Majjiga Pulusu (More Kozhambu) - Vegetables cooked in buttermilk

There are many versions of majjiga pulusu (Telugu: మజ్జిగ పులుసు, Tamil: மோர் கோழம்ப்), which is a buttermilk based stew. The way that we make it in our home is different from a few of my friends and family as well. My dad and my father-in-law like it and moms make it quite often. The combination for this is just plain dal or kandhi pachadi. So here you go the way majjiga pulusu is made in our home or I should say Andhra style.

Soaking time: 1 hour
Preparation time: 25 min
Serving : 4 people

Ingredients

2 cups vegetables ( bottle gourd, okra, drumsticks, winter melon)
2 cups thick sour curd or Yogurt
1 cup water
salt to taste ( I used 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder


Ingredients for soaking

1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp channa dal or senaga pappu
2 Green chillies
1/2 inch piece ginger
1/8 cup freshly grated coconut


Ingredients for seasoning/ popu

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp methi seeds
1 dry red chilli tear to 3 or 4 pieces
pinch of hing/ asafoetida (optional)
4-5 curry leaves
coriander leaves
2 tsp oil

Procedure

1. Make a smooth paste with the ingredients in the soaking list. Add some water if requited and make a smooth paste.
2. Take the sour curd/yogurt in a sauce pan and beat together with 1 cup water, turmeric powder and salt
3. Add the paste that we ground to the curd and mix well and keep aside
4. Add enough water to the vegetables and cook them till their half done. Cool it and add to the curd mix.
5. Heat this mix on medium - low flame and bring it to boil. This takes about 7-8 minutes, keep stirring the mix or it will curdle.
6. In a small pan heat oil, add the mustard seeds once they pop add cumin seeds, dry red chilli, methi seeds let them brown a little and add the curry leaves and asofoetida
7. Add this to the curd mix and cook for another 3-4 minutes
8. Garnish with coriander leaves, cover with lid and let it sit for a few minutes
9. The vegetables will absorb the taste of the gravy and will taste delicious with white rice

Use slightly sour curd or yogurt to make this to get a nice tangy taste.
I like to use only one of the vegetables and mostly use bottle gourd or ash gourd to make this.
You can also use carrots, beans and other vegetables of choice.
Don't heat it on high flame this will curdle the yogurt, that means you can see the water and the milk solids separated.