More Kuzhambu (Mor Kulambu) and Potato Roast

The second classic combo in the series is More Kuzhambu and Potato Roast. It had been ages since I made Mor Kulambu and I really liked the idea of it because it’s super quick to make. This entire combo meal will not take you more than half an hour tops. It’s easy enough for weekday mornings too. More Kuzhambu is a regular at my Mom’s place but is rarely ever made here because folks here are against curd/yogurt in general. But guess what, Hasini really liked the kuzhambu and Yuvan ate it too. My day was made. My mother makes an even easier version with kadalai maavu but that’s a post for another day. I used Chandra Padmanabhan’s recipe for this More kuzhambu and I think it was faultless. It had just the right amount of bite and heat from the ginger and green chillies and a light tang from the yogurt.

The potato roast is of course child’s play. I prefer this kind of dry potato roast any day over the potato thokku that is often made at home. Just boil potatoes, toss in spice powders and sauté till crisped around the edges. You could play around with the spice mixes for the potato roast. I like to keep it simple with just red chilli powder and turmeric. I like to add the spice powders to the oil before throwing in the potatoes as that way the potatoes are more evenly coated in the spices. But try it anyway you wish, you really can’t go wrong with it. This combo meal goes to Blogging Marathon #36 for the Combo dishes theme.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Serves: 4-5

More Kuzhambu Ingredients

Yogurt/Curd – 2 cups whisked well

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Spice Paste

Green chillies – 6-8

Cumin – 2 tsp

Ginger – 2 inch piece

Tuvaram paruppu/Toor dal/Red gram - 2 tbsp

Kadalai paruppu/Bengal gram – 3 tbsp

Grated coconut – 3 tbsp

Water – just enough to soak the 2 dals listed above

Tempering

Whole dry red chillies – 2 broken in halves

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 stem

Hing/Asafoetida – pinch

Method

1.       Soak the 2 dals together for about 1 hour. Grind together all ingredients under spice paste to a fine paste.

2.       Whisk curd well. Add the spice paste and mix well. Add turmeric powder and salt and a little water if it is too thick. Mix well and set aside.

3.       Heat a kadai/skillet and when hot, add oil. Add the broken red chillies and mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the curry leaves and hing and then pour in the yogurt mixture. Reduce heat to low. When the mixture is just about to boil, switch off. Serve at room temperature with steamed rice.

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves: 4-5

Potato Roast Ingredients

Potatoes – 4 medium boiled, peeled and cubed

Red chilli powder – 1-1/2 tbsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 stem

Method

1.       Boil potatoes till tender yet firm. Peel and cube them. You can pressure cook the potatoes for 15 minutes or cook it stove-top for 25-30 minutes or microwave on high for 10 minutes. If using a microwave, make sure to prick the potatoes all over with a fork.

2.       To a pan, add oil and heat. When hot, add mustard seeds and let splutter. Reduce heat to low and the curry leaves and spice powders and salt. Drop in the cubed potatoes and toss well to coat. Cook on low for 12-15 minutes, stirring in between till the potatoes are crisped around the edges. Serve hot alongside steamed rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#36