Neer Mor | Majjiga | Masala Buttermilk | Summer Cool Drink Recipe

Summer calls for special cool drinks. Curd/Yogurt happens to be one of the easiest available stuff in every Indian household. Neer Mor or Majjiga is one such simple, healthy summer cool drink recipe. