South Indian Yogurt/Buttermilk Curry With Coconut & Spices
Pulissery recipe Kerala style with coconut is a simple, yummy and traditional Kerala style buttermilk curry recipe also known as moru curry or moru kachiyathu.
This pulissery recipe is very easy and simple to prepare but I have a more easy and simple version of this pulissery recipe or moru curry recipe without coconut where we only use diluted yogurt and spices to make the curry.
I have also recipes for tomato moru curry and vellarikka moru curry (cucumber moru curry) where we add tomatoes & cucumbers to the moru curry respectively.
In fact, there are many easy, simple & delicious variations of this moru curry or pulissery where we can add veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers etc and also fruits like mangoes, pineapple etc to make sweet curry!
Turmeric powder adds color to this simple yogurt based curry and fenugreek powder(methi powder) adds much flavor to this dish.
Both these spices have amazing health benefits too and they are mostly used in Indian cooking.
Pulissery or moru curry is served with rice for lunch or dinner along with other vegetable side dishes and pickles.
Pulissery is also one of the important recipes for Kerala style feast known as sadya, and so this is an important dish for Onam sadya where Onam is the most important Kerala festival.
However this dish is so simple to prepare and it is also enjoyed as an everyday dish with rice for lunch or dinner in Kerala households.
In this traditional pulissery recipe or moru curry recipe, which is still very simple & easy to follow, we also use grind coconut mix to add more exotic flavor to the dish.
While the simple moru curry without coconut is more easy to make (even easier than this one), this traditional moru curry recipe with coconut needs less yogurt for the gravy as we also use coconut to add thickness to the dish.
If you like to add coconut, you can follow the traditional moru curry recipe or pulissery recipe I am going to explain here.
If you have more yogurt at home, but if you don’t have coconut or if you don’t want to use coconut for any reason, you can follow this easy moru curry recipe without coconut here.
Below you can see the image of moru curry or pulissery with coconut served as side dish with rice for lunch.
As I mentioned, this is the traditional and authentic puliseery/pulisseri recipe with coconut so here is how we can make it.
There are actually few different ways you can make this moru curry with coconut.
You can directly use buttermilk which can be flavored with spices and grind coconut or you can follow the recipe I am presenting here where you blend the coconut with water and then add spices along with thick yogurt, which is more easy I think.
So here is the pulissery recipe with coconut which you can easily make using yogurt, coconut and few other ingredients for an authentic and simple Kerala style lunch or dinner.
How to make Kerala style pulissery?
We use the following ingredients to make easy & yummy South Indian Kerala style pulissery or moru curry with yogurt and coconut at home.
ingredients to make kerala style pulissery
2 cups grated or shredded coconut
2.5 cups water
1 cup thick yogurt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon red chili powder
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds powder
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
For seasoning
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 string curry leaves (make sure there is no water in leaves)
3 dry red chilies (broken)
Step by step instructions
Blend together coconut, cumin seeds and water until smooth.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the broken dried red chilies, curry leaves and fry for a few seconds (this is the South Indian style seasoning we make for the curry.
If you are not used to making this kind of Indian seasoning or tadka, be careful since the mustard seeds will splutter.
You may also use cumin seeds and just lightly fry them instead).
Add the grind coconut mix to the seasoning we made, and mix well. Keep the heat in low.
Add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and fenugreek powder to the pan and mix everything well.
Cook on medium heat for few minutes until the mixture is hot and bubbles are about to form. Stir in between.
Switch off the stove and keep the pan away from heat. You shouldn’t boil the mixture as it will change the texture and flavor of the dish.
Just heating enough to make the coconut mixture hot is enough, so you should remove the pan from the stove just before it starts to boil.
In a bowl, mix the yogurt using a spoon so as to avoid any lumps.
Add the yogurt to the coconut mixture and stir the contents very well.
The traditional Kerala style pulissery or moru curry is ready to serve!
Enjoy the dish with rice for lunch or dinner along with other side dishes or pickles.
More Pictures From The Preparation Of Pulissery/Moru Curry
Below you can get the recipe for Kerala style pulissery recipe in detail.
