Spinach Mosaru Shaale

We all love yogurt in my family. Sunny boy adores dairy, be it yogurt, be it butter or cheese. The other day I just opened my refrigerator to get some butter for blueberry muffins, I noticed that the butter had been gnawed all over. 'Could it be rats?' came a horrified thought, the very next second, Sunny boy grabbed the butter from my hand, 'Benne....Amma benne kodi, Thank you' and started gnawing at the butter that very moment. My heart almost skipped a beat. Thank god it is not rats it is just my Sunny boy. The same thing with yogurt. I would keep the yogurt to set in the oven, If I am not around, two little hands will grab the bowl of yogurt and eat it with bare fingers, licking, spilling et al. If I am in my patient mode, I did smile and say 'Ah! nanna chinni Krishna' and give  him a hug, If I am in my not-so-patient mode, I will yell 'A*****, you little monster, katte nan magane' and probably spank him on his bums.

So that is story of dairy in my house. I get raw dairy,which is creamy,rich and yummy beyond words. It makes for the ultimate yogurt, butter and ghee. The creamy rich and sweet but tart yogurt is perfect for a dish like Mosaru Shaale . It is nothing but uncooked mixture of coconut and spices combined with yogurt.The other day I was talking to my Doddamma, and she gave me an idea to spruce up the dish with some crunchy onions. We loved it. I also managed to sneak in some spinach, thus the lovely green color. It is a good way to use up buttermilk as well.

We will need,

Yogurt 1.5 cups  or butter milk 3cups
Spinach  2 cups
coconut 1/4 c
Green chillies 4-5 (adjust according to taste)
Cilantro a handful
Ginger grated 1/4 tsp
Garlic 1 clove
Black pepper corns 6
Peanut oil 2 tsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves a handful
Onions 1 small chopped.

Method:

• Beat yogurt well, combine 1.5 cups of water and beat it again till homogeneous.
• Cook spinach in the microwave oven till soft but still vibrant in colour. Else blanch it in hot water and  allow it to cool.
• Once cool, combine the spinach, coconut, green chillies, cilantro,ginger, garlic and pepper cloves in a blender and pulse till smooth.
• Stir the spice mixture into the yogurt and stir it well.
• Heat oil in a Kadai. Throw in the mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves. Once they stop spluttering throw in the onions.
• Once the onions turn pink, remove it from heat and allow it to cool. When it is reaches the room temperature, stir it into the yogurt mixture. Serve it with hot rice and some ghee.