Morkali is a simple rice-based, fermented breakfast dish or snack from Tamil Nadu. Look around and you will find many a traditional mamis presenting “quick and easy” morkaḷi recipes made with rice flour and sour buttermilk, but there’s a crucial fermentation step in this recipe that is often cut out in the interests of quick-quick convenience.
Most people I know who’ve grown up with this dish have actually forgotten that this dish started with whole rice (not flour) and that the sourness of the kali owes to fermentation (not sour buttermilk)–that it is a slow food par excellence. The fermented version is also yummier and more nutritious by far.
Fermentation was also traditionally important in morkaḷi preparation because this was a food for the very young and the ageing or the convalescent: batters would keep for long without spoiling, could be easily prepared and easily digested. Plus they were mildly spiced and very tasty! Suguna Vinoth of the “Kannamma Cooks” blog has things to say about this, which you should see in the only other fermented morkali recipe I could find out there. I found a few others leaving comments on various forums about fermented morkaḷi, but little more. My recipe is an amalgamation of all these.
The process, in a paragraph:
- rice is soaked for a full 24 hours; effectively this is the first fermentation.
- Then the soaked rice is ground with a little coconut (to aid the second fermentation) + very little water into a fine paste–which is left to rest another 24-48 hours (yes, trust me on this, the taste only improves and the batter does not spoil!).
- The resulting batter is too thick to cook evenly, so it’s thinned either with buttermilk or with plain water and poured into a pan with seasonings already crackling.
- This is cooked down into a still-pourable koozh (which can be eaten hot, as-is). Lots of cold pressed sesame oil gets poured on, the mor koozh is tipped into a pan where it can cool, solidify, and be cut into pieces.
- Et voila, little snacking morkali squares. Very kid-friendly, I might add.
“Mor” in this recipe refers to the use of buttermilk, or the buttermilk-like batter, or the soured tastes, or all of the above! When fermented, the buttermilk addition is not at all mandatory, but I like a little of it in the mix. Minced ginger also complements, but I wanted to showcase the mor-molagai (curd soaked chilli) tastes, so I left it out this time.
Note that rice is “food” in this recipe for bacteria and yeasts that aid fermentation. Parboiled rice or idli rice works best since it ferments easily, but any rice that quickens fermentation will also do. Many whole bran red rices have this property; you could try a red rice [like Vadan Samba] or kar-arisi morkali for added mineral and nutritional boost.
Morkali
Ingredients
For the morkoozh
- 1 cup idli rice [parboiled makes fermentation easier, but a raw rice is ok, too–rice is food for yeasts and bacteria in this, its own taste does not matter so much but its starches do!]
- ¼ cup fresh shredded coconut
- ¼ cup or less sour curd thinned with water into about 2 cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup cold pressed good quality sesame oil
- salt
For the seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon Urad dal
- ½ teaspoon chana or split bengal gram dal
- Generous pinch asafoetida or hing
- 1-2 mor molagai or curd-soaked dried chilies, or just dry red chillies, or both
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger Note: Omit if using mor molagai
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
Instructions
- Day 1: Wash the rice and soak in sufficient water for a full 24 hours; effectively this is the first fermentation. The little bubbles you will see on the surface of the soaking water are evidence of this.
- Day 2: Grind the rice with the shredded coconut and very little water into a semi-fine paste. A little grittiness is ok. Transfer to a bowl and leave this (covered) to rest for an additional 24-48 hours. Basically: forget about it for 2 days! It can be left still longer, refrigerated, for several days and used as needed.
- Day 3 or 4: When you’re ready make the morkali, prep a plate or small tray by greasing it with sesame oil. Set aside.
- Your rice batter should show signs of souring: a little aeration or “sponginess” when mixed gently. Don’t expect anything too pronounced though. [Note: If you see signs of spoilage – color changes, or fungal growth, or anything but a sour smell then discard and start over.]
- Mix the 2 cups of thinned curd/buttermilk into the fermented rice batter until you have a runny batter. The added water is needed for the rice to cook well. More is better than less.
- In a wide pan, heat a little sesame oil, and drop in all the dry seasonings. Fry until these crackle and drop in the curry leaves and minced ginger (if using).
- Turn the heat to medium-low, and follow at once with the morkali batter, pouring this in in a steady stream while mixing constantly to keep this from clumping.
- Continue stirring and cooking until the look of the koozh turns from chalky to glassy—a sign that the rice has all cooked sufficiently. There’s no harm in adding more water as you go, if you feel the mixture is getting too solid too fast and hasn’t cooked yet. Just mix it in slowly until all lumps are incorporated.
- You can also touch the surface of the koozh with moist fingers to test for done-ness – it should not stick. If it does, continue cooking a little longer. If your fingers come away clean, you’re done. The cooking process takes about 10 minutes, and needs your constant attention.
- Now pour the remaining sesame oil over top and mix well. Turn off the flame.
- Tip this koozh into the waiting greased tray and spread quickly using a spatula or spoon. Smoothen out the surface as best you can. Once this cools, you can invert it onto a serving dish and cut into squares or other shapes of your choice. In this form, morkali keeps well for a several days, refrigerated. Warm it a little (ideally by steaming) before serving.
- You can also spoon the hot koozh directly into bowls and serve with a little extra sesame oil drizzled over top. Spicy tamarind gravies like varthal kuzhambu go well with this!
Notes
- Don’t use buttermilk that is too sour, as the fermented batter will have a sourness of its own that you don’t want to overwhelm.
- For a vegan version, you can simply skip the buttermilk, and thin the batter prior to cooking with just water. Also then just use red chillies and ginger in seasoning and no mor-molagai.
