Curd and bottle-gourd curry or Majjiga pulusu

This recipe is quite common in most parts of India. Made with sour curd, especially if extra curd is left over and is turning sour, it is converted into this very tasty savoury curry. It can be eaten with rice or rotis too. Some call it Kadi.

Ingredients:

Sour Curd – 2 cups

Besan (Gram flour) or Chana dal (Bengal gram, soaked) – 2 tbs.

Green chillies – 1 - 2 nos.

Ginger – 1 cm.

Raw coconut, grated – 1 - 2 tbs.

Bottle Gourd pieces – 2 cups  

Tomato – 1 no.

Turmeric – a pinch

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 tbs.

Dry red chilli – 1 no.

Rayi (mustard seeds) – ½ tsp.

Jeera (cumin seeds) – ½ tsp.

Curry leaves – a few

Method:

• Skin and chop bottle gourd into 1 inch cubes or any shape of your choice. Chop tomato into pieces.
• Make a paste of besan / chana dal, green chillies, coconut, ginger in a mixer, adding water. Keep aside.
• Beat the sour curd to a smooth paste adding 2 cups of water. Add the above besan paste to the curd and mix well.
• Take a medium sized cooking dish and put bottle gourd and tomato pieces and pour 1 cup of water into it. Put the dish on the stove and let the vegetable cook for 5 min. Turn the flame to low heat. Pour the curd mixture to the vegetable while mixing continuously. Keep a wooden spoon in the dish and keep stirring continuously or every few minutes. This is to ensure the curd does not split. After 5 min., add turmeric and salt. Let it cook for another couple of min. and then remove from heat.
• Take 2 tbs. of oil in a frying pan and add rayi and jeera, and when they are fried, add red chilli and curry leaves. Pour this oil over the curry and it is ready to eat.

Points to remember:

• Keep stirring continuously to avoid curd splitting.
• Add salt towards the end, or the curd will split.
• In place bottle gourd any other vegetable can be used.