Mor Kulambu Recipe | Easy Mor Kuzhambu

User Reviews

5

90 reviews
Excellent
  • Prep Time

    10 mins

  • Cook Time

    20 mins

  • Total Time

    30 mins

  • Servings

    4

  • Calories

    114 kcal

  • Course

    Main Course

  • Cuisine

    Indian

Mor Kulambu Recipe | Easy Mor Kuzhambu

Mor Kulambu is a curd-based South Indian curry made with a ground paste of toor dal, coriander, cumin, rice, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and fresh grated coconut. White pumpkin (ash gourd) is cooked with turmeric and combined with this spiced buttermilk mixture, then tempered with mustard seeds, fenugreek, dry red chili, asafoetida, and curry leaves to finish.

Description

This Mor Kulambu Recipe offers a flavorful preparation where lentils, spices, and rice are soaked and ground with coconut and aromatics to form a smooth base paste. The white pumpkin is cooked separately with turmeric, adding a mild sweetness and texture to the curry. Sour curd is whisked smooth then mixed with the ground paste and water to form a tangy, creamy gravy that is gently heated to avoid curdling.

The tempering with mustard, fenugreek seeds, dry red chili, asafoetida, and fresh curry leaves adds depth and a subtle heat typical of South Indian flavors. Adjusting chili levels can make it milder or spicier as desired.

This curry pairs well with plain rice and is comforting for its delicate balance of sourness and mild sweetness from the pumpkin. It can be prepared without pumpkin by adjusting the water to maintain the curry's consistency. Use thick, sour curd preferably made from whole milk to prevent splitting during cooking. Rice or rice flour helps thicken and stabilize the dish. Scaling this recipe is not recommended due to the specific balance of ingredients.

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Ingredients

Servings

For ground paste

  • 1 tablespoon toor dal arhar dal, tur dal, hulled and split pigeon pea lentils
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ½ teaspoon rice raw
  • ¼ cup water for soaking, hot
  • 3 to 4 green chilies or add as required
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 5 to 6 curry leaves
  • ¼ cup coconut - fresh and grated

For cooking white pumpkin

  • 1.5 cups white pumpkin - chopped (petha, ash gourd, winter melon)
  • 1 cup water or add as required
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

Other ingredients

  • 1 cup curd thick and slightly sour, beaten
  • salt as per taste

For tempering mor kulambu

  • 1 to 1.5 tablespoons neutral cooking oil sesame oil or sunflower oil or ghee or preferred neutral flavored oil, generic cooking oil
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 1 to 2 red chili broken, stems and seeds removed, dry
  • 1 generous pinch of asafoetida (hing)
  • 7 to 8 curry leaves

Instructions

Making paste

  1. Take tuvar dal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and raw rice in a plate or bowl.
  2. Using a fine tea strainer rinse them. You can use any type of white rice. If you do not have rice, then 1 to 2 teaspoons of rice flour can be added instead while grinding.
  3. Then take all of them in a bowl. Add ¼ cup hot water. Soak for 20 minutes.
  4. Then take the soaked tuvar dal, coriander seeds etc along with the soaked water in a small grinder jar or chutney grinder.
  5. Add chopped green chilies, ginger, curry leaves and grated coconut.
  6. Grind to a smooth and fine paste. Set aside.

Making buttermilk mixture

  1. Take the thick curd which is slightly sour in a bowl or pan. Beat or whisk it till smooth.
  2. Add the ground coconut paste. Then add 1 cup water. Mix very well. Keep aside.

Cooking ash gourd or white pumpkin

  1. Meanwhile when the rice and lentils are soaking, you can cook the pumpkin. Rinse, peel and chop ash gourd into 0.5 to 1 inch cubes. Take the chopped ash gourd in a pan.
  2. Add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 cup water. Stir to combine.
  3. Cover the pan and keep it on a medium-low heat. In between do check and give a stir.
  4. Simmer till the pumpkin is almost cooked.

Making mor kuzhambu

  1. Reduce the heat to a low or you can turn off the heat. Then add the buttermilk mixture. Mix well.
  2. Season with salt as per taste. Mix again.
  3. Simmer the mor kuzhambu on a low heat. Do stir occasionally.
  4. The entire kuzhambu has to come to a gentle simmer. Once you see the kuzhambu simmering, then turn off the heat. Cover and keep aside.

Making tempering

  1. Heat 1 to 1.5 tablespoons oil in a tadka pan or small pan. You can use gingelly oil (oil made from raw sesame seeds) or sunflower oil or safflower oil or even ghee.
  2. Add mustard seeds.
  3. Let the mustard seeds crackle. When the mustard seeds crackle, add fenugreek seeds.
  4. Quickly add red chilies, curry leaves and a generous pinch of asafoetida (hing). Stir and turn off heat.
  5. Pour this tempering mixture in the More Kulambu. Cover with a lid for five minutes and let the flavors infuse.
  6. Serve Mor Kulambu with steamed rice.

Notes

  • Omitting white pumpkin is possible; adjust water to maintain desired consistency.
  • Use thick, sour, full-fat curd or yogurt for best results; low-fat or toned curd may separate.
  • Adjust the quantity of green and dry red chilies to control curry spiciness.
  • Adding rice or rice flour helps thicken the gravy and prevent curd splitting during cooking.
  • This recipe’s proportions are not designed for scaling up or down.

Nutrition Information

Show Details
Calories 114kcal (6%) Carbohydrates 9g (3%) Protein 6g (12%) Fat 6g (9%) Saturated Fat 2g (10%) Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g (1%) Monounsaturated Fat 3g (15%) Trans Fat 0.003g (0%) Cholesterol 3mg (1%) Sodium 427mg (18%) Potassium 133mg (3%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 153IU (3%) Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 0.1mg Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.2mg Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 35mg Vitamin B6 0.05mg Vitamin B12 0.3µg (13%) Vitamin C 65mg (72%) Vitamin E 2mg Vitamin K 0.5µg Calcium 109mg (11%) Vitamin B9 (Folate) 363µg Iron 1mg (6%) Magnesium 16mg (4%) Phosphorus 106mg Zinc 0.5mg

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 114 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories 114kcal 6%
Carbohydrates 9g 3%
Protein 6g 12%
Fat 6g 9%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g 1%
Monounsaturated Fat 3g 15%
Trans Fat 0.003g 0%
Cholesterol 3mg 1%
Sodium 427mg 18%
Potassium 133mg 3%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 153IU 3%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 0.1mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.2mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 35mg
Vitamin B6 0.05mg
Vitamin B12 0.3µg 13%
Vitamin C 65mg 72%
Vitamin E 2mg
Vitamin K 0.5µg
Calcium 109mg 11%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 363µg
Iron 1mg 6%
Magnesium 16mg 4%
Phosphorus 106mg
Zinc 0.5mg

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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