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Kachimoru (Kerala-Style Spiced Yogurt Curry)

By Anisha Rachel Oommen • April 27, 2017 • 1 Comments

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Kachimoru (Kerala-Style Spiced Yogurt Curry) — Photo by Anisha Rachel Oommen

Author Notes: Kachimoru was a dish we’d have on the table almost everyday back at my grandmother’s house in Kerala, when we’d visit in the summer. A simple, spiced yogurt curry that’s rarely found on restaurant menus (and so much a part of the everyday that it’s almost invisible on the table), kachimoru is a fundamental constituent of Syrian Christian cuisine in Kerala, but you can find it almost every kitchen across that southwestern Indian state—a basic building block of a Keralan meal. —Anisha Rachel Oommen

Serves 4

1/2 cup water
1 cup yogurt
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
8 to 10 curry leaves
5 shallots, chopped
1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3 green chiles, slit down their lengths
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 pinch ground fenugreek

Beat the water and yogurt together until smooth. Add salt to taste.
Heat a wok or earthen pot over medium-high. When hot, add the coconut oil.
Throw in the mustard and fenugreek seeds. When they begin to splutter, add in the curry leaves, shallots, sliced ginger, and green chiles. Fry for a couple of minutes, until very fragrant.
Add chile powder, turmeric, and ground fenugreek and fry for a minute or two.
Turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt mixture. Serve warm with rice.