I buy spinach every week and end up making either Keerai Molagootal or Masiyal. In one of my general talks with my grandmother, I came to know about his dish Moru keerai, which is almost a forgotten recipe in our household. I tried it once and it was an immediate with my family. I have been making this almost every other week now. I really don't know why, I didn't try this earlier. It is a nice variation to the regular moru kootan. It pairs well with steamed rice and any thoran or a spicy stir fry.
Serves - 3 to 4
What you'll need
- Spinach – 1 bunch
- Coconut – ½ cup, scraped coconut
- Thick Sour Curds – 1 cup
- Dried Red Chilly – 3 to 4
- Fenugreek Seeds – ¼ tsp
- Salt to taste
For tempering
- Oil – 1 tsp
- Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp
- Dried Red Chilly – 1
Method
- Wash and roughly chop the spinach.
- Add it to a vessel and cook covered for 3 to 4 minutes or until the cooked. Do not cook for a long time.
- Transfer to a plate and cool and grind to paste without adding any water.
- In the meanwhile, heat a small frying pan with ½ tsp oil, roast fenugreek seeds and dried red chillies.
- Grind the coconut, roasted fenugreek and red chillies using half the curd to smooth paste.
- Transfer the ground coconut paste to a vessel. Also add the spinach puree and salt to taste.
- Add the remaining curd, and about ½ cup of water. Mix well and simmer till the mixture starts frothing. Do not boil. Adjust consistency by adding more water if required.
- Heat a small frying pan with oil and temper with mustard seeds and dried red chilly.
- Serve moru Keerai with steamed rice and pair it up with a thoran of your choice.
Note:
- You can substitute fenugreek seeds and red chillies with only green chillies while grinding along with coconut. Add fenugreek seeds while tempering.
- Spinach cooks very fast, so do keep it on heat for a long time, else it will lose its green color.
- If using any other variety of greens like Mula keerai, Arai keerai etc, chop finely add a little water and cook covered for a little longer.
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