Skip to main content

Recipe: Mor kuzhambu

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. 


Like what you read? Follow me on YouTube for fresh videos and updates on every new post!

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
Procedure:
  • 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 
Tips:
  • 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

Check below for the video recipe









 

Comments

  1. Thanks, i tried and it was easy and quick.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found one successful example of this truth through this blog. I am going to use such information now. Griddles Pan

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Anex Monkey Smart Watch

Hello Readers,  Welcome back. While browsing through a weekly flyer by Canadian Tire, my eyes got hold of a smart watch, primarily for its name - Monkey Smart Watch. It's original price was $89.99. On account of Father's Day, the price was slashed 70% and offered for just $24.99 (from June 9th to June 16th).  As it was listed on Canadian Tire website, I thought the product should be genuine and googled to know more about the product. But there weren't sufficient reviews online. So I decided to try it myself and booked it online. This smart watch was launched in the last quarter of 2021 as Anex Monkey Smart Watch. Last year, it had been sold for just $19.99 as part of Black Friday deal. Even after 5 days of waiting, Canadian Tire didn't process my order. On the other hand, the stock was vanishing real quick and only 80 watches were available in our near by store. When checked with their customer service executive, I was told to cancel my online order or wait until they p...

Rutabaga: An Underrated Superfood & A Delicious Indian Recipe To Try!

Trying something new can feel uncertain, whether it is a new routine or new job or new city or even a new vegetable, as we often find comfort in the familiar. I had reservations about this particular vegetable until I cooked and tasted it. Let me introduce you Rutabaga, a lesser known vegetable (at least for a person from tropical region like me). It is nutrient-rich, flavourful and incredibly easy to prepare.                                              When I first saw Rutabaga in the grocery stores here, I thought it would be from the yam family and ignored it, primarily because of its starch content. In addition, Rutabaga's sheer size always made me think twice to try it. In India, grocery stores sell small portions of vegetables like yam, cabbage or pumpkin, allowing customers purchase only what they need, which is...

Why I Write - Q&A with Manu

I keep getting direct and indirect questions on Why I Write? There won't be a better occasion than this to address this Q and other frequently asked Qs. It's been exactly 2 years since I started this website -  Manu's Medley  and apparently this is my 100th blog post.  So Why I Write?  I can give a fancier reply stating "I chose to follow my passion". But I won't, as it isn't true. After being in the IT industry for more than a decade, working tirelessly all through the weeks, months and years, I moved to Canada carrying my little one, when the whole world was witnessing one of the deadliest diseases COVID. It was at the same time, I had to take a career break due to few compelling personal reasons and decided to be a full time mom.  It's a new place and a new role, with almost zero support, unlike the support system at India. To top it, the lockdowns and restrictions were never ending. The three of us spent months together within our apartment and my ...

Book: The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama & Howard C. Cutler

My knowledge on Buddha and Buddhism is limited to my school text books and some documentaries. I always wanted to know more about Buddha, his preachings and the philosophy of Buddhism. Few months back, I reached out to a book recommendation group on FB. Just within minutes, I received multiple suggestions on books on Buddhism, out of which I chose "The Art of Happiness" (the one with the highest number of recommendations). I decided to read it as the first book of 2024.  If you had been following me regularly, you would have known I wasn't successful at meeting my yearly reading goals. So unlike previous years, I wanted to adopt a different approach and goal towards reading, that could enable me to read more. I have explained about it at the end of this article.  For now, let me get into the topic "The Art of Happiness" is authored by the 14th Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler. His Holiness Dalai Lama needs no introduction. HH Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of th...

Recipe: Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal)

Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal), as it is known in South India, is a traditional South Indian sweet, prepared using rice, lentils, jaggery and dry fruits. Sakkarai Pongal is usually prepared as an offering to the Sun God, during Pongal/ Sankranthi festival and as prasad in temples around the year.                Ingredients: Rice - 1 cup Moong dal (split green gram) - 1/2 cup Chana dal (split chick peas) - 3 tbsp Milk - 1 cup Water - 5 cup Jaggery - 1.5 cup diluted in 1 cup water Ghee - 1/2 cup  Cashew nuts (chopped) - 2 tbsp   Raisins - 1 tbsp  Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Edible camphor - a pinch Procedure: Wash and soak rice and dals in water for half an hour In a pressure cooker, heat 3 tbsp of ghee and roast cashew and raisins and set them aside In the same cooker, add the soaked rice, dals, 1 cup milk and 5 cups water and cook until 5 whistles, so that it is mushy Meanwhile dissolve jaggery in 1 cup of water and strain to rem...