Thanjavur Mor Keerai Kootu is a dish where health, tradition, taste, and comfort converge in perfect harmony. Hailing from the culturally rich region of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, this dish is a creamy blend of greens (usually amaranth or spinach), coconut, and buttermilk, gently tempered with mustard, red chillies, and curry leaves. Its uniqueness lies in the balance it strikes—cooling and gut-friendly from the buttermilk, nutrient-dense from the greens, and deeply comforting with its mild spices and rustic texture. Traditionally prepared during the summer months, it reflects the ancestral wisdom of eating seasonally and locally. In Thanjavur cuisine, Mor Keerai Kootu plays a grounding role—often paired with hot rice and a dollop of pickle or roasted appalam, it’s not just a dish but a feeling of home. It showcases how everyday Tamil cooking can be deeply nourishing without being heavy, and how food is used as both sustenance and gentle medicine in South Indian kitchens.

Ingredients
300 gms spinach (palak, keerai)
3/4 cup water
Unrefined salt to taste
1 1/2 cups thick yogurt
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (sarson, kadugu)
2 tsp split black lentils (urad dal, ulutham parupu)
2 dried red chillies, broken into two
1 sprig curry leaves
To Grind
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (sabut jeera, jeeragam)
2 green chillies
1 tsp thick yogurt
1 heaped tsp rice flour
1/4 cup tightly pressed coconut
Water
Method
Grind all the ingredients mentioned under “To Grind” and set aside
Add spinach and water to a pan
Cover and cook for 3 minutes
Add the ground mixture, salt and water
Cook for 5 minutes and switch off the flame
Set aside
Take thick yogurt in a vessel and whisk till lump-free
Add to the cooked spinach
Mix well
Cook on low flame for 1 minute
Set aside
Heat a wok and add mustard seeds
When they begin to splutter, add split black lentils
As the lentils begin to change colour, add red chillies and curry leaves
Mix well
Add asafoetida and mix well
Add this tempering to the spinach
Mix well
Serve with red/brown/millet rice
Enjoy!