Ash-Gourd Morkuzhambu

Category:  Lunch
Preparation Time: 10-12 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 3-4 persons

Ash Gourd Morkuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Ash-Gourd / Winter melon / White Pumpkin, cubed - 1 1/2 cups
• Butter milk / Sour Curd (Thick) - 1 1/2 cups
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste

To Roast & Grind:

• Channa Dhal - 3 tsp
• Urad Dhal - 3/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Raw Rice - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Coconut - 3 tbsp
• Green chilly - 1-2 nos

To Temper:

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Asafoetida /Hing - a pinch
• Red Chilly, broken - 1-2 nos 

Method:

1. In a pan, add little water, 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder, little salt and ash-gourd; cook for 8-10 mins until the veg gets cooked
   
2. Once it gets cooked, drain the water and keep aside
   
3. Heat a pan, add the channa dhal and roast in medium flame for a min
   
4. Then add Urad dhal, raw rice, Cumin seeds and curry leaves, roast till it gets roasted and gives out nice aroma
   
5. Add the roasted items in a blender along with green chillies and coconut, grind to a fine paste
   
6. Beat the curd well; add in the salt and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and mix well. If its very thick, dilute with little water
   
7. In a pan, add the beaten curd, ground masala and cooked ash-gourd cubes, mix well and cook in low flame
   
8. When it starts to boil, switch off
   
9. For tempering, heat oil in another pan and add the other ingredients under tempering and add it to the kuzhambu
   
10. Serve hot with rice. It goes well with hot rice and parupusili
    
11. Notes: To prevent curdling of curd, the below points should be considered:

• It should be cooked in low / Simmer flame
• Morkuzhambu should not boil well, once it starts to boil, switch it off
• Also it should not be kept covered until it cools down