More Kuzhambu/Majjige Huli, A South Indian Recipe

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Southekai/Malabar Vellari/Cucumber More kuzhambu/Majjige huli

This is my son's favourite more kuzhambu! This recipe is Udupi's (Karnataka) version.  Tamilnadu recipe varies slightly.  Let me write the recipe first:

Ingredients:

1. 1 Southekai/Malabar vellari/a variety of cucumber, cut into pieces.
2. 1/2 tsp. Turmeric/haldi powder
3. 1/2 tsp. Sugar
4. 1/2 tsp. Salt
5. A small piece of hing/asafoetida.  Even powder is OK.

For grinding:

6. 1/2 coconut cut into pieces or grated (small coconut means 1 full coconut)
7. 6-7 Green chillies
8. 1" Ginger piece
9. 2-3 Red chillies
10. 1 tsp. Dhania seeds/coriander seeds
11. 2 tsp. Jeera/cumin seeds
12. 6-7 Cashew pieces
13. 1 cup curd...if you like sour taste, add sour curd or else normal curd.

For garnishing:

14. 1/2 tsp. Methi seeds/Fenugreek seeds
15. 1/2 tsp. Kadugu/Mustard/rai seeds
16. 1 tbs. Coconut oil
17. Curry leaves cut into small pieces
18. Capsicum, a small piece cut into slices (this is just for flavour, so, optional)

Method:

First cook the 5 ingredients in 2 cups of water.
Grind the no. 6 to 13 ingredients with some water (Grind it without water first, after all pieces are crushed, add water and grind.  This is fast grinding!).  Grind nicely.  In the last round add the curd and just do one 'drrrr'!
After the vegetable becomes soft, add the ground paste.
Add some more salt. Mix well.
Don't wait till it boils..switch off as soon as the top is covered with bubbles/foamy cover. If you leave it to boil, water and coconut will stay separated and taste will not be good.

Take coconut oil in a garnishing ladle/karandi.  Add mustard and methi.  After the mustard flutters, add the cut pieces of curry leaves. Add capsicum.  Mix with a spoon and leave on the stove for half a minute.  Garnish....chooooin...! Finished. More Kuzhambu is ready.  More kuzhambu or Moar Kuzhambu?!!!

I remove the skin and use it for chutney.  This is very good for health.  It can be done like we do Peerkkangai thogaiyal.  You can see how we cut vegetables sitting down on the ground, using this cutter (arivaal manai).  Some people cut the vegetable along with the skin and eat it.

The cut vegetable with the other ingredients, ready for boiling.

Ingredients for grinding.

These are for garnishing.

Arbi/saeppankizhangu.  We can boil it, remove the peel and use it instead of Southekai.  This will also be tasty.

You can use Arbi, bhindi/okra, brinjal, Ash gourd/vellai poosani etc. in place of southekai.  This can be had with rice, chapaathi, pongal, adai, mixed rice, etc.

In Tamilnadu, soaked tuvar dhaal is used instead of cashew while grinding.  Or rice flour.  Some people use only jeera and not dhania seeds.  Taste will vary but will be good. 

TIPS: Remember this kuzhambu should not be boiled...just remove from fire once foam collects on the top. 


P.S.: When you use Bhindi, you have to fry it with the garnishing ingredients.  First take a bit more oil, put the mustard.  After it flutters, add the curry leaves, cut bhindi pieces and half tsp.salt.  Fry till it is nearly dark brown (it has to get cooked). Add methi seeds in the end and fry a bit. It should not get burnt. Then put this mixture in the vessel, add the ground paste with curd.  Add water to the required consistency and boil with some more salt! Done! I am asking you to add salt twice since bhindi should absorb the required salt and then the coconut masala should need more salts! Once you get used to this type of cooking, you will never forget!

Please tell me if this recipe was helpful to you!

Southekai Thambuli - Udupi Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Southekai,
• 1-2 Green Chillies,
• 1/2 tsp. Cumin/jeera seeds,
• 3/4 cup Grated Coconut,
• 1/2 cup curd,
• Salt as per your taste.
• 4-5 cups of water

Garnish:

• 1/2 tsp. Mustard,
• 2 Sprigs Curry leaves,
• 1 tsp. Coconut oil.

Remove the skin from southekai and cut into pieces after removing the seeds. Cook with green chilli and a pinch of sugar, in 2 cups of water. When cools down, grind this with coconut in a mixer. Add curd in the last round. Pour in a vessel and garnish. The consistency should be like dosa batter.

Second method:

You can make thambuli with just the soft part, after removing the seeds. No cooking, just grind everything like the earlier recipe and garnish. The hard part can be used for saambaar or majjige huli (ಮಜ್ಜಿಗೆ ಹುಳಿ)/more kuzhambu (மோர் குழம்பு)!

Recipe - Thambuli, various types.

I am from Udupi, Karnataka. Nowadays, we get all types of vegetables almost throughout the year. It was not like that in my grandma's days. During the monsoon season, it rained heavily, as if the sky opened up and poured water on us. We could not get out of the house often to buy vegetables and other things. I remember, our house had beams on the ceiling, inside our dining and Pooja rooms. Vegetables like southekai (yellow cucumber/ಸೌತೆಕಾಯಿ), raw banana (ಬಾಳೆಕಾಯಿ), onions in bunches, used to hang from the ropes - the southekai was tied in banana stems (ಬಾಳೆ ನಾರು) and tied to the beam, to hold them for months together. We use all parts of southekai - the skin and seeds also, in our recipes. Likewise, different ingredients, available in the kitchen, are used to make different types of thambuli, gojju(ಗೊಜ್ಜು)/chutney etc. And coconut tree will be there in each and every house! So, we use coconut, butter milk, curd etc. in a number of recipes. Grandma cooked, for months together, without going out for shopping for vegetables! Imagine us, cooking without fresh vegetables now!

Let me give you the recipes of different types of thambuli first. We can mix this with rice and eat. It will be tasty with chapaathis also. Please try them and let me know if you liked it!

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