Thenga Aracha Moru Curry/ Manja Curry | Kerala Moru Curry with Coconut

Kerala style yogurt curry with a ground coconut paste, with gourd added for extra nutrition…

Yesterday was Rasha’s open house. The teacher was quite happy with her, even though she felt she could do much better. Even I agree, the only problem is that she is lazy and quite fidgety while studying. And Azza does not help that cause!!! She’s perfect fodder for her, when it comes to not wanting to study!! 🙂 Whatever said and done, I totally enjoy the phase that they are in and kind of feel sad that very soon, they will grow up to stop becoming the innocent kids that they are now. Even though I complain they don’t sleep, they don’t listen to me at times, they make a lot of noise, etc. but then inside, I really love each and every moment that I get with my girls. Alhamdulillah, they are truly a big blessing in our life!!! Not to mention, they are definitely their abba’s girls, ummi is sidelined as soon as he is in! 🙂

Updated with new pictures on October 15, 2021: Nothing much has changed from the post above, except the girls growing up. Everything else seems to be very much the same. 🙂 After having quit work, the struggle to cook lunch is my biggest worry and thankfully, this curry is one of the most repeated on the menu, mainly for two reasons: liked by the family and easy to make! It took me some digging to realize that the name for the curry I had on the blog wasn’t the proper one, and hence the update. It is mostly known as “moru curry” but with smoothly ground coconut added to it. We love having this curry with a side of mathi mulakittathu – both together with matta rice is the most amazing meal a Malayali can eat for lunch! 😀

As usual, keeping the old picture for reference… 🙂

Thenga Aracha Moru Curry/ Manja Curry | Kerala Moru Curry with Coconut

Course Curry

Cuisine Malabar

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized bottlegourd peeled and chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 3 green chillies slit
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup coconut grated
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5-6 curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Pressure cook the bottlegourd with water, turmeric and chillies for a whistle.
• Grind the yogurt and coconut with the fennel seeds into a smooth paste, without any bites.
• Heat a "chatti" (earthern pot). Pour in the coconut oil.
• Once it heats splutter the mustard seeds and then add the curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds.
• Add in the cooked bottlegourd and the paste and give it a nice mix.
• Adjust salt and simmer for 5 minutes. Switch off and serve warm with rice and pickle!

Notes

You can replace the bottlegourd with any mild, tasteless vegetable, like snakegourd and likes. The taste goes well with all those vegetables.