Last summer when my in laws were with us and we were planning the menu for a Sunday lunch, my mother in law suggested making mor kozhambu with mangoes in it. Mor kozhambu is a buttermilk based dish, somewhat like a south Indian kadhi, that is served over a bed of steamed rice with a curry on the side. When my mother in law first suggested mor kozhambu with mangoes, I was a tad bit skeptical about it. The ideas of using sweet ripe mangoes in a savory curry like dish seemed quite incredible to me. Plus I had never tasted this combination and did not know quite what to expect from it.
Anyway she made this kozhambu and I was just blown away by its taste. It was just awesome. It was not a clash of flavors as I feared, instead the sweetness of mangoes is very subtle in this dish, yet it adds a very intriguing flavor to the kozhambu. I liked it so much, I could have happily had just the kozhambu and skipped the rice and poriyal that we made to go with it, it was that good:) And it wasn't just me, everybody loved the kozhambu very much. Since mangoes are back in season, I couldn't wait to make this again...........and again. If this combination intrigues you too, go ahead and give this a try and tell me what you think of it :)
If you are looking for yogurt or buttermilk based curries/recipes, check out ~
Thakkali mor kozhambu ~ Tomato Buttermilk curry
Vendakkai Mor kozhambu ~Okra buttermilk curry
Punjabi kadhi ~ Kadhi pakora
Gujarati Kadhi
Mushroom in yogurt gravy curry
Click here for a printable view of this recipe
Ingredients and Method to make Mambazha Mor Kozhambu
1 ripe mango (aam/mambazham) peeled, de-seeded and cut into small pieces = 1 and 1/2 cup of pieces
1 and 1/2 cups plain yogurt (curds/ dahi/ thayir)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)
Grind together
1/2 tsp raw rice soaked in water for 15 minutes (chawal/ arisi)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste) (hari mirch/ pachai molagai)
1/2 cup grated coconut (nariyal/ thengai)
Seasoning
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai/ sarson/ kadagu)
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana/ mendiyam)
1 sprig of curry leaves (kadi patha/ karvapillai) (about 18 to 20 small leaves or 8 to 10 large leaves broken into small pieces)
Soak raw rice in water for about 15 minutes.
In a small bowl add yogurt + 1 and 1/2 cups of water and whisk until smooth. Keep this aside.
Peel and cut the mango into small pieced. Place it in a heavy bottomed pan. Add turmeric powder and about 1/4 tsp salt to the mangoes, some water and allow it to cook until soft. Do not add more salt at this point, when the buttermilk is added and heated, it can split, so at this point just a wee bit of salt is all that is needed.
Drain the soaked rice and grind to a smooth paste along with cumin seeds, green chilies and coconut adding water as needed.
When the mangoes are cooked and soft, add ground paste to it and mix well. Add whisked buttermilk and mix well. Heat through until it just begins to froth. Remove from heat.
In a small pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, when the seeds begin to splutter, add fenugreek seeds/methi and stir until it begins to brown. When it does, add curry leaves stir quickly and pour entire seasoning on the mango buttermilk mixture. When adding curry leaves sometimes it can splatter oil, so do keep away and keep a splatter screen handy. Alternatively use a deep pan for the seasoning.
Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then add salt to taste. Mix well and serve with hot steaming rice and a curry on the side. This time I served it with this asparagus mung poriyal.
If you are looking for south Indian recipes, here are a few moreAnyway she made this kozhambu and I was just blown away by its taste. It was just awesome. It was not a clash of flavors as I feared, instead the sweetness of mangoes is very subtle in this dish, yet it adds a very intriguing flavor to the kozhambu. I liked it so much, I could have happily had just the kozhambu and skipped the rice and poriyal that we made to go with it, it was that good:) And it wasn't just me, everybody loved the kozhambu very much. Since mangoes are back in season, I couldn't wait to make this again...........and again. If this combination intrigues you too, go ahead and give this a try and tell me what you think of it :)
If you are looking for yogurt or buttermilk based curries/recipes, check out ~
Thakkali mor kozhambu ~ Tomato Buttermilk curry
Vendakkai Mor kozhambu ~Okra buttermilk curry
Punjabi kadhi ~ Kadhi pakora
Gujarati Kadhi
Mushroom in yogurt gravy curry
Click here for a printable view of this recipe
Ingredients and Method to make Mambazha Mor Kozhambu
1 ripe mango (aam/mambazham) peeled, de-seeded and cut into small pieces = 1 and 1/2 cup of pieces
1 and 1/2 cups plain yogurt (curds/ dahi/ thayir)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)
Grind together
1/2 tsp raw rice soaked in water for 15 minutes (chawal/ arisi)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste) (hari mirch/ pachai molagai)
1/2 cup grated coconut (nariyal/ thengai)
Seasoning
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai/ sarson/ kadagu)
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana/ mendiyam)
1 sprig of curry leaves (kadi patha/ karvapillai) (about 18 to 20 small leaves or 8 to 10 large leaves broken into small pieces)
Soak raw rice in water for about 15 minutes.
In a small bowl add yogurt + 1 and 1/2 cups of water and whisk until smooth. Keep this aside.
Peel and cut the mango into small pieced. Place it in a heavy bottomed pan. Add turmeric powder and about 1/4 tsp salt to the mangoes, some water and allow it to cook until soft. Do not add more salt at this point, when the buttermilk is added and heated, it can split, so at this point just a wee bit of salt is all that is needed.
Drain the soaked rice and grind to a smooth paste along with cumin seeds, green chilies and coconut adding water as needed.
When the mangoes are cooked and soft, add ground paste to it and mix well. Add whisked buttermilk and mix well. Heat through until it just begins to froth. Remove from heat.
In a small pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, when the seeds begin to splutter, add fenugreek seeds/methi and stir until it begins to brown. When it does, add curry leaves stir quickly and pour entire seasoning on the mango buttermilk mixture. When adding curry leaves sometimes it can splatter oil, so do keep away and keep a splatter screen handy. Alternatively use a deep pan for the seasoning.
Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then add salt to taste. Mix well and serve with hot steaming rice and a curry on the side. This time I served it with this asparagus mung poriyal.
 Tomato Coconut Curry ~ Thakkali kozhambu |
 Instant Tiffin Sambar ~ No dhal or tamarind sambar |
 Potato Masala Curry ~ Aloo ki sabzi ~ Potato gravy curry |
