Majjige Paladya ( Majjige Huli/Spicy Yogurt Gravy)

This is a yogurt based spicy gravy with some selected vegetables like Winter Melon(Ash gourd/ Boodkumbalakai) or tender Okra(bendekai) or Amaranthus ( dantina soppu) or Cucumber (southekai).

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cook Time - 2 hrs, including soaking
Serves - 3

Measurements & Ingredients:

• Ash Gourd (boodkumbalakai) - skin peeled, seeds and the inner soft part(tirulu) removed.  Then cut the ash gourd into medium sized pieces
• Bengal gram(channa dal) - 5 tblspns, soaked in water for about 2 hrs
• Fresh or frozen coconut - 1 medium sized cup
• Green chillies - 5
• Ginger - 1"
• Cumin seeds(Jeera) - 1 tspn
• Coriander leaves - a few sprigs
• Oil - 3 tblspns
• Mustard seeds(sasive) - 1 tspn
• Curry leaves - a few
• Red chili - 1 whole
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Turmeric powder(optional) - 1/4 tspn
• Salt

Method:

Cook the ash gourd in a pressure cooker or in a pot with water.

In a blender, make a paste out of fresh coconut, soaked channa dal, coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger and jeera, with little water.

Heat 2 tblspn oil in a pan.  To this, add the paste and salt and keep frying on low-medium heat until the raw smell goes.  Add little water if needed, but do not make it too watery.  You need to keep stirring occasionally so that it doesn't get stuck to

the pan.  After 10 mins or

the raw smell has gone, add the cooked ash gourd and mix gently.  Add turmeric powder if needed.  Let it cook for 5 mins.

Then add butter milk(or yogurt which is well beaten).   

  

After you add butter milk, turn the heat to low.  If the heat is high, the butter milk will get curdled, which should not happen.  It should get cooked on a low flame.  This will take approximately 10 mins for the yogurt to start getting boiled.

Once you see the yogurt starting to slightly boil,

 switch off the stove.  In a small laddle, heat 1 tblspn of oil.  To this add mustard seeds, red chili, curry leaves and asafoetida.  Add this tempering to the gravy and majjige paladya is ready to be served with rice!

Butter Milk...

Ideally, the butter milk should be sour for the dish to be at its best.  But in different regions, sour butter milk is not available at store, which should also be okay.