Mor Kulambu

Mor Kuzhmabu , popular south-Indian yogurt coconut gravy for rice. There are 'n' number of ways of making mor kuzhambu using variety of veggies and slight variation of ground paste. Here is one simple and easy version.I know most of us have our own version of more kuzhambu, and here is mine which I learnt from my MIL, it’s quick and tasty with rice. My son just loves this kuzhambu. This can be made almost instantly so it comes handy. To make sour curd,keep the curd out for whole day and move it to fridge during night,So the sour curd can be ready to cook in the morning...If u had  left over curds,u can also use them to make this version of kulambu.

Mor (buttermilk) kuzhambu (curry)  is an authentic south Indian dish made with buttermilk, coconut and seasoned with mild spices. Every family has a different take on this dish and in a lot of Tamil families its prepared on festival days. Even within my family, my grand mom, my mom and my aunt add their own spin to this dish.This can be made either with Ash gourd (White pumpkin) or Ladies finger. It is a traditional buttermilk curry of south India. Varitions of the spices used in this curry differ from each and everyone’s taste. You can add any veggie in this curry like okra,drumstick.  I love this with ash gourd Here I have prepared Mor kuzhambu using ash gourd.

Prep Time: 20 mins            Cook Time: 15 mins         Serves :4

Ingredients	Quantity
White pumpkin(chopped)	1 cup
Curd	1 cup
Turmeric powder	2 tbsp.
Salt	To taste
Coriander leaves	1 cup

Soaking

Toor dal	2 tbsp.
Raw rice	2 tbsp.

To grind

Coconut	1 cup
Ginger	1”piece
Green chillies	2

To temper

Coconut oil	1 tbsp.
Mustard seeds	½ tsp.
Jeera seeds	½ tsp.
Red chillies	2
Hing	Pinch
Curry leaves	handful

Method

1. Chop the ash gourd pieces into pieces.Mix turmeric in the curd and keep aside.Whip the curd or beat it properly.Obviously seasonings on the other hand keep it ready.Soak all the ingredients listed under 'To soak and grind' for 20 mins. Chop green chillies, ginger and coconut pieces.

2.  In a pan add ash gourd, turmeric and salt. Sauté for 5 minutes and add some water. Close the lid till the pumpkin is cooked. After sometime turn off the gas. 

3. Now in a blender, add green chillies, ginger and coconut. Turn on for a minute. Along with this, add the soaked ingredients and give another turn.  

4. The paste has to be in a semi liquid state. Add the ground paste to the ash gourd and beaten yogurt. Cook in simmer flame, bring it to a boil. Do not allow it to boil too much because it will form a curdling state.Add some coriander leaves and give a quick stir. 

5.Heat oil in the pan, add the seasonings. The curry should be semi-thick and not too watery in the final stage. Delicious, mouthwatering mor kuzhambu is ready to serve.Best when served with potato roast. Mor Milagai Goes well with Mor Kulambu..It tastes awesome

Notes

• Do not let the curry boil once you’ve added the yogurt. If buttermilk is too sour, add one more green chillI.
• Adding salt finally in the dish helps to avoid it to be too watery.  Mor Kuzhambu can also be prepared without adding any vegetable
• The pale yellow color comes only after the curry boils so don’t add more turmeric powder than the mentioned quantity. Also adjust red chillies according to your spice level.
• You can add any cooked vegetable of your choice: Chow chow, Sepankizhangu or even methu vadai

Linking this to the event "Eat Vegetables Stay Healthy" sponsored by Just Eat.

Jack Fruit Seed Payasam

Jackfruit is my all-time favorite fruit. I can eat a whole bowl of ripe jackfruit at any time. I saw jackfruit last weekend near our Indian grocery store. Immediately I bought it. Took out the seeds from it and tried this payasam.

The seeds would give you around 135 kcal/ 100 gms. It is a rich source of complex carbohydrate, dietary fiber, vitamins like vitamin A, C and certain B vitamins, and minerals like calcium, zinc, and phosphorous. their health benefits are wide-ranging from anti-cancer to antihypertensive, anti-ageing, antioxidant, anti-ulcer, etc. Jackfruit seed powder has the ability to relieve discomfort due to indigestion. Boiled Jackfruit seeds are a very tasty and nutritious snack. Boiled Jackfruit seeds can be used as an alternative to potatoes. Jackfruit seeds, which appeal to all tastes, may be boiled or roasted and eaten. Roasted, dried seeds are ground to make flour which is blended with wheat flour for baking.
Jackfruit seeds are the seeds or pods that are encased in the sweet, yellow pulp or flesh of the jackfruit. The jackfruit contains multiple pods that are encased in an oblong, slightly prickly, hard green-yellow-brown exterior. The fruit grows on trees, and the flesh of the fruit is shaped in bulbs, yellow colored and slightly banana-like in flavor. One portion of 100 g of edible fresh jackfruit seeds has approximately 98 calories.

 

Prep time:20 mins     Cook time:15 mins      Serves:4

Ingredients	Quantity
Jackfruit seeds	1 ½ cups
Jaggery	1 cup
Cashews(halved)	10
Almond(sliced)	Handful
Pistachios	Handful
Cardamom powder	1 tbsp
Milk	1 cup
Water	1 cup as needed

Method:

1. Boil the jackfruit seeds in the pressure cooker.After it gets cool down, peel the outer skin of the jackfruit seeds. Keep the milk ready by side. 

