Recipe for Mor Kozhambu - South Indian Yogurt-based Gravy
Ingredients:
- 2 cups sour yogurt
- Spice paste:
- 1 tsp yellow lentils/split chickpeas (chana daal in Hindi, kadalai paruppu in Tamil)
- 1 tsp split pigeon peas/red gram lentils/red gram daal (toor daal in Hindi, thuvaram paruppu in Tamil)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi in Hindi, vendhayam in Tamil)
- 1 tsp split black lentils/split black matpe beans (urad daal in Hindi, uluththam paruppu in Tamil)
- Pinch asafoetida
- 3-4 dried red chilies
- 3-4 Thai or Indian green chilies or serrano chilies
- 4 Tbsp coconut
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- Vegetables:
- 1/2 cup ash gourd or white melon, cut in to cubes ((alternately use chayote squash)
- 1/2 cup green beans, cut in to 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium potato, cut in to cubes
- 1/4 cup shelled green peas
- Pinch turmeric
- Tempering:
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Whisk the yogurt until smooth and set aside
- Wash and soak the yellow lentils and red gram lentils in water to cover for about an hour
- Heat oil in a small pan. When hot, add the fenugreek seeds and urad daal and cook on low heat until golden brown
- Grind together the soaked lentils, fenugreek seeds, urad daal, asafoetida, red chilies, green chilies, coconut and cumin seeds with a little water. Set aside
- Heat some water in a pot and add the vegetables, turmeric and a dash of salt. Cover and cook on low heat until the vegetables are soft but not mushy, ~10 - 15 mins
- Add the whisked yogurt and raise the heat to medium and let it froth a bit and switch off heat
- To make the oil tempering: Heat the vegetable oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds. Switch off heat when the seeds start popping and add the curry leaves
- Dump the tempering into the yogurt gravy, and adjust salt to taste
- Serve immediately with freshly cooked white rice and crisp appalams (also called pappadums)