Moru Curry (Kachiyathu) | Kerala Style Seasoned Buttermilk

The traditional moru curry is a simple curry that all households prepare every other day apart from sambar and rasam. I think moru curry is the only curry that's so easy to assemble if you have yogurt ready at hand, just like punjabi kadi.

Scrolling down the sadya dishes posted so far, I found that moru curry was missing from the list. The obvious reason was that it was so simple to make that all malayalis are aware of preparing, and this was one of my first learnt curries after marriage, he he. But there were times when the moru curry used to curdle initially when preparing because of the lack of experience and sometimes the store brought yogurt wasn't sour enough to give the moru curry- the RIGHT feel. So, this post is totally dedicated to the beginners and the bachelors during their initial days of cooking may want to refer this post to make a good moru curry too. 

Preparation time ~ 10 mins

Cooking time ~ 10 minutes

Serves ~ 4-5 

Author ~ Julie

Ingredients

yogurt / sour curd 1.5 cups

water 1 cup

turmeric powder / manjal podi  3/4 tsp

fenugreek powder/ uluva podi a good pinch

salt to taste

to temper

shallots 2-3 sliced

garlic chopped 1 tbsp

ginger chopped 1 tbsp

mustard seeds / kaduku 1/2 tsp

fenugreek seeds / uluva 1/ 4 tsp

dry red chilli 1

chilly powder 1/2 tsp

curry leaves a sprig

oil 1 tbsp

Method

• Blend the yogurt with half cup of water in a blender. Pulse for 2-3 times. Add the beaten buttermilk(pachamoru) to clay pot of thick bottomed pan. Add another half cup water to rinse the jar and lid, pour this to the buttermilk. Mix and put on flame on low heat. 
• Add in turmeric powder and stir continuously on low flame for 3-4 minutes. You may see the butter milk gets heated and vapours coming up, then switch off flame. Add in the pinch of uluva podi/ fenugreek powder. 
• Heat oil in another pan, splutter mustard seeds. Add in fenugreek seeds, wait till it's brown. Add dry red chilli, slide in chopped shallots, garlic and ginger along with curry leaves. Sauté until the shallots turn light brown. Switch off the flame and add the chilly powder (else the powder may burn), sauté for 30 secs and pour over the boiled butter milk. Mix well and serve with steamed rice.

NOTES

* Don't add more water than this ratio mentioned below, else the moru curry will be very watery and doesn't taste good. 

* Use a thick bottomed pan or clay pots for best results. 

* Continuous stirring of the butter milk is needed throughout the process. Add salt when the mix is slightly cold to prevent curdling.

* You can mix the chilly powder with a tbsp of water and mix well. Then pour this mix in the tempered mix, heat and pour over the moru curry. This way the chilli powder will not be burnt.

                                

RELATED POSTS

• Kapalanga Moru Curry
• Vendakka Khichadi
• Pineapple Pullisery
• Pacha Moru

FOR MORE SADYA RECIPES, CLICK HERE.