Majjiga pulusu (Buttermilk pulusu)

Pulusu in Telugu refers to stewed vegetables or greens etc cooked in tangy tamarind juice or any similar sauce. Majjiga pulusu is a buttermilk based stew. In Tamil Nadu it is called  Mor Kuzhambu. The North Indian version of it is kadhi. The recipe calls for vegetables cooked in a tasty combination of mild spices and coconut etc in sour curd. Vegetables like lauki (bottlegourd), bhindi (okra), carrot and tomato etc.are used in this pulusu. If all the vegetables are available, it is fine.  even with some available vegetables, the dish will be tasty!

Ingredients:

·        1 cup lauki or any summer squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

·        ½  cup white gourd, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

·        A few carrots, peeled and cut into long pieces

·        2  tomatoes, sliced

·        3 or 4 okra, cut into one inch long pieces

·        5 or 6 chopped  bacchala kura leaves  (Malabar spinach)

·        2 or 3 green chilis

·        A few curry leaves

·        1 to 2 cups of sour yogurt or buttermilk
       Salt to taste

For masala paste:

·        2 tsp chana dal

·        2 tsp rice

·        1 tbsp coriander seeds

·        1 red chili

·        About ½ inch ginger

·        2 tsp shredded coconut (fresh or dry)

 For seasoning:

·        2 red chilis

·        1 tsp methi seeds

·        ½ tsp mustard seeds

·        ½ tsp jeera seeds

·        A pinch of hing

Directions:

1.     Soak chana dal, rice, coriander, and one red chili for 2 hours.

2.     Grind with ginger and coconut. Add to buttermilk or whisked yogurt and set aside.

3.     Boil squash, gourd, and carrots.  After they are half cooked, add okra, tomato, and chilis. 

4.     Add buttermilk mixture to vegetables and keep stirring. 

5.     Heat 2 tsp oil in a small pan, add the seasoning ingredients. When the mustard seeds crackle, add the seasoning to the pulusu.  Turn the heat off. 
 Add salt.

6.       Garnish with cilantro and curry leaves and serve.

Note:

If there is no time for soaking the ingredients for masala paste, you can have a short cut, using besan (chick pea flour), rice flour, dhania powder, grated coconut mixing well in buttermilk and adding it to the cooked vegetables. The rest of the procedure is the same.