Today, I am sharing a recipe of Mor kuzhambu, a curry made out of buttermilk - Mor (buttermilk) + kuzhambu (curry), which is an authentic recipe from Tamil Nadu. There are many variations of curry prepared using curd/ buttermilk across India like majjiga pulusu (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana), pulissery (Kerala), majjige huli (Karnataka), kadhi (Punjab) etc.
I am a big fan of Saravana Bhavan mor kuzhambu, made with ground spices and sour buttermilk. The Saravana Bhavan at our office cafeteria used to serve delicious mor kuzhambu every Thursday as part of its South Indian Thali menu. Whenever I could, I used to skip bringing lunch from home, to savor Saravana Bhavan's mor kuzhambu with hot steamed rice.
Ground spices and sour curd/ buttermilk are the heart of this curry. I tried my hands at different proportions of spices and finally arrived at the best version, which I am posting today. Do give it a try and share your feedback in comments section.
You can add vegetables like bottle gourd, pumpkin, drumstick, chayote (chow chow), lady's finger (bhindi), eggplant (brinjal), etc. per your preference or cook it plain without any veggies. It tastes its best when paired with steamed rice.
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Ingredients:
- Curd (slightly sour) - 1 cup
- Diced bottle gourd - 1.5 cups
- Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
- Water - 3 cups
- Oil - 1 tbsp
- Salt, per taste
- For mor kuzhambu paste
- Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
- Green chillies - 2
- Dhania (Coriander seeds) - 2 tsp
- Jeera (Cumin) - 1 tsp
- Toor dal (Yellow split pigeon peas) - 1 tsp
- Rice - 1/2 tsp
- For tempering
- Mustard - 1/2 tsp
- Jeera (Cumin) - 1/2 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tsp
- Red chilli - 1
- Hing (asafetida) - 1 pinch
- Curry leaves - 1 sprig
- First add a cup of water to the curd and whisk well to make thick buttermilk
- Rinse and soak dhania, jeera, toor dal and rice in water for 20-30 mins
- Add a cup of water, 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp salt to bottle gourd and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Alternatively, you can cook bottle gourd in a vessel. Ensure it is not overcooked.
- Grind soaked spices along with coconut and green chillies with 1/2 cup of water, to make a coarse paste
- After releasing pressure, add the ground paste to bottle gourd, mix well and cook until the curry boils
- Now, reduce the flame to low, add buttermilk to the boiling mixture and cook
- Add 1/2 tsp salt and water as required, until desired consistency is achieved
- Once the curry starts to bubble, switch off the flame and set aside
- Keep a pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard and jeera and allow it to splutter well. Finally add fenugreek seeds, red chilli, hing and curry leaves and sauté.
- Add the tempering to mor kuzhambu and mix well
- Enjoy mor kuzhambu with hot rice and potato fry for side
- Use sour curd. Otherwise the desired taste will not be achieved.
- If you use lady's finger or brinjal, fry it in oil along with salt and turmeric until its cooked and then add to the curry. Pumpkin, chayote, drumstick should be cooked similar to bottle gourd explained in this recipe
- If you are a spice lover, you may use 3 chillies
- Coconut oil tempering enhances the flavor of this dish
- Yam/ bhindi/ plantain fry taste good as side dish for mor kuzhambu
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