Mor Kali | Mor Koozh | more kali is Thanjavur | Tanjore special traditional south Indian tiffin recipe. It can be prepared very quickly and typically served as a breakfast or evening tiffin. Traditionally, mor kali is served as a mass, but to make it easy to eat and looks presentable I have cut them into pieces.
Mor kali
More kali is grandma’s recipe. During my school days, Amma prepares this for evening coffee. It is prepared with buttermilk and rice flour slurry. The key to tasty more kali is slow cooking and a generous amount of oil. Traditionally it is served as a mass in a cup but I prefer to cut them into a square as it is convenient.
Should I use only mor milagai
Mor Milagai enhances the taste and flavor of more koozh so if you have more milage in stock I would recommend using it but if you don’t have you used red chilli / green chilli and prepare.
Can I skip curd for mor kali?
No, the taste of the dish is mainly from the buttermilk so don’t skip the curd. Always use thick curd so that when mixed with twice the amount of water we will get perfect buttermilk for Mor kali.
Can I use store-bought Buttermilk?
Yes but make sure the buttermilk is watery so that Mor koozh won’t curdle while preparing
Should I cut and serve mor koozh
No, you can just serve them as such in a bowl, that’s the traditional way of serving mor koozh. I prepare to cut them into squares.
Do we need this much oil?
Yes, we need oil as it helps for the mor koozh texture and gives the best Mor kali. In our home, we generally use coconut oil. You can also use sesame oil which will give good flavor.
Can I cut Mor koozh immediately and serve?
Preferably leave it for at least 30 minutes so that it will get set and we can cut them easily. Grease the knife with little ghee for easy cutting then cut mor koozh. For the vegan version use vegan butter to grease.
Side dish for mor koozh
Spicy sides go well with this Mor kali. My favorite sides are mango thokku, green chili thokku, inji thogayal, puli inji, and tamarind-based kuzhambu varieties.
Tiffin varieties in TMF
Curd based recipes in TMF
Thani kootu
Ingredients:
1 cup Rice flour 1 cup thick curd, preferably sour curd 2 cups Water 1/4 cup water optional (refer notes) 3 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Coconut oil Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 2 tbsp Mor milagai - 5 ( adjust according to your spice) Curry leaves - few Hing - generous portion Salt - as needed
How to prepare Mor Kali / Mor Koozh with step by step pictures:
Take a square pan or plate, place parchment paper and grease it with little ghee/ oil, and set it aside
In a wide mixing bowl take 1 cup of curd add 2 cups of water, whisk the curd well to make a lump-free thin buttermilk
Add required salt and mix well
Furthermore, add 1 cup of rice flour to buttermilk. Mix well to make a lump free smooth mixture
Add oil and heavy-bottomed pan and turn on the stove on medium flame
Once when oil is hot add mustard seeds, Urad dal, Mor milagai and mix well
Let the mustard seeds splutter, dal turns golden brown and Mor milagai gets roasted Add curry leaves and give a quick mix
Turn down to low- medium flame and add rice flour buttermilk mixture, mix well
For the rice flour, I used the mixture turned slightly thick so I added extra 1/4 cup water if your mixture is watery go ahead and continue cooking
Add a generous portion of hing and mix well
Keep mixing and continue cooking
Add 1 tablespoon of oil, mix well and continue cooking
At one stage the mixture becomes thick and shiny add 1 teaspoon of oil, mix well and continue cooking
Cook till the mixture turns into a non-sticky mass without sticking to the sides of the pan
Grease your hands with cold water and touch the Mor kali, if it is not sticking to the finger turn off the stove and transfer. If it sticks continue cooking in low flame till you get non-sticky mass
Transfer the mor kali mixture to a greased plate
Grease a bottom of a small bowl or spoon with little oil
Press the mixture gently with the greased bowl and level it
Allow the mixture to cool for at least 30 minutes After the mixture is cool grease the knife with little ghee and cut into squares. The easy and delicious Mor Kali is ready
