special occasions . Fruits , nuts , vegetables like carrots and cucumber , green chillies , ginger , curry leaves , coriander leaves , mustard seeds , black gram dal , chana dal , cumin seeds , black pepper , raw mangoes used in different combinations lend a special look , taste and texture to Bakalabath - a special name for the special Curd Rice !

Health conscious people who want to cut down on the intake of white rice can still enjoy Thair Sadam by replacing rice with broken wheat , vermicelli , sago , beaten rice , variety of millets , quinoa or any other base which triggers their imagination .

I have never thought of using - of all the things - SEEDS to make Thair Sadam until Dibbs sent me the recipe . I tried out Chia Thair Sadam using the globally popular miracle seeds called Chia , and it earned five stars from my S. R . ( Sapattu Raman ) family !

INGREDIENTS

Chia Seeds - 2 table spoons

Warm milk for soaking - 1/2 a cup

Thick curds - 2 cups or more as required

Salt - 1 pinch

Carrot ( grated ) - 1 tbsp

Finely chopped cucumber - 1 tbsp

Oil for seasoning - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Green chilly ( Chopped ) - 1/2 tsp

Fresh ginger ( grated ) - 1/2 tsp

Cashew nuts - 5 or 10 as required

Curry leaves and coriander leaves

METHOD

1. Soak Chia seeds in warm milk till the seeds bloat up . I left it to soak over night in the fridge, so that I

could prepare Chia Thair Sadam for breakfast .

2. Add curds and salt to the soaked Chia Seeds and mix thoroughly to avoid lumps .

3. Mix in the grated carrot and chopped cucumber .

4. Heat cooking oil and add the mustard seeds followed by cumin seeds .

5. When the mustard splutters add green chilly , ginger and curry leaves .

6. Add the seasoning to Chia Thair Sadam . Mix well

7. Finally garnish it with ghee fried cashew nuts and chopped coriander leaves .

This will give a soupbowlful of Chia Thair Sadam which can serve one person .

To make more bowls of Chia Thair Sadam increase the quantity of ingredients . Seasoning and garnishing

is left to one's imagination and taste .