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    Home » Recipes » Kuzhambu varieties

    Mor Kuzhambu | Yoghurt coconut gravy

    Published: Nov 25, 2020 · by Nisha

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    A mild gravy made with churned buttermilk and coconut and subtly seasoned with ground cumin, ginger and green chillies. While the Tamils call this as Mor Kuzhambu, Keralites say puliseri, telugites call this majjiga pulusu and for Kannadigas, it is majjige huli. Ingredients and method of preparation for all of the above are almost alike with only slight variations.

    Vendakkai Mor Kuzhambu displayed on a rustic setting with rice
    Vendakkai Mor Kuzhambu

    It is quite common to make dishes with Curd/yoghurt/buttermilk throughout India. The traditional South Indian Mor Kuzhambu is an equivalent of the famous Indian ’Kadhi’ prepared in the remainder of the Indian states. While both are yoghurt based, the main difference is the thickener used in the gravy. The former is made of gram flour while the latter is made of coconut. As south India is close to the tropics, coconut is is extensively used in the cooking.

    Another favourite of the Southerners is avial which has similar ingredients like mor Kuzhambu but is thicker in consistency and has a lot of veggies in it. It is mostly used as a side dish like poriyal, whereas mor Kuzhambu is mixed with rice and had as a main dish. Other dishes that have the same coconut and curd combination are mor kootu and mor sambhar.

    The origin of mor kuzhambu remains unknown but one can safely assume that this might have happened out of necessity. For all intent and purposes, it is one of the best ways to use up the not-so-fresh surplus curd before it completely goes stale.

    Different varieties of mor Kuzhambu

    While most of the recipes are similar, the ground ingredients slightly differ in the ones made in Thirunelveli and Thanjavur regions. Thirunelveli mor Kuzhambu is white in colour and it has only coconut, cumin and chillies whereas the mor Kuzhambu from the thanjavur region has a beautiful golden hue and additional ingredients added to the ground mixture.

    Any kuzhambu variety will have some chunks of vegetables in it. We call it is as 'thaan'. Any vegetable used in kuzhambu varieties are known as Thaan in some Tamil homes.

    For morkuzhambu, vegetables like Okra, Ash gourd, green Pumpkin, Brinjal/ Aubergine, Colocasia ( sepankizhangu) are used in the preparation. One can also use dried berries like Manathakali (black night shade), Sundakkai vathal (turkey berry) etc as thaan.

    Other Kuzhambu Varieties
    Print
    Mor Kuzhambu
    Prep Time
    10 mins
    Cook Time
    10 mins
    Soaking time
    15 mins
    Total Time
    20 mins
     

    Mor kuzhambu is a traditional South Indian yoghurt-coconut based curry. Simple, light and refreshing curry that is served with steaming white rice.

    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Indian, Tamil Nadu
    Servings: 3 persons
    Ingredients
    • 2 cups thick buttermilk, slightly sour
    • Vegetables (radish, okra, ash gourd, pumpkin, colocasia) refer instructions section on how to use it
    • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
    • Salt for taste
    Soak and grind
    • ½ cup grated coconut
    • 2 green chillies
    • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 1 teaspoon raw rice refer notes
    • 1 tablespoon toor dal (split yellow peas)
    • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
    • 1 tablespoon minced ginger (adjust more or less as per your taste preference)
    To Temper
    • 1 tablespoon coconut oil refer notes
    • 4 to 5 curry leaves
    • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
    • 1 teaspoon split urad dal ( split and husked black gram)
    • ½ teaspoon asafoetida
    Instructions
    Coconut paste
    1. Soak all the ingredients (except grated coconut) mentioned under "To grind" in water for about 10 minutes. Drain the water and grind it to a smooth paste along with coconut. Add very little water to grind. It should be a thick paste. 

    Vegetables
    1. If you are using radish, ash gourd or pumpkin or potatoes (½ cup for the above mentioned recipe) : Peel and chop them in bite sized chunks. Cook them in boiling water for about 10 minutes or until they are tender. Add salt while cooking. Drain any excess water and keep them aside. Add this while cooking the kuzhambu.

    2. For colocasia (about 10 small sized ones or 6-7 medium sized): You can either pressure cook for 2 whistles (indian pressure cooker) or about 10 minutes on high. If not, boil them on stove top until they become tender. Add salt while cooking and also half them if they are bigger. Drain any excess water and keep them aside. Add this while cooking the kuzhambu.

    3. For Okra (½ cup finely chopped ): Heat 4 teaspoons oil in a small skillet, fry the okra until they become crispy. Add little salt at the end of frying. Mix okra only at the end after making the kuzhambu along with the tempering. 

    For making the kuzhambu
    1. In a saucepan add buttermilk, turmeric powder, cooked veggies and ground paste. Simmer this until it starts foaming on the top. Immediately remove it from the heat. Do not cook this on high flame. Yogurt will curdle.  (refer notes) Do not add salt to the kuzhambu now. 

    Tempering
    1. In a pan heat coconut oil over medium heat and once it is hot, add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add the curry leaves, urad dahl and once it starts browning turn off the heat and add turmeric powder and asafoetida.
    2. Pour this over the kuzhambu. Mix well.  

      Serve it warm (not hot) and add salt just before serving. (4)

    Recipe Notes
    1. Addition of raw rice is to thicken the consistency. You can also use rice flour instead of raw rice. 
    2. As this is a coconut based gravy, coconut oil enhances the flavour really well. But you can also use any neutral normal cooking oil.
    3. If you add salt while making kuzhambu, it will separate the water content from the yogurt and  it makes the gravy thin and runny.  Salt as the tendency to draw out water from substances.

    View other "South Indian Kuzhambu varieties" recipes

    • Paavakai Pitla displayed with a hand model pouring on a plate with white steamed rice.
      Pavakkai Pitlai
    • Mor Sambar { Buttermilk Sambar}- Sambar without tamarind
    • Arachuvitta sambar displayed on a white shallow bowl with broad beans curry and a bowl of rice with buttermilk.
      Arachuvitta Sambar | South Indian Sambar
    • thengai aracha kuzhambu displayed on a small indian kadai with small indian jars and a bowl of rice.
      thengai aracha kuzhambu recipe (coconut based kuzhambu)

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Preeti Garg says

      July 24, 2013 at 5:31 pm

      Such a tempting gravy with coconut and curd

      Reply
    2. Gayathri Kumar says

      July 24, 2013 at 4:21 am

      My all time fav kulambu looks extremely delicious...

      Reply
    3. Harini-Jaya R says

      July 23, 2013 at 5:59 pm

      love the cute serving bucket!

      Reply
    4. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      July 23, 2013 at 1:29 am

      Such a comforting dish! love your little serving bucket!

      Reply
    5. Priya Suresh says

      July 21, 2013 at 8:30 pm

      Such a comforting and fingerlicking mor kuzhambu,love it to the core.

      Reply
    6. Pavani N says

      July 20, 2013 at 12:36 pm

      I love this dish 🙂 So comforting and delicious..

      Reply
    7. Srivalli says

      July 19, 2013 at 12:07 pm

      The colour looks excellent!

      Reply
    8. vaishali sabnani says

      July 19, 2013 at 6:24 am

      It's an awesome curry...have book marked, love its texture.

      Reply
    9. Sapana Behl says

      July 19, 2013 at 4:47 am

      Looks so tempting curry!

      Reply

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    Nisha freelances as a food & product photographer/recipe developer & content creator in the F&B space.

    She loves everything about food and their stories! You can find her mostly in the kitchen trying to whip up something or reading culinary anecdotes.

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