Buttermilk Broccoli Gravy - Mor Kuzhambu / Majjige Huli / Majjiga Chaaru Method - I

1. First of all, soak Channa Dal for at least 1hr
2. Cut broccoli into pieces with stalk as shown in the photo and cook them in a low flame, Separately with minimum quantity of water just that broccoli gets immersed or 2 cups of water would be enough, using too much water spoils the thickness of the kuzhambu
3. Do not cook them too much as they become too soft and get completely mashed so, cook them carefully and drain out the water,  put the drained water back into the vessel, Keep the vegetable aside.
4. Take a Kadai or wok fry Fenugreek and coriander seeds without oil, once the methi seeds start turning to dark brown in colour and coriander seeds are also fried well take them out and keep aside.
5. Drain out all the water from the soaked Dal and roast them with coriander leaves, ginger and chillies (use chillies according to your taste and their spiciness) in the same wok,  when a nice aroma comes out and the Dal looks a bit dry, keep them aside until it cools down.
6. Put them all into the mixie jar, add 1 tsp of cumin seeds (do not fry them), add turmeric powder, coconut gratings, and roasted fenugreek and coriander seeds grind them all into a coarse or fine paste as you like it.
7. Mix them in the water in a vessel and cook stirring continuously so that they don't stick to the bottom of the vessel for about 10  minutes or until the raw smell or nice aroma comes out of it.
8. Now add cooked broccoli and mix them carefully not smashing them into pieces as they are very tender.
9. In a low flame, add 500 gms of slightly soured curds/yogurt nicely churned and leave it on the stove for a minute or once u start seeing  little bubbles appearing in the edges, turn off immediately and take it away from the stove and keep aside, otherwise the heat of the stove might curdle the dish wherein the curds and water get separated, and will taste differently.
10. Temper using the seasonings as mentioned above and serve it with hot rice.

In marriages and lot of other south Indian functions Mor kuzhambu is an accompanist of Paruppu or Tovve as they call in Kannada, it is a simple dish where Tuvar Dal is cooked with a pinch of turmeric and mashed a little and is seasoned with mustard seeds, green chillies, coriander and curry leaves with a pinch of hing and is the first course of the main meal, served with hot rice with a tsp of Ghee and Mor Kuzhambu. They get along well together It's a combo made in heaven.

Hints: when using okra and  Brinjal fry them with little oil, ( with Brinjal, cut the vegetable to your desired shape and put them in water and  keep aside for 10 minutes, this helps in removing the bitterness from the veggie) While  cooking use the same method as above and add them as mentioned in the above recipe. If you are using Snake Gourd cut them into little thicker pieces add a tsp of salt and leave it for a while, after an hour or so you can see water released  in them drain out the water and wash it once again  in water, my mom says the bitterness in it goes away and you need to throw the water and give it a rinse, then use the vegetable for cooking with enough water until it is soft ( I usually cook it in my little pressure cooker for just one whistle it  doesn't  become mushy).
With other vegetables, after they get cooked no need to drain the water from them but you can add the ground masala and cook together and continue with the same procedure.

Hope you try it out and also enjoy the way I make Majjige Huli or Mor kuzhambu 🙂