Wednesday 5 September 2012

Sambharam - Spiced Buttermilk - Moru Vellam

People from Kerala do not eat curd rice. That is a huge difference from the neighbouring states. But that does not mean that curd does not feature in their menu. Lot of dishes have yogurt base. Moru Kari, Pulisheri etc used as kozhambu are yogurt based dishes. Kichadi made with Okra, Pavakka, Beetroot use yogurt base. Some people also just add curd as a side while eating sambar and rice. But the crown of the best use of curd goes to Sambharam.



My husband was asking why not just call it Moru (like tamilians), why the fancy name. Well Moru is just plain buttermilk. Sambharam is spiced buttermilk.

On a hot sunny day nothing quenches the thirst like this good old drink. The best taste of this is when you drink it from earthen vessels. But these days (and in the country that I am in) there is no scope for earthen pots. So I have to make do with glasses. And the sad part is the weather is never too warm for me to crave this favourite drink of mine.

When I lived in Chennai a long time ago, when we are out and about (window shopping) in the hot Chennai sun we used to buy packets of this spiced buttermilk and used to drink right out of the packet. It used to just feel divine. Last week we were in Saravana Bhavan and I was eating my favourite there - Kothu Barota. I really felt like having this to compliment the heat from the dish. It was divine, but for the cost. £3 for a glass of moru is too much. I mean I can make around 30 glasses for around a £1 at home.

Ingredients (Makes 3-4 glasses)

Curd 4 tbsp
Water 3 cups
Green Chilli 1
Curry Leaves few
Ginger a very small bit
Salt

Method of Preparation

1. Finely chop green chilli, curry leaf and ginger.

2. Take curd in a vessel. Add the water and salt. Mix well.

3. Add the chopped chillies, curry leaves and ginger.

4. Leave it for sometime before serving. You can remove the herbs before serving or just leave it in. It is upto the person drinking. The buttermilk will be flavoured even if you remove the herbs.

Note:
1. Adjust spice per your taste.
2. If serving for kids, you may want to avoid chillies
3. You can add a little hing for added taste



Linking this to Onam Special @ Sharan's Samayalarai



11 comments:

  1. wow pls pass the glass Roshini,really tempting...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yummy, I love this drink, helps digestion we call it Mattha

    http://shwetainthekitchen.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. I simply love this buttermilk anytime,love it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice comfortable drink on a hot day....Happy to follow you ...:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. because of my pain ulcer, daily 2-3 times i am drinking a glass full of buttermilk, this spiced buttermilk is perfect for hot sunny days...looks lovely!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nothing beats this homely drink in hot Summer. I love this more than curd/yogurt.

    ReplyDelete
  7. nothing can beat buttermilk :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Refreshing drink.. my fav.. Thanks for linking this to my event... Please do add the event logo.. Expecting more recipes from you :)

    Inviting you to join my on-going events :-

    Onam Sadhya Grand Feast

    Vinayagar Chathurthi Event

    Cheers,
    Sharanya
    Sharans Samayalarai

    ReplyDelete