Pulissery Recipe Kerala Style – Traditional Kerala Moru Curry With Coconut
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated or shredded coconut
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 cup thick yogurt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
For seasoning
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 string curry leaves (make sure there is no water in leaves)
- 3 dry red chilies (broken)
Instructions
- Blend together coconut, cumin seeds and water until smooth.
- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the broken dried red chilies, curry leaves and fry for a few seconds (this is the South Indian style seasoning we make for the curry. If you are not used to making this kind of Indian seasoning or tadka, be careful since the mustard seeds will splutter. You may also use cumin seeds and just lightly fry them instead).
- Add the grind coconut mix to the seasoning we made, and mix well. Keep the heat in low.
- Add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and fenugreek powder to the pan and mix everything well.
- Cook on medium heat for few minutes until the mixture is hot and bubbles are about to form. Stir in between.
- Switch off the stove and keep the pan away from heat. You shouldn’t boil the mixture as it will change the texture and flavor of the dish. Just heating enough to make the coconut mixture hot is enough, so you should remove the pan from the stove just before it starts to boil.
- In a bowl, mix the yogurt using a spoon so as to avoid any lumps.
- Add the yogurt to the coconut mixture and stir the contents very well. The traditional Kerala style pulissery or moru curry is ready to serve! Enjoy the dish with rice for lunch or dinner along with other side dishes or pickles.
Nutrition
Hope you found this post on pulissery recipe Kerala style helpful!
Hi, am so pleased I have found you – was googling Instant Pot recipes for mung bean soup and made your recipe which was so quick and delicious (I added some kale as well to get some extra greens in) There are so many wonderful recipes. The cabbage thoran is on the list to make, and using frozen for the spicy roast cauliflower is such a good idea. I had never bought frozen before but it makes it such a quick and easy dish. .
I am planning to make this yogurt coconut curry but was wondering about the red chillies which don’t seem to be mentioned in the ingredient list. However the tips below the recipe show about 7 whole which I assume are dried, but would be grateful if you could confirm please and if it is therefore very hot. Many thanks and I am looking forward to trying lots more of you recipes. Sandy
HI Sandy, I am so glad to hear that you like the recipes in this blog! I agree, the mung bean soup is quick and delicious and the addition of kale leaves is great. I am happy enjoyed it!
Also the cabbage and roasted cauliflower will make great dishes for you to try.
With regards to this yogurt coconut curry, I am glad you pointed out that I didn’t mention the red chilies in the ingredients list. I have added it to the ingredients list and updated the post now.
It is dried red chilies that you can use in this recipe. You need to break the dried chilies before adding to the oil, or they can splatter oil while cooking which won’t be safe. So please break the chilies before using them. Sometimes I gently break the dried chilies in the middle and sometimes I break them into more pieces too. Actually, I used more red chilies when I made this (that is why you see more in pictures) because I wanted to use them for garnishing too, but we need only 3 or 4 red chilies for the recipe.
I have added this information to the post now. Thank you so much for stopping by, hope this is helpful to you!
Thank you so much for such a speedy reply. I was just about to send an apology that I had somehow missed the chillies when I went back to write out the recipe,,,, Thank you so much for the info and tip of how to use them safely. I like the idea of having them for garnish but assume the ones used for cooking could just be left in when serving
I haven’t seen a subscribe invite to your blog yet but would like very much to do so if possible.
Again many thanks, Sandy
You are welcome! I should add the subscribe button sometime soon. I had it a while back but then I removed it since I couldn’t work on sending the emails. It’s in my plan to work on it as soon as I can. I will add the subscribe button soon (I think) but will need more time to work on to start sending the post updates. I hope you can subscribe as soon as I add it, so when I can really make it work you can be notified too! Thank you for the wonderful feedback and comments on the recipes!
Hi again, I am sorry I forgot to add how much I appreciate your nutritional info especially the carb and fibre content. Not many sites give this and it is so helpful for people like me who are trying to manage diabetes by diet alone (ie low carb) Replacing rice is easy with the zero carb Konjac rice/pasta etc. All best wishes Sandy
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No problem! I too think the nutritional information is very helpful, and that helps me too. Thanks again for stopping by, and all the best wishes to you too!