2. Reduce the amount of sugar because the fruits has sweetness by nature.In the pan, add jaggery with little water. Let it boil. After sometime, strain it and keep aside.

3. Grind the jackfruit seeds in the blender and transfer into a bowl. Heat the pan,add jaggery syrup and now slowly add the jackfruit seed paste into the jaggery syrup. Lastly pour milk and water into the pan and keep stirring to avoid the foaming. Now add half of the almonds and pistachios. Boil for 10 mins.

4. In the meantime, take a separate pan fry the cashews till it becomes golden in color. Garnish with cashews, remaining almonds and pistachios.

Notes
Peeling the outer skin of the jackfruit seed might take a long time. Be patience to do it.

Frying almond and pistachios in ghee is not necessary.

Raw Mango Rasam

Raw mangoes are used in Indian cooking such as pickles, pulihora. Here we are playing with raw mango.my friend called me and wanted me to try this rasam. I like to share it with you all. It is actually a tangy and tasty rasam. I like anything prepared with raw mango. Mango which otherwise called as “KING OF ALL FRUITS”, can be eaten either raw or cooked. It tastes awesome when the raw ones are eaten with garam spices

Prep time     : 15 mins               Cook time     : 10 mins                 Serves    : 4

Ingredients	Quantity
Raw mango	1 no
Toor dal(boiled)	1/4 cup
Tomato(chopped)	1 large
Green chillies	2
Rasam powder	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Water	1 glass
Coriander powder	1tbsp
Salt	To taste
Jaggery	Small piece
Cilantro	handful

Crushed items

Peppercorns	1 tsp
Garlic cloves	6

To temper

Oil	1 tbsp
Mustard seeds	1  tsp
Jeera seeds	1/2 tsp
Dry chillies	4 nos
Curry leaves	2 sprigs
Hing	Pinch

Recipe Video:

Method

1. Keep all the ingredients ready. Take garlic pods with skin along with peppercorns and crush them separately.

2. Pressure cook the toor dal in the one bowl, raw mango and tomato in another bowl. Leave 2 whistles. Once when it gets cooled down, remove the pulp from the mango and place aside. Mash the dal with ladle along with the water and tomato. Mix both the mango and toor dal together in a bowl. 

3. In a pan, add the seasonings followed by the rasam powder,haldi, jeera powder, coriander powder, salt, jaggery, green chillies.let it boil until raw smell is gone. Now pour the mango dal mixture in the pan and stir occasionally. Add some more water for its consistency. It will tend to become thick.

4. Try to avoid the tanginess by adjusting the water consistency.Serve with drumstick leaves egg thoran or with raw banana podimas..

Step wise pictures:

Linking this to the event "Eat Vegetables Stay Healthy" sponsored by Just Eat.

Soya Kheema Curry

This is another treat for veggie lovers. The result was so good and very tasty curry. I made this for chapathi,it was a full filling dinner...so aromatic, little spicy v liked it a lot...

Soya, a vegetarian food is a rich source of protein. The soya nuggets can be coarsely minced if preferred. I also add some kheema masala to this dish! Protein rich, delicious curry we made in Indian style, so need to spice it up a little, enjoy it. I wanted to try it out with spices and soya chunks meshing together. To enhance the flavor and taste buds, added lot of Coriander leaves in minced form to add the extra fresh aroma. While there are so many great options for healthy, yet tasty food. A healthier life would be so much fun & flavorful.

Prep time         : 15 mins|Cook time         : 20 mins      |Serves               : 4

Cuisine : North Indian

Ingredients	Quantity
soya chunks	1 cup
Peas	1/3 cup
Fennel seeds(sombu)	1 tbsp
Onion(chopped)	¼ cup
Ginger garlic paste	1 tbsp
Tomato(chopped)	¼ cup
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Coriander powder	2 tsp
Garam masala powder	½ tsp
Salt	To taste
Oil	For frying
Mustard seeds	¼ tsp
Green chillies	2 (slit lengthwise)
Curry leaves	2 sprigs
Coriander leaves	To garnish

RECIPE VIDEO:

Method

1. Soak soya chunks in very hot water for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the water, add fresh cold water, drain the water and squeeze well. Repeat the process once again to remove the smell from soya.

2. Put it in a mixie (use dry blade for grinding) and run at a low speed to made it like a kheema.Keep it separately in a bowl.

3. Oil the pan; add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, green chillies, curry leaves, ginger  garlic paste and keep stirring for a minute till the paste sticks to the pan.

4.Then add onions and tomatoes. Wait till the tomatoes gets mushy.Stir for sometimes and add some salt.Now its time to add the peas.Give a quick stir. Pour some water and close it with a lid. Check for salt.

5. The ground soya kheema is added now.Pour some oil in the Centre, add turmeric, coriander,garam masala powder, salt to it.Mix it in the oil and gradually bring the kheema to the centre and stir gently 

6. Transfer to the serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves. 7. This can be served as a dry curry to rice or chapatti.

STEP WISE PICTURES:

Notes

·         Squeeze lemon juice just before transferring to serving dish.(Optional)

·         Can add grated fresh coconut while grinding

·         Finely chopped mushroom or gobi can be added along with soya kheema while frying.

·         Stuffed in rotis, this makes for excellent roti rolls.

·       Also nugget granules lends a very chewy taste to the kheema. And for that purpose granules are better suited and also squeezing water is very critical.