Majjige Huli (Majjiga pulusu)

A very relished dish by all at home. My daughter and me particularly like the ash-gourd in this dish. The coconut in Mumbai is so expensive and not available as easily as in Bangalore, at the same time dairy products here are of the best quality and available in abundance. The milk and milk products here are very creamy and thick..... We will have to cut curds here and not pour it..... the same way we eat lassi here and not drink it. Hence, it is very convenient to prepare curd based dishes often. There are 2 versions to cook this dish which i learnt from my granny and from my aunt. My granny's recipe has a lot of ingredients in the masala... coconut, pepper, jeera, dhania, curry leaves, mustard, ginger, chana dal, fiery red chillies and methi seeds. My aunt uses only, ginger, coconut, green chillies and chana dal. I merged both methods and took out the ingredients i like the most and made my own recipe and VOILA!!! my own version of majjige huli.

MAJJIGE HULI:



Ingredients:

1/2 kg ash gourd (diced into big squares)
2 cups curds (well beaten)
4 tbsp coconut
1 tbsp dhania seeds (coriander seeds) (dry roast)
1 tsp jeera (dry roast)
7 green chillies
1 tbsp chana dal (soaked for an hour)
a pinch of turmeric
salt to taste

for tempering:

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoedita
curry leaves
1 tbsp oil

Method of preparation:

1. Pressure cook the peeled and diced ash gourd for one whistle. Strain and keep aside.
2. Grind together jeera, dhania seeds, coconut, chillies, ginger, chana dal and turmeric into a paste
3. Heat oil in a vessel and splutter the mustard seeds, add the asafoedita, and then the curry leaves.
4. Add the strained ash gourd to this and stir for half a minute. Add the ground paste to this, mix well and cook this for 2 minutes. Add water if necessary.
5. Switch off the flame and then add the beaten curds, mix well and switch on the stove and cook this for a further minute. Garnish with coriander leaves if necessary.

Tastes very good with rice.