She calls it yoghurt rice, but where we’re from, it’s good ol' thayir saadam. Host, chef and writer Padma Lakshmi’s appearance on Ellen Degeneres’ show made Tamilians across the world proud as she picked curd rice as her dish to prepare for the show. 

“But what about spoons?” Ellen throws Padma a quizzical look when she asks her to mix the curd and rice with her hands -  like we do. Here’s the catch, the curd in the thayir saadam is vegan, keeping to Ellen’s dietary requirements.

Asafoetida, black mustard seeds, pomegranate seeds and white lentils go into the mixture and Ellen can’t get over not using cutlery when Padma sticks a spoon in the bowl of rice. 

Ellen’s verdict: “It’s so good, it’s sooo peppery.” Well, good on Padma Lakshmi, but I'm sure it doesn’t beat our paati's thayir saadam.