Morkootan Recipe (Mor Kuzhambu): A Simple and Comforting Yogurt Curry

Mor kuzhambu with steamed rice – Tamil Nadu style yogurt curry

Morkootan Recipe (Mor Kuzhambu): A Simple Yogurt Curry

Yogurt curries are made all over India, and I’ve grown up eating different versions of them. In the north, they’re called kadhi. One of my favorite is the Punjabi kadhi—thick, tangy, and full of pakoras that soak up all that flavor.

Last year, my friend Puja introduced me to Sindhi kadhi. I was expecting something similar, but it was completely different. It was so new to me, but I loved it.

In the South, yogurt curries have so many different names: morkootan or morkuzhambu in Tamil Nadu, majjige huli in Karnataka, pulissery in Kerala, and majjiga pulusu in Andhra and Telangana. Kerala even has a bunch of yogurt-based dishes—pulissery, kalan, and avial. Each one has its own personality depending on the vegetables you use, how you cut them, and even how sour the yogurt is. For example, kalan needs really thick, very sour curd.

Most of these curries call for yogurt that is quite sour. Since I usually buy my yogurt from the store, I cheat a little. I keep a stash of gooseberries and green mangoes in my freezer, ready to go. Whenever I need that tang, I add a piece or two—sometimes cooked with the vegetables, sometimes ground into the coconut paste. It’s my little shortcut, and it works every time. Another cheat- I have frozen grated coconut in the freezer. I also have a bag of frozen mangoes in the freezer and use that. I had bought a bag of frozen mango pieces for a mango sorbet. They were not sweet and needed much more sugar/honey than I intended to use. I then started using them for pulissery and they turned out great. Now, I do not need to wait for mango season. (Please do not ask me how many freezers I have!) If you have access to fresh mangoes, please use that instead. Here is the recipe for Puliserry I had posted earlier.

I was introduced to an instagram post and website puliogare travels. It is by a chef who showcases different foods, he is also a singer. He also has heirloom recipe where he cooks with his mother, very endearing to see their relationship and their conversation while she cooks. They have a recipe Kalyan more kuzhambu and this recipe is similar. I had never used soaked tur dal for morkootan before and now do it sometimes.

For the morkootan, you can use okra, ash gourd, pumpkin, butternut squash, bottle gourd, chayote squash or mangoes. If you are using okra, you must first stir fry to remove the sliminess. If you want to know more about the science of the sliminess in okra, read this post. Here I have used ash gourd.

So here’s my take on morkootan with ash gourd—simple, and comforting. Serve with a bowl of steamed rice.

Ingredients You’ll Need

2 cups cubed white pumpkin
2 cups water
½ cup grated coconut (frozen grated coconut works- bring to room temperature)
2–3 green chilies (more if you would like it spicy)
1 tbsp tur dal- soaked in warm water for 30 mins (optional)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups sour yogurt- room temperature
2 pieces green mango or gooseberries (if yogurt is not sour) – optional
Salt, to taste

For tempering

1-2 tsp coconut/ vegetable oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1–2 dried red chilies
A few curry leaves

Step-by-Step Instructions

Cook pumpkin with salt, and 2 cups of water until soft.
Grind coconut, cumin seeds, tur dal, green chilies and turmeric powder to a smooth paste.
Add coconut mixture to the pumpkin and cook for 5-7 minutes on low flame.
Beat yogurt by hand or in a blender. (Use the same jar you used to grind the coconut)
Turn off the heat. Slowly add the yogurt, stirring continuously. Be careful here—if the curry is too hot, the yogurt may curdle.
In a small pan, heat oil, crackle mustard seeds, add fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and dried chilies. Pour over the curry.
Serve with steamed rice
Enjoy!