Majjiga Charu (Majjiga Pulusu)

Majjiga Charu is an Andhra style side dish of seasoned yogurt with tempering spices. Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, green chilies and curry leaves transform your plain old bland yogurt to a delicious spiced aromatic Majjiga charu. It is tangy and spicy with a burst of flavors that any yogurt lover will enjoy this. Traditionally it is eaten with plain steamed cooled rice but you can also eat it on its own or with chapati. Make this for a fast and effortless side on a weeknight.

The word Majjiga translates to buttermilk in Telugu and Charu is a traditional rasam/soup. So you may call it buttermilk rasam. However this dish neither is as runny as rasam nor it is cooked with so many spices. Actually we don’t cook curd at all, we just season it and it is slightly thick yet of pouring consistency.

About Majjiga Charu

In Indian cuisine there are numerous seasoned yogurt dishes. North Indian Kadhi, Tamil Nadu mor kulambu, Kerala coconut moru curry and Karnataka majjige saaru are some similar dishes like this Majjiga charu. Each version tastes different as they are made differently. Some versions also use lentils/dal and others use coconut or even both but this Andhra style dish is the simplest made with minimum ingredients.

Traditionally these dishes were a way to use up the excess curd that would otherwise go sour during the summer. My recipe is a traditional version which my Mom and grandmother made whenever we wanted a simple and fast comforting side dish. It takes only about 7 to 8 mins including the preparation.

A simple tempering is made under 5 mins and cooled down before stirring into the yogurt. Optionally it is garnished with coriander leaves for a herby flavor. This version uses only onions, which are sautéed lightly until the raw smell is gone. They still retain the crunch and this is what makes the dish delicious.

In the past buffalo milk yogurt was a staple and it is much thicker than the cow yogurt. So the curd would be diluted with little water to have a slightly lose consistency. But with cow yogurt you don’t need to add water, unless it is too thick.

A closer version of this is majjiga pulusu but it is made with vegetables. Every family has a different recipe for this. Some people add cooling vegetables like ashgourd, bottle gourd, cucumbers etc. I also have 2 other recipes made in similar way with other vegetables. You may check them here – potlakaya perugu pachadi and sorakaya perugu pachadi

Recipe Variations

• You may add any sauteed, boiled, steamed or cooked vegetables to this. It is best to use al dente veggies and finish in the tempering with salt, fenugreek and turmeric. Use plenty of chilies, good enough to give some heat.
• Best choices are bhindi, bottle gourd, sambar cucumbers, ash gourd, methi and spinach leaves. If you are using bhindi, methi and spinach, saute them well and use.

Photo Guide

Step by Step Photo Instructions

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal and urad dal.

2. When the dal turns golden, add ginger and saute until it turns fragrant.

3. Add curry leaves and green chilies. Stir fry for a while. When the curry leaves turn crisp, add onions and fry lightly until transparent yet crunchy.

4. Add hing, turmeric and salt. If using fenugreek powder add it. Cool this completely.

5. Meanwhile add curd or yogurt to a serving bowl. Whisk it well with a fork. Add the cooled mixture to the whisked curd. Add finely chopped coriander leaves. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Serve with cooled rice. If you mix it with hot rice, the curd coagulates. We usually have a stir fry, dal or any curry on the side along with this. Finish up the dish with in 2 hours and don’t store the leftovers.

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