Kaichiya Moru

Kaaichiya moru or Moru kaaichiyathu is a simple recipe from Kerala just like Neer mor made in Tamilnadu. Just like the people of Tamil nadu the Keralites also end thier meal with rice and curd or buttermilk. This is a flavourful and aromatic dish. 

Here's the recipe for Kaaichiya Moru or Moru Kaaichiyathu, a traditional Kerala dish:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Curd (Thick and Creamy)
• 2 cups Water
• 6 Shallots (Sambar Onion)
• 1 inch Ginger
• 1 Green Chilli
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 1 pinch Turmeric Powder
• 1 tbsp Hing (Asafoetida)
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1/2 cup Curry Leaves
• 1/2 cup Coriander Leaves
• 2 Red Chillies
• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil

Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the curd until smooth. Slowly add water while whisking until it reaches a semi-thick consistency. Set aside.

2. Heat coconut oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Then, add the red chillies, hing, and chopped curry leaves.

3. Next, add finely chopped shallots, green chilli, and ginger to the pan. Stir well.

4. Sprinkle turmeric powder and continue to sauté until the shallots turn translucent.

5. Pour the beaten curd mixture into the pan and stir continuously over medium heat until it becomes warm and starts bubbling. Be careful not to let it boil, as the curd may curdle.

6. Once warmed through, turn off the heat. Add salt to taste and mix well.

7. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and cover the pan.

8. Serve the Kaaichiya Moru as a side dish with rice or enjoy it as a refreshing summer cooler.

This dish is not only delicious but also provides a cooling effect, perfect for hot summer days.

How to make low fat curd at home.

 Indian house hold both North Indians and South Indians consume curd a lot. The regular curd have lot of fat content in it so it is better to consume low fat curds. Low fat curd is easy to make at home just like how the regular curd is made. Low fat curd is made using the low fat or slim  milk. This curd is good for diabetics, heart diseases, weight loss, indigestion and also acidity. The healthy bacteria in it helps in easy digestion. Those who have tasted the regular milk might not like the low fat curds initially but once they start consuming it regularly they will get used to it. 

To make the low fat curd one need low fat or skimmed milk. After boiling it let it cool and add just 1 spoon of curd to it and mix it well. The milk should be luke warm and it should be left to set atleast for 8 hours. It is always better to make curd in the night and let it settle over night so the next day morning one can consume fresh and unsour curd. It is better to refrigerate to avoid getting sour. Can keep it outside just 30 mins before serving. 

Morkozhambu

A buttermilk or curd based curry of South India which  is a dish that is served with rice and a few people relish it for dishes like Chappati or Adai too. It is infact a comfort food. The dish is tangy and spicy and is also a bit sour in taste based on the buttermilk used. The taste of the morkozhambu differs with the different veggies or ingredients added to it. 

It is always better to add the buttermilk or curd at the end and just boil it for a min or two and switch the stove lest the dish could curdle. The entire dish needs to be cooked in slow flame so that it doesnot settle at the bottom of the pan. 

Vendaikkai (Lady's finger) morkozhambu

Poosanikkai morkozhambu

Cheppankizhangu mor kozhambu

Chow Chow morkozhambu

Brinjal morkozhambu

Potato morkozhambu

Parupurundai morkozhambu

Sundaikai vathal morkozhambu

Tomato morkozhambu

Vedikka vitta morkozhambu

Semiya Bagalabath - Vermicili Curd Rice

Party Menu recipe posted by Uma Sridharan

Ingredients:

Semiya      (Vermicelli)          1 cup

Curd                                     1 cup

Carrot                                   1 grated

Raisins                                  2 tbsp

Cucumber                             1/2 chopped                                   

Mustard seeds                      1 tsp

Cashew nuts                         2 tbsp chopped

Green chillies                        2 chopped

Curry leaves

Coriander leaves                    1 handful chopped

Ghee                                       2 tbsp

Salt

Method 

Heat oil in a tava and fry the Semiya in a low flame until it turns colour.

Boil  4 cups of water

Add the Semiya in the boiling water.

Let  it  boil till it becomes soft.

Drain the water.

 Heat ghee in a small pan and add the mustard seeds, green chilles and curry leaves. Then fry the cashews.

Now mix the vermicelli with curd, salt, chopped vegetables, raisins and all the seasonings.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Tomato Thayir Pachadi

Ingredients:
Tomato - 2 nos
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Green Chillies - 1 no.
Coriander leaves - a few
Curd - 1 cup
Salt to taste

Method:
Grind coconut, tomato, green chilly, coriander leaves to a fine paste.

Beat the curd a little along with salt. Add the ground paste to it and mix well. Makes a great side dish for Chappatis, Pulavs and even Rasam rice.

Can be made very easily on festival days.

Thayir Aval|Poha in Curd

Ingredients:
Poha - 1 cup
Unsour Curd - 2 cups
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Asafodeita - 1 pinch
Green Chilly - 1 no
Curry leaves - a few
Coriander leaves - a few

Method:
Wash and soak poha in water for about 1/2 an hour. Drain the excess water if any. Heat a seasoning laddle and heat oil, when hot add mustard seeds. Add the urad dal after the mustard seeds splutter. Slit green chilly and add it to the seasoning laddle. Saute for 1/2 a min and add it to the poha. Add curry leaves and coriander leaves and mix well with a fork or spoon. Add salt and toss it well. Just before neivedhyam (for Krishna Jayanthi) or serving, add the curd and mix well.

Watermelon Cucumber Smoothie

Ingredients:
Watermelon pieces - 1 cup
Cantaloupe pieces - 1 cup
Chopped cucumber - 1/2 cup
Yogurt - 1 cup
Ice cubes - 2 pieces
Fresh Lime

Method:
Combine all the ingredients except fresh lime juice in a blender till it is very smooth. Pour it in tall glasses and add fresh lime juice.

Shallot Cucumber Lassi

Ingredients:
Cucumber - 1 small
Curd - 2 cups
Shallots - 3 to 4 nos
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves - a few
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Method:
Peel the skin of onion. Grate cucumber. Grind half of the cucumber along with onion. salt, curry leaves and coriander leaves to a fine paste. Add curd to it and beat it well. Add 2 cups of water to it and beat it again. Drain and serve chilled.

Garlic Buttermilk

Its a Arabian Delight. With the flavour and taste of garlic a bit more high than ever, this is good for health and during summer season.

Ingredients:
Curd - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 1 or 2 pods depending upon the size
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Chilled water - 2 1/2 cups
Mint Leaves - a few

Method:
Grind Jeera, Garlic and salt to a fine paste. Add curd and beat it again slowly in a blender. Add chilled water to it and beat it again. Drain and serve chilled.

To serve:
Serve the chilled buttermilk with a few chopped mint leaves on top.

Tomato cucumber Juice

Ingredients:
Ripe Tomato - 2 nos
Cucumber - 1 no
Celery - 1 small (optional)
Curd - 2 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 pinch
Salt - 2 pinches
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Mint leaves - 1/4 cup

Method:
Grind tomato, cucumber, celery stick, pepper powder, curd, sugar and salt. Add 1 cup of water to it and serve in tall glass. Decorate the glass with finely chopped Mint leaves. (Mint can be made into paste too and added on top).

Methi Porridge|Vendaya Kanji

Ingredients:
Methi seeds - 2 tbsp
Boiled rice - 4 tbsp
Salt  to taste
Butter milk - 1 cup

Method:
Soak methi seeds and boiled rice for about 6 hours or over night. Grind both together to a fine paste. Pressure cook it in 1 cup of water or cook over flame stirring constantly so that it doesnot settle in bottom. Remove from flame and let it cool; add salt and butter milk.

How to make unsour curd at home?

Due to lack of time and due to lack of practise many tend to buy curd at stores. At home kids too love to take thick curd that comes out of the cup and have infact named it Thachi in a cup. Here is how to make it at home

Ingredients:
Milk - 1 ltr
Curd - 1 tbsp

Method:
Boil milk and bring it to a boil and when the thick layer of fat forms on top reduce the flame and let it boil for few more minutes. Remove from flame and let it cool and bring it to room temperature. Add the curd and cover it.

Being a tropical country the curd gets set in 5 to 6 hours max. So it can be prepared in the previous night and refrigerated immediatly in the morning to avoid sourness.

To make thachi (curd) in a cup:
Pour the milk in cups of the desired shape and size and add a few drops of curd to it. This will make curd in a cup which can be had by the kids directly.

Apple Mango Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:
Mango - 1 no
Apple - 2 nos
Honey - 1 tsp
Unsour thick Curd - 3 cups

Method:
Deskin the mango and apple and dice them into small cubes. Blend both the fruits together in a blender to a fine paste. Add in the honey and curd and blend again till it becomes smooth and uniform blend.

Serve chilled.

Curd Rice - A must in every South Indian meal

 Many might think that making curd rice is very easy. But if not done correctly, even the curd rice could turn out bad. The rice that is cooked for the curd rice should be soft and should be mashed thoroughly. The curd used for curd rice should be unsour. 

Many variations can also be added to the plain curd rice to make it more attractive.

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups

Fresh unsour curd - 1 cup

Milk - 2 cups

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Asafodeita - a pinch

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Green Chillies - 2 nos

Curry Leaves - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Method:

Cook the rice with 6 cups of water and 1 cup of milk in pressure cooker. Atleast 5 whistles be allowed. When it is time to open, remove the rice and transfer it to a shallow bowl. Mash well with the back of a scoop laddle thoroughly. When warm add salt and the remaining 1 cup of milk and mix again. Add the curd and mix well. 

In a tadka laddle, add ghee and mustard seeds, when it splutters add the hing, green chillies. Chop the curry leaves to fine pieces and sprinkle on curd rice. Pour the tadka on top of the curry leaves. Mix well so all mixes thoroughly. Finely chop coriander leaves and decorate the curd leaves.

Neer More - Spiced Buttermilk

This is one recipe which I like very much. Though I keep making alterations (which I have given at the end of this post).

Ingredients:
Yogurt - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Salt - To taste
Green Chillies - 2 nos
Ginger piece - 1 inch piece
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
Hing - 1 pinch
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tbsp
Ice cubes - 2 to 4

Method:
Cut green chillies and ginger into small pieces. Beat the yogurt and add water, salt, curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger pieces, hing.

Temper it with mustard seeds.

You can add 1/4 cup grated cucumber or grated carrot or both to the butter milk.
Decorate the glass with mint leaves before serving.

Recipe for Mambazha Morekuzhambu - A kerala special

Its Mango Season and soon ripe mangoes will start coming in and this is one recipe I tasted last year in one of my friends house, I have made a few changes according to my taste.

Ingredients:
Ripe Mango - 1
Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
Grated coconut- 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Green chillies- 4 to 6
Coconut oil- 2 tbsp (which gives more of Kerala taste)
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves a bunch
Curd Unsour - 1 Cup
Curd Sour - 1 Cup
Water- 4 cups
Salt to taste
Dhaniya - 1/4 cup
Gram Dhall - 4 tbsp
Asafodeita Powder - 2 pinches

Method:
Cut the mango pieces and cook in water along with turmeric powder, green chilly (slit in the middle vertically) and salt. Soak Dhaniya, GramDhall, Cumin Seeds in water for 30 mins. Grind it (dont drain the water, that water can be used while grinding) along with coconut and remaining chillies. The paste should be very fine one. Add the paste to the cooked mango and when it boils, simmer and add the curds and let it boil again, when it frosts, remove from fire.

In a pan, add the coconut oil add mustard seeds and when the seeds splutter add fenu greek, asafodeita powder and curry leaves. Add it to the cooked mixture.

Recipe for Special Buttermilk

I have started having this buttermilk as the summer have started. It is a great drink for this time. I have started avoiding tea and coffee in the day. It is very refreshing too.

Ingredients:
To powder:
Cumin - 1/4 cup
Methi Seeds - 2 tbspns

Method:
Fry Methi seeds and Cumin in a dry pan and this can be stored in a dry container.

Cut curry leaves, coriander leaves, one inch of ginger piece and mix with salt and keep it for 15 mins. In a glass, add 2 ladels of thick curd and add 3 cups of water and churn well (this will give 2 glasses of buttermilk). To this add one spoon of the powder, and one spoon of the cut leaves and ginger. If you like you can add half of small green chilly.

Let everything set for around 30 mins. If needed it can be refrigerated for 15 mins before drinking. But I prefer not to refrigerate it.

Mango Lassi

Ingredients:
Thick unsour curd - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 spoon
Mango puree - 1/2 cup
Mango Ice cream - 1 scoop
Salt - 1/2 spoon
Ice cubes - 2
Water - 1/4 cup

Method:
Blend all the ingredients in a blender. Serve chilled in tall glass. Decorate the tip of the glass with a slice of mango and Mango Wafers.

Healthy drinks for exam goers - Mid day special buttermilk

Ingredients:
Unsour curd - 1/2 cup
Mango Ginger - 1 inch piece
White pepper powder - 1/4 tspn
Oregano (Karpooravalli) - 2 leaves
Thulasi leaves - 2
Coriander leaves - a handful
Salt to taste

Method:
Finely chop oregano, thulasi and coriander leaves. Cut mango ginger also into small pieces and crush them. Beat the curd after adding salt and 1/4 cup of water. Mix all the ingredients and serve.

This is a great drink for summer as well as for students. A max of 3 glasses can be had on a day. Oregano have the capacity to remove cold. This helps in appetite increase also.

For variations, one can add grated carrot, grated cucumber also. Season it with mustard and a small piece of green chilly.

Lassi

Though I am not a great fan of Lassi, I am giving you recipe of Lassi, you might wish to try it.

Ingredients:

Plain Yogurt - 2 Cups

Chilled water - 4 Cups

Ice cubes - 10 to 12

Honey - 4 Tbsp

Vannila Essence 1/2 tsp

Pepper Powder - A Pinch

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together yogurt, water and honey. Pour yogurt mixture into a blender. Add ice cubes, vanilla essence and pepper. Blend until thick. Pour into tall glasses and serve chilled.

You can use other essence also instead of Vanilla.