Mor Kali

Mor kali is one of my childhood favourites. Slightly gooey and tangy, it can be prepared in a jiffy. No vegetables to chop and no spices to grind. The only catch is to keep stirring it for about 15 minutes until everything comes together. It also needs more oil to get it moving, without clinging onto the sides of the pan.

To avoid excessive oil and constant stirring, I make this in the microwave. It cuts down the cooking time and the taste is just the same as the traditional one. Except, for those tasty burnt bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Well, you have to loose some to gain some.

Though red chillies are the usual norm in this kali, my mom replaces them with ‘mor milagai’ (green chillies that are marinated in yogurt+salt and sun-dried). These cured and sun-dried chillies stay forever, if stored properly. These chillies are not hot, but aromatic and flavourful. When needed roast a few in very little oil and store in an air-tight container for about 10 days. They go well with yogurt rice, pulao etc. If you can get them, be sure to use in this recipe.

Chillies cured in yogurt sun dried - Raw and roasted

I don’t make tadka or seasoning in a microwave oven, due to prior bad experiences. If you are comfortable, this dish can be entirely done in the microwave. This is my entry to Microwave Easy Cooking – Tiffin, hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons.

Ingredients

Rice flour – 1 cup
Buttermilk – 3 cups
Salt – about 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal – 1 tbsp
Chana dal – 1 tbsp
Mor milagai/Chillies cured in yogurt or Red chillies – 4
Oil – 1 tsp

Method

In a microwave safe bowl, mix rice flour, buttermilk and salt without any lumps. The mixture should be of idli/dosa batter consistency. Heat oil in a seasoning pan over stove-top, splutter mustard seeds, and roast urad dal, chana dal and yogurt-chillies. Add this to the rice flour + buttermilk mixture. Mix well and cook in the microwave for 10 to 13 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. The kali will stick to the sides of your mouth when not fully done. The mixture will thicken and become translucent when cooked.

If desired, transfer to a well oiled plate, smoothen the top and let cool. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve. Else, serve like a pudding. The kali can be cooked longer for a crumbly texture.

Other versions of kali at The Singing Chef, and Menu Today.