Buttermilk Stew / Mor Kuzhambu

Necessity is the mother of invention and whoever said this definitely knew a thing or two about cooking. Necessity is the mother of my cooking skills too.

Don’t you dare ask my college pals of my cooking. They will have million stories to say about it (trust me, none of them are good.You may need a day off to laugh about it.) and some even have videos to support what they say. But now after marriage, to everyone’s surprise; to my surprise –

“I cook. I cook every day… well almost! People who have eaten in my kitchen have survived to this date. And some kind souls have even complimented it."

Passionate chefs may go for authentic recipes, complex procedures and on-the-chart ingredients.

But too many ingredients scares me!
Intricate steps in a procedure intimidates me!

I go for cheat recipes, simpler procedure with ingredients that are readily available with me but making sure it by no means reduces the flavor or quality of the dish. I hope such recipes help people like me with their Indian cooking experiments.

One such cheat recipe is - Quick Mor Kuzhambu/Buttermilk Stew

Ingredients:

Buttermilk - 2 cups

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Salt - as needed

Ladies-finger - 5 to 6

To Grind:

Toor Dhal - 2 tsp

Urad Dhal - 2 tsp

Coriander seeds/ Dhanya - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds- 2 tsp

Green Chilli - 6 -7

Coconut - 5 tsp

Preparation:

1. Grind the ingredients mentioned in 'To Grind' to a smooth paste using little water.
2. Add little water to buttermilk and whisk to make it 'not-too-thick/not-too-thin' consistency.

3. Add the ground paste to buttermilk along with salt,turmeric powder and mix well forming no lumps.

Method:

1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and once hot, add mustard seeds.

2. When the mustard seeds splutter, add asafoetida and the cut ladiesfinger.

3. Saute the ladiesfinger until cooked.

4. Add the buttermilk paste and heat it for no longer than 2 minutes.

5. Serve with steamed white rice and enjoy the flavorful mor kuzhambu.

Tips:

1.You can substitute ladies-fingers with vegetables like white pumpkin or chowchow/chayote squash.But make sure you pressure cook the pumpkin and chayote before adding in step 2.

2. DO NOT let the buttermilk boil or heat for a long time. The buttermilk may begin to curdle.Heat it just enough to make it warm.