Perfecting the Kerala Pulissery

Pulissery without vegetables

Pulissery or Moru Curry is a typical curd/buttermilk and coconut-based curry popular in Kerala and one of the recipes of the famous 'Onam Sadya'. It is usually made with some vegetable like ripe mangoes, a gourd of some kind, raw bananas, pumpkin or yam. The looks and taste of this curry could differ slightly depending on which part of the state it is made in - whether you are using green chilies, red chilies, turmeric. 

I gave this simple curry a go for the first time a couple of days ago - this particular one was the kind made most in Trivandrum in my family is what I was told. Since I didn't have the right vegetables, I made it simply with buttermilk. The taste was slightly different for obvious reasons, but nevertheless tasted delicious. This one is a basic recipe - a quick go-to if you don't have time to cook up an elaborate curry and want to try something different.

PULISSERY

Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 5-10 mins | Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1. Fresh Grated Coconut - 1 Cup
2. Buttermilk - 2 cups (Slightly sour is better - if it is fresh buttermilk, you won't get the authentic taste)
3. Water - ½ cup
4. Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
5. Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
6. Dry Red Chilies - 4-5 nos
7. Curry Leaves - 1 sprig 
8. Oil - 1 Teaspoon
9. Salt - to taste

If you wish to add vegetables, you can take a cup of cut vegetables and pinch of turmeric (will share the recipe for using vegetables in Method 2

Preparation:

1. Method 1
• Add grated coconut, cumin seeds, 4 red chilies, salt and buttermilk to the grinder and make a fine paste - keep adding the half cup of water little by little and grind to ensure the paste is even and fine
• Heat a teaspoon of oil in a deep saucepan or a vessel with a thick bottom. You can use regular vegetable oil or coconut oil (for the authenticity) and add mustard, curry leaves and one red chili for tempering
• Once the mustard seeds pop, add the coconut and buttermilk mixture, mix evenly and heat to WARM only.
2. Method 2
• In this method, instead of buttermilk, we add beaten curd 
• Cook the desired vegetables with a pinch of turmeric and a little salt with a cup of water in a saucepan/ vessel
• Grind coconut, cumin, red chilies into a fine, even paste 
• Once the vegetables are cooked, reduce the heat and add this coconut mixture and stir to mix it well
• Add ¼ -  ½ cup of water to the curd (slightly sour), beat it evenly and add it to the vegetables and coconut paste mixture. Once the curd has mixed evenly (on low flame for a minute or two), take the pot/ saucepan off the heat to avoid splitting. Add additional salt if required
• Temper the curry with some mustard seeds, curry leaves and one dry red chili 

Serve with hot rice or dosas and relish your meal! 

Quick Tips and Notes to Remember:

• Never bring the curry to boil since it contains curd and coconut, causing it to split
• Do not re-heat the curry after it is refrigerated - allow it to rest to room temperature before you serve
• Use slightly sour curd instead of fresh - it is the sourness that gives the curry its real taste (Puli in Pulissery means sour)