Traditional Tamil Nadu Mor Kali — soft and tangy rice flour cooked with sour buttermilk, sesame oil and a fragrant tempering, with crispy mor milagai adding that irresistible finishing touch.
There are some dishes that instantly take us back to our grandmother's kitchen.
Mor Kali, also called Mor Kuzhu or Mor Koozh, is one such traditional Tamil Nadu recipe.
Simple, tangy, lightly spiced and wonderfully comforting, Mor Kali is made primarily with rice flour and sour buttermilk, cooked slowly until it becomes soft, glossy and almost halwa-like in texture.
And then there is that one ingredient that gives Mor Kali its characteristic taste — mor milagai, our sun-dried curd chillies.
Crisp, salty pieces of fried mor milagai scattered through the soft and tangy Mor Kali are what make this humble dish so delicious.
This is traditional home cooking at its best, inexpensive ingredients, very little preparation and yet so full of flavor.
What Is Mor Kali?
Mor means buttermilk in Tamil, while kali refers to a thick, cooked preparation.
Rice flour is mixed with sour buttermilk and cooked with a traditional South Indian tempering until the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the pan.
The finished Mor Kali should be soft, smooth and slightly wobbly when hot, becoming firmer as it cools.
It can be eaten warm straight from the kadai or spread onto a greased plate, allowed to cool and cut into pieces.
The slightly sour buttermilk, fragrant sesame oil, curry leaves and crunchy fried curd chillies together give Mor Kali its distinctive flavor.
Mor Kali Recipe
Cuisine: Tamil Nadu, South Indian
Recipe Type: Traditional / Tiffin / Light Meal
Diet: Vegetarian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20–25 minutes
Serves: 3–4
Ingredients
For the Rice Flour–Buttermilk Mixture
Rice flour – 1 cup
Sour curd – 1 cup
Water – 2½ to 3 cups, approximately
Salt – to taste
The amount of water can be adjusted depending upon the rice flour and the consistency of the curd.
The important thing is that the rice flour mixture should be smooth and pourable, without any lumps, before it goes into the kadai.
For Tempering
Sesame oil / gingelly oil – 3 to 4 tablespoons
Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
Urad dal – 1 teaspoon
Chana dal – 1 teaspoon
Mor milagai / curd chillies – 5 to 7, broken into pieces
Green chillies – 2, finely chopped or slit
Ginger – 1 teaspoon, finely chopped
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Asafoetida / hing – ¼ teaspoon
The generous use of nallennai (sesame oil) gives traditional Mor Kali a wonderful flavour and also prevents it from becoming sticky.
Method
Prepare the Buttermilk Mixture
Whisk the sour curd with the water to make a thin buttermilk.
Add the rice flour and salt.
Whisk everything together thoroughly until you have a smooth mixture without any lumps.
This step is important because once the rice flour begins cooking, it becomes difficult to remove lumps.
Keep this mixture aside.
Fry the Mor Milagai
Heat the sesame oil in a heavy-bottomed kadai.
Add the mor milagai and fry them carefully over medium-low heat until they become dark brown and crisp.
Do not allow them to burn.
Remove some of the fried curd chillies and keep them aside for garnishing the finished Mor Kali.
I like leaving a few pieces in the tempering as well because you get little bursts of salty, spicy crunch while eating.
Tempering
Into the same sesame oil, add the mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add the urad dal and chana dal.
Allow the dals to turn golden.
Now add the green chillies, finely chopped ginger, curry leaves and asafoetida.
Sauté briefly until everything becomes aromatic.
Cooking the Mor Kali
Reduce the heat. Give the prepared rice flour and buttermilk mixture another good stir because the rice flour tends to settle at the bottom. Slowly pour it into the kadai while stirring continuously. Initially, the mixture will look quite thin. Don't worry. Continue cooking over low to medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Gradually, the rice flour will begin to cook and the mixture will thicken. Keep scraping the bottom and sides of the kadai so that nothing catches or burns. As it cooks, the Mor Kali will change from an opaque floury mixture into a smooth, glossy mass. Continue stirring until it begins leaving the sides of the kadai. You will also notice the sesame oil beginning to appear lightly around the edges. This is a good indication that the rice flour has cooked properly. The entire process should take approximately 15–20 minutes, depending upon the pan and heat.
How Do You Know When Mor Kali Is Done?
This is perhaps the most important part of making good Mor Kali.
Undercooked Mor Kali will taste distinctly of raw rice flour.
Properly cooked Mor Kali should:
lose the raw smell of rice flour
become smooth and glossy
come together as one soft mass
begin leaving the sides of the kadai
have a soft but cooked texture
show a slight sheen from the sesame oil
Taste a tiny amount once it has cooled enough.
There should be no raw flour taste whatsoever.
Serving Mor Kali
There are two lovely ways of eating Mor Kali.
Soft and Hot
Spoon the freshly prepared Mor Kali into a bowl or onto a plate while it is still warm and soft.
Crumble some crisp fried mor milagai over the top.
This is my favourite way to enjoy it when I want something warm and comforting.
Set and Cut
Grease a plate or thali lightly with sesame oil.
Spread the hot Mor Kali evenly over it.
Smooth the top with the back of a greased spoon.
Allow it to cool completely.
As it cools, it firms up.
Cut it into squares or diamond-shaped pieces and serve.
The Mor Milagai Makes All the Difference
Can we really imagine Mor Kali without mor milagai?
Mor milagai are green chillies traditionally soaked in seasoned buttermilk and sun-dried repeatedly before being stored.
When fried, they become wonderfully crisp, salty and intensely flavoured.
Against the soft, mildly sour Mor Kali, those crunchy pieces provide the perfect contrast.
For me, this is the taste that makes Mor Kali unmistakably Mor Kali.
Tips for Perfect Mor Kali
- Use slightly sour curd. Fresh, sweet curd will not give Mor Kali its characteristic tang.
- Mix the rice flour before heating it. Never add dry rice flour directly to hot buttermilk. It will immediately form lumps.
- Cook patiently. Rice flour needs sufficient time to cook completely.
- Use a heavy-bottomed kadai. It makes stirring easier and reduces the chance of the mixture sticking.
- Don't reduce the sesame oil too much. Traditional Mor Kali is not meant to be completely oil-free. Gingelly oil contributes significantly to both its flavour and texture.
- Keep the heat controlled. Once the rice flour mixture is added, low to medium-low heat works best.
- Remember that it firms as it cools. If you want soft Mor Kali, don't make it excessively thick in the kadai.
A Traditional Tamil Comfort Food
Mor Kali is one of those recipes that reminds us how beautifully our grandmothers cooked with the simplest ingredients.
Rice flour. Curd. A handful of spices. Some curry leaves. A few mor milagai.
And from these everyday ingredients emerged something delicious enough for generations to remember.
Perhaps that is the charm of so many traditional recipes. They were never complicated.
They simply understood flavor, texture and balance.
And a warm bowl of tangy Mor Kali, with those crisp pieces of fried curd chilli appearing in every few bites, is comfort food in its simplest form.
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