Kumbalakayi majjigehuli | Karnataka style ash gourd yoghurt curry
Kumbalakayi majjigehuli is ashgourd yoghurt curry made in Karnataka cuisine. Served with hot steamed rice and a dry saute on the side.
Equipment
- Thick Bottomed Pan
- Spice Blender
Ingredients
- 100 grams ash gourd (winter melon / safed bhopla / boodu kumbalakaayi
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 250 ml homemade yoghurt not sour
Spice paste
- 1 Tbsp channa dal
- 1 tsp coriander seeds some homes don’t add this, but we like it
- 1/4 cup coconut fresh / frozen
- 1/4 tsp Methi seeds menthye
- 2 red chillies sub with green too
- 1 tsp cumin seeds jeerige
Tempering
- 1 tsp coconut oil use any neutral oil If you don’t use / like coconut oil
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida hing, skip for gluten free
- 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash, peel the ashgourd. Slice into 1 inch long equal sized batons
- Boil them in a pot of Watee (about 2 cups) with a pinch of salt and the turmeric till they are 80% done
- Drain and reserve the water
- In a pan, dry roast the ingredients for the spice paste except the coconut
- Cool and grind with the coconut and salt to a smooth paste adding 2-3 tsp of the reserved water.
- Add this to the cooked veggies and simmer over a low flame.
- Whisk the yogurt with the remaining reserved water and adding more water to make a thickish buttermilk - about 2 cups approx (don’t make it too runny)
- Once the veggies are simmered with the masala paste, add the whisked buttermilk.
- Simmer on low for 3-4 mins.
- Turn off when you see a small bubble (else the buttermilk will split)
- Prepare tadka / tempering with the oil , mustard , cumin seeds, Hing and add to the cooked curry
- Serve immediately with steamed rice / lapsi/ cooked millet.
- We love to eat the leftovers next day with some Arisi upma or upma kozhakattai( I make extra Majjige huli just for this)
Notes
Tips to make a tasty and yummy morkozhambu
- Use fresh curds (homemade/ store bought). If using store bought, use the unflavoured versions
- Do not boil the gravy for more than 2 mins on low flame once the whisked yoghurt has been added
- Cook the veggies only till 80% and then add the spice paste. If using Okra or string beans in place of Ash gourd, saute them till they are soft but not mushy.
- To re-heat leftovers, bring to room temperature from the fridge and gently warm in the microwave in spurts of 30 secs. Warming them too much will split the yogurt.
- If not using a microwave, heat this indirectly in a double boiler over a pan of boilign water till its warm and serve immediately
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