Kuzhambus- the gravies of South India.

Hi Mrs.Chithra,

Have a query and a request for you-no.1) Heard that methi seeds are good to control cholesterol; if one includes sprouted methi, will the effect be same or more?

2) My mom and paati does mor kuzhambu during srartham days without adding coconut. Can you post me that version?

Thanks and take yr time in replying..

Point: pls remember my request to post tips/variations in making curries which goes with rice.

Dear Ami,
I do not know the cholestrol angle of seeds & sprouts.
For morkuzambu without coconut,mix 1 1/2 tsp rice flour & salt with thick, churned, not very sour , thick buttermilk. If you like, you can grind little ginger & jeera ground, to this. Keep a vegetable like seppankizangu or vazaithandu cooked & ready. Heat the prepared buttermilk on the stove, add vegetables, curry leaves & just when it starts boiling, remove & temper with mustard seeds.
I am getting the recipe of a curry powder ready, after which I shall post the tips on vegetable curries. Some of my recipes are in ozs, palam etc - the conversion to cups is time consuming & I don't want to make a mistake!
Love & regards,
Chithra.

Thanks for the response, Mrs.Chithra abt mor kuzhambu.

And, friends, tried potato sambar, akkaravadisal & tiffin sambar, the second version. Every one was so different and tasty.

Thanks for sharing such a different & delicious recipes, Mrs.Chithra!!

Rgds.

Dear Ami,
Thanks for the feedback.
I hope you made a note that I have posted Tips on Curries, on your suggestion.
Love & regards,
Chithra.

This is a typical Kerala dish, particularly Palghat. This is very nutritious because it contains mainly vegetables & dhal & absolutely non-oily. This is not a spicy dish. So the side dishes for this are made hot & spicy.

There is no milaku or pepper in this dish, as the name suggests !

A great advantage with this dish is, you can have a big bowl of this with just 2 tbsp of rice! This goes well with chappathi also. In families where traditional cooking is followed, mulagootal is still a side dish for chappathi.

The outline of the preparation which is very simple is – cook dhal, boil vegetables, haldi & salt in just enough water– add dhal & coconut paste, ground as given below.

I will outline the main combinations, usually made.

Dhals:

Mainly tur dhal.

Sometimes, half tur dhal and half moong dhal.

Only moong dhal for keerai mulagootal (this is very tasty particularly).

Vegetables – various combinations.

Few pieces of drumstick can be added to all mulagootals except for keerai & banana stem.

Only white pumpkin – poosanikkai - ilavan (or + chenai ).

Only drumstick.

Only banana stem (or+ koorkai or potato).

Only chenai, (if it is very good & fresh).

Only keerai ( add minimum water & cook – mash well before adding cooked dhal).

Chow chow (or white pumpkin ) + carrots + potato + snake gourd + a small piece of raw banana ( some don’t use this) + chenai + peas or a combination of a few from these.
24th mulakootal.jpg
Cabbage ( only or with potato + drumstick ).

Yellow pumpkin.

Cauliflower with or without peas & or potatoes.

Vegetables not used are – ladies’ finger, cheppankizangu, brinjal, bittergourd & ofcourse, onions & tomatoes!

Ground paste:

In ½ tsp oil, roast red chillies, udad dhal, then switch off the stove & add little jeera. Grind this with 2-3 tbsp of coconut.

Plain red chillies + jeera + coconut.

If you want to avoid coconuts, add freshly grated carrot as a substitute.

Some prefer to add little sambar powder (just ½ tsp), while boiling vegetables &

grind just jeera & coconut.

For white pumpkin (if you are using only that ), grind little rice along with any of the above methods.

For keerai mulagootal, best combination is moong dhal + first grinding combination.

All the other combinations are interchangeable.

The consistency should not be very thick or thin, but medium .

At the end curry leaves are added.

In ½ tsp coconut oil, temper mustard sees & udad dhal.

keerai mulakootal.jpg

Dear Chithra Madam,

Recently I found out that Broccoli is a very suitable vegetable for mulagootal,tried at home and it tastes too good...

Cheers

Dear Sunitha,


I was wondering what to cook with broccoli. I will try to make mulagotal with it now that you have mentioned. I just wanted to know whether you make only with broccoli or with some other veggies along with it.

Do you know any other receipes with broccoli?

Regards
jaya

Sorry Jaya,I have tried only mulagootal with Broccoli.Did try a dry curry with it but even though I liked the taste,my husband did not like it. For the dry curry ,I pressure cooked channa dhal(1/2 cup) till it is grainy(you don't need to mash it).

I seasoned mustard seeds,red chillies,added Broccoli to it,turmeric powder,salt and chilli powder and allowed the Broccoli to cook.Towards the end,I added the channa dhal and mixed it with the broccoli and cooked for another 5-10 minutes.I found this okay.You could try that too..

And yes,I added only broccoli to the mulagootal,no other veggies...

Cheers

Thanks Sunitha for the instant reply. Will try it out this weekend and give u result

Regards
Jaya