Bachelor Boy Series #1

Slow-Cooked Buttermilk/Kachiya Moru

Without much ado lemme put this down. two bachelors requested me for some quick and easy recipes and i'm starting a Bachelor Boy Series :) here we have cooked buttermilk which is a regular unavoidable splash on the kerala rice platters. now if you ask me isn't it easier to have it as curd or buttermilk i would say not necessarily. this tastes really good and doesn't bore you like buttermilk may after some days. plus it has a longer shelf life than buttermilk as it's cooked. i generally make it for a week and put in the refrigerator. and take out a lil each day and warm it slightly.

beaten curd-4 cups
oil-2 tsp
mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
shallots-10 nos
garlic flakes-10 nos
ginger-1/4" piece (optional)
fresh or dried chillies-2-3 cut in two
fenugreek powder-1/2 tsp
cumin powder-1/4 tsp
chilli powder-1/4 tsp
turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
sugar-2 pinch
salt-2 tsp

Add the cumin, turmeric powder and the salt and beat the curd slightly either in a grinder or with a beater OR with a spoon/fork in your hand! slice shallots, garlic and ginger (if you use) thin and break the chillies into two three pieces. wash the curry leaves and let them dry so that they wont sizzle unreasonably in the oil. get your tadka ready (mustard, shallots, garlic, ginger, chillies, curry leaves) in a plate. get the vessel to pour the cooked buttermilk also ready with a lil sugar in it. my mum says the sugar is to balance the flavours.

Add the oil. heat it up nicely and without lowering the flame splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves. lower the flame and put the shallots, garlic, green chillies and ginger (if you're using). saute them for two mins. add the powders after turning off the gas to avoid them getting burnt. saute for a few secs. turn on the gas. ensure the flame is low and pour the beaten curd slowly and keep stirring. the trickiest part is here. this has to be slow-cooked. it takes around twenty mins. the important thing is to keep stirring; hey you cant multi task here. you fuss and turn on the flame high and the beaten curd curdles and then you call it by your liking...it wont be kachiya moru :P once you see the shallots and garlic and chillies surfacing and the curd gets really hot (twenty mins max for 4 cups curd) turn it off, pour into the vessel kept ready without delay.

Stir the moru in the vessel once in a way till it cools. store in the refrigerator or out if the weather is cool enough and have it with steamed rice and pickle (urukai)...mebbe some chicken too hehe.

You can happily do away with the ginger, shallots, chilli powder, cumin powder...these are added more for their medicinal properties than taste. but the indispensable ingredients are mustard seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek powder (it adds the distinct taste and is a health-forte; you can dry roast some fenugreek seeds and splutter these along with the mustard seeds if you cant powder them), garlic (i cant do without these darlings).

I'm linking this to Any One Can Cook Event from Ayeesha's Taste of the Pearl City.