Traditional Valluvanad Moru Curry

Lunch: Rice, Mango Pickle in Brine, Moru Curry, Chena Payaru Upperi, Leftover Avial Curry

Moru Curry: Ash Gourd/Winter Melon cubes in a coconut yogurt cummin base.

Chena Payaru Upperi: Elephant Yams and Chinese Long Beans

Avial Curry: Mixed Vegetables in a Green Chilli, Coconut Yogurt base.

A traditonal combination with Moru Curry is this Chena Payaru Upperi, the other being the spicy Vazhuthinanga Upperi/ Spicy Eggplant. As always to complete the flavour combination,  Mulagu Manga or Mango Pickle in Brine.

The present greenish hued Moru curry was a surprise from the long green chillies. The flavours were traditional but the colours were a surprise! Had given a brief sketch in a previous post for Moru Kootan but not the precise measurements.

The Avial was made the traditional way but with a 'curry' consistency = neenda avial!...and available ingredients: Red and Yellow Bell Peppers, Green peas, Drumsticks, Butternut Squash, Carrots and Green Beans.

Moru Curry

Ingredients

2 Cups cubed skinned Winter Melon

2 green chillies [ option: one can use one finger hot chilli]

1/4 tsp Cummin seeds

1 Cup grated coconut

1 Cup sour buttermilk

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

I stem Curry leaves for garnish

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 dried red chilli

1/8 tsp crushed fenugreek seeds

1 tbsp Coconut Oil for tempering

Water

Method

Grind the coconut, 2 green chillies,  cummin seeds alongwith the sour buttermilk into a smooth paste,

Boil the cubed Winter Melon in just enough water, salt and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder until done: cooked and still holding its shape/not mushy.

Turn the heat down and add the ground coconut  paste,

At this stage add water or more buttermilk according to your prefered consistency and the desired level of consistency.

Bring to a genlte simmer and take it off the heat immediately.

Tempering

Heat  1 tbsp of coconut oil,

Temper mustard seeds, broken red chilli and the curry leaves,

Add the pinch of crushed fenugreek seeds,

Immediately pour over the cooked curry.

Chena Payaru Upperi: Elephant Yams and Chinese Long Beans

Ingredients

1 Cup Cubed Elephant Yams

2 Cups Inch long pieces of Chinese Long Beans

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

3/4  tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 stem curry leaves

Salt

Vegetable oil or Coconut Oil for lightly frying the yams

1 tbsp Coconut Oil for drizzling/garnish

Method

Heat about 1/2 cup of water  and cook the beans  uncovered adding turmeric powder and salt, until just about done,

At this point there should be little or just a couple of tbsps of water left. Keep aside.

Meanwhile heat the Vegetable oil  and  saute the onions until soft,

Add the cubed yams [ frozen variety used here]

Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder,  red chilli powder and salt to coat the pieces well.

Cook on medium high heat, stirring the pieces for about 4 minutes, 

Turn to medium low, cover and cook for another 4 minutes.

Add the beans and  the curry leaves,

Mix well and cook until done.

Drizzle with coconut oil and serve.

Winter Melon

Could not resist the play on words with the snow....

Winter Melon Curry/Olan

This traditional dish  incorporates winter melon, green chillies, coconut milk and a drizzle of coconut oil. Pumpkin alongwith Winter Melon is used to create this simple but very elegant dish.

Olan

Ingredients

1 cup -Winter Melon, cut in thin, fairly square slices!

1 cup- Pumpkin/Butternut Squash, cut  in thin fairly square slices,

1 or more hot green chillies, according to taste

1/4 cup thick coconut milk

Salt

1 tsp -Coconut Oil.

Method

Cook the winter melon and pumpkin in about a cup of water, cooked, not mushy and still retaining its shape.

Season with salt.

Add slit green chillies, simmer for a couple of minutes

Take off the stove/heat.

Add the coconut milk

Drizzle coconut oil and serve.

This dish can be re-invented as a very simple Summer Soup.Another combination uses Black-eyed Peas/ Cowpeas/ Vella Payar.  A final addition of thick coconut milk after the dish is taken off the heat and a drizzle of coconut oil completes the cooking process. 

Traditional Valluvanad-Moru Kootan

The Moru Kootan, is also known as Moru Curry, Moru Ozhicha Kootan, Moru Paarna Kootan  accross the culinary terrain in Kerala. 

The variation of this yogurt curry start with the basic sour beaten buttermilk and in its basic 'cooked' version starts with a Pulisseri. Buttermilk, cooked with turmeric and salt with a tempering of cummin, mustard, fenugreek, chillies, garlic, curry leaves and ayamodakam/ajwain.

Moru Kootan starts with additions ranging from the cumin seed, coriander, grated coconut, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, Fenugreek seeds .... and from a plain curry to one with ash gourd, okra, taro roots, cucumber and mangoes. The basic tempering  is : mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves with a pinch of asafoetida. Additional variations include finely chopped small red onions/shallots, finely chopped garlic, and cumin seeds.

This curry would contain vegetables, especially Ash Gourd and Pumpkin. Others with vegetables like Chinese Long beans/Indian Long beans, flat blean, drumsticks, drumstick leaves etc. will have specific names. Kachiya Moru, Pulisseri is the base, which involves heating sour buttermilk with turmeric and tempering it with spices. This is used both as a soothing soup, summertime drink and as a curry. The word, Kuzhambu is used in Tamil cuisine. The Northern varieties include the Kadhi,  with the addition of besan [chickpea flour] to thicken the curry and the one's like the Curry Burry that travelled the migrant route.

A traditional accompaniment to this curry would be a spicy dry vegetable dish- upperi [ thoran in other parts] like Brinjal, Okra, Taro root, Jackfruit seeds, Elephant Yams, several varieties of dried legumes cooked with chillies and spicy wild mushroom curry during thunderstorms. A fried curd-chilli [kondatta-mulagu] Urad dal pappadums and the traditional mango pickle-in-brine Mulagu Manga  round up a satisfying lunch or dinner during a hot summer day!

Dinner Tonight: Rice, Moru Kootan, Okra fry, Mulagu Manga, Fried Curd-Chillies!

The traditional  Valluvanad version uses:

Kumbalan/ Kumbalanga/Elavan/ Ash Gourd/Winter Melon

Turmeric powder

Salt

The Paste

Grated Coconut

Cumin Seeds

Green Chillies/ Red Chillies

Sour Buttermilk

Tempering

Mustard Seeds

Dried Red Chillies

Curry Leaves

Pinch of roasted fengreek powder

Method

Cube the Winter melon, Boil with turmeric powder and salt until cooked, not mushy.

Grind the coconut, cumin and green chillies/ red chillies into a fine paste. If you have one of the Indian 'mixie's', then nothing like it! Go ahead and grind it to the consistency you like

Moi ground the paste on a North-Indian pink sandstone grind-stone, added the buttermilk to the paste and gave it a turn in my Cuisinart blender. The American blenders do not grind the coconut well. Grating the coconut, instead of cutting the pieces and prior-grinding on the stone, made the gravy smooth.

Add this paste to the boiled winter melon  on a simmer and then let it come up to a genlte simmer. Immediately take off the heat.

Heat the oil, temper with mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and a pinch of fenugreek powder.

Winter Melon Soup

Clear Winter Melon Soup

Winter Melon, slit green chillies, crushed whole cloves of garlic and a seasoning of salt creates this simple elegant soup.