Mejjige Huli - Veggies in Yoghurt: sauce

Mejjige Huli is a lunch staple at most South Indian homes. Typically made with White pumpkin and a yoghurt based sauce, its mildly flavored and goes perfectly with rice. Its made more commonly in the sweltering summer months, to cool off the palate. My hubby shuns pumpkins in any shape, size or color so I improvised on the Mejjige Huli by adding a combination of vegetables and spices. It tasted just as good.

There are many versions to the Mejjige Huli, this is one of them.

You will need:

1/2 cup Carrots, sliced

1/2 cup Green beans, cut into pieces

1 whole Chayote squash (Seemebadnekai) cut into cubes

1/2 onion cubed

To grind into a paste:

1 tbsp Corriander seeds

2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Turmeric

3 whole black peppercorns

1" piece Ginger, chopped

6 Green chillies

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut

2 tbsp Ground split dalia (hurgadale)

1/2 cup Yoghurt, which is slightly sour

Salt to taste

To season:

2 tsp Oil

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

4 dry red chillies, broken into bits

Few curry leaves

Boil the veggies in water with a little salt. Make a smooth paste of the grinding ingredients. Add the paste to the boiled vegetables, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Prepare seasoning by heating the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry chillies; saute for a few seconds. When the huli begins to boil remove from heat and add seasoning.

Serve with hot rice.