Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Vendhaya Mor kuzhambu

                                                                           
SE of Denu Food is hosting an event called cooking with seeds, which is originally started by Priya.  And this month it is Fenugreek seeds.  

Fenugreek seeds are primarily used as a spice in cooking, it is also used to treat variety of health problems.  It is good for digestion and weight loss.  It controls diabetes and high blood sugar.  Drinking fenugreek tea every day strengthens the respiratory and reproductive systems.




Ingredients:
1/2 cup - White Pumpkin / Chayote squash(Bangalore kathrika or Chow-Chow) / Okra
1 cup -  Curd / yogurt
1/2 tsp -  Turmeric powder
Salt - to taste
  
To roast and grind:                                                         
2TBSP -  Rice
1TBSP - vendhayam / Fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp - black pepper
1 tsp - cumin seeds / jeeragam
2 - Red chillies
2 - Green chillies
1/2 inch ginger
1/2 cup - grated fresh coconut



For tempering:
1 TBSP - Oil
1 tsp - Mustard seeds
Few curry leaves

                                                          Roasted
Procedure:
  1. Heat 1/2 tsp of oil in a small skillet, and roast all the ingredients from the to grind list except the coconut till golden brown. Let it cool and grind it along with the coconut to a smooth paste.
  2. If you are using white pumpkin or the chayote squash peel the skin off and cut it into big chunks.  Boil the vegetables in water until tender.  You can also cook it in the microwave for 3 minutes.
  3. When using okra / vendaikai, cut them into 3/4 inch pieces and saute it in 2 tsp of oil.
  4. In a vessel, pour the curd / yogurt and add the ground paste.
  5. Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well.
  6. Heat the curd / yogurt mix till it becomes frothy.  Do not let the gravy boil like sambar / rasam.
  7. Add the cooked vegetables.  Reduce the heat and cook for another minute.
  8. Fry the ingredients for the tempering in oil and add it to the gravy.
Cauliflower Paruppu usili
     
Fenugreek Tea:

1 tsp fenugreek seeds (வெந்தயம்)
1 cup water
1/2 -1 1/2 tsp honey (Optional)
Soak the seeds in water overnight.  In the morning boil the seeds and the water.  Drain the water and add honey.
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15 comments:

  1. Woww this mor kuzhambu with venthayam sounds really delicious...lovely..

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  2. Thats a nice recipe,gravy looks delicious...

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  3. What a tasty plate of food to have, everything looks good to me. Love the Mor Kuzhumbu.

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  4. Latha, great to have found your blog. That is indeed a great way to use chayote squash. The fenugreek seeds should give the mor kozhambu a nice kick.

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  5. Loved both the mor kuzhambu and usli.. i have never tried making usli with cauliflower ..sounds interesting will surely try it .

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  6. Looks tempting!
    New here .Do drop by
    http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com/

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  7. Thanks for dropping by my blog hope to see you there again soon The fenugreek tea sounds very unique and tempting.You have agreat collection of recipes.

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  8. very tempting..thnx for sending it to the event !

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  9. I've not made morkuzhambu with so much vendhayam before... will it be bitter? I just use it as a seasoning. Cauliflower parupu usli sounds different - do post it sometime.

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  10. @lavanya: No it doesn't taste bitter at all. Just like beans usili, I just added cooked cauliflower. I will soon post the recipe too.

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  11. hi lata...this is my first visit to ur blog...u hv a lovely blog with awesome recipes...this dish looks very yummy...its new 2 me, but lovely recipe, vl try sun...avacado buttermilk is also very invitng n intersting recipe...Hey i am following u so that i can track all ur future recipes and visit them n comment.

    http://siddhiscookingexperiences.blogspot.com/

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  12. thanks for visitng escapades usha....i am definitely going to try this one...i like yoghurt based dishes

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  13. oops that was a typo... i mean latha and was chatting with usha when i was writing the comment...so sorry :)

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  14. My husband who is not a big fan of Mor Kuzumbu loved this one. It went well with vegetable uppuma that I made yesterday. I was thinking about the cauliflower usili too. Please do post the recipe.

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  15. @ Bharathy: hey are you my C from CA. Please let me know.

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