Mor Koottan
If you look at it, most of the Kerala curries are less spicy, mild and healthy with very less oil. Of course fresh coconut is vividly used in most of the dishes. Almost every region in India have their version of curd based gravies or kadhi as it is commonly called. In kerala it is known by the name Mor koottan (Mor means buttermilk and koottaan means curry). Tamilians call it Mor kuzhambu. You can make this mildly spiced curd based curry woth various vegetables like ash gourd, bottle gourd, tomato, raw plantain, yam, colocassia, ladies finger etc. It involves cooking of these vegetables with little salt and turmeric and then a ground mixture of fresh coconut, green chillies and buttermilk or curd is added to it. It is finally finished with a tempering of mustard seeds, red chillies, a pinch of fenugreek and curry leaves. People who like sweet and sour curries will enjoy this curry made with small ripe mangoes.
Ingredients:
- Ash gourd 200 gm
- Salt to taste
- Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
- Green chillies 2-3
- Fresh coconut scraped 3/4 cup
- Cumin seeds 1 tsp
- Curd 1 cup
- Sugar a pinch
- Curry leaves 2-3 sprigs
- Fenugreek seeds a pinch
- Mustard seeds 1 tsp
- Red dry chillies 1-2
- Oil 1 tsp
Method:
- Peel the skin of the white pumpkin and cut it into inch cubes.
- Cook the pumpkin pieces in one cup water along with salt and turmeric powder.
- Grind scraped coconut, cumin seeds, green chillies and few curry leaves into a very fine paste.
- Add this mixture to the cooked vegetable and mix well.
- Beat the curd till it is smooth and add to the boiling curry.
- Add a pinch of sugar and adjust salt according to taste.
- As soon as you see bubbles on top, switch off the gas.
- Heat oil in a small kadhai and add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the dry red chillies, fenugreek and curry leaves.
- Pour this in the curry and close the lid for sometime till all the flavours are absorbed by the curry.
- Serve with hot steamed rice along with pappadoms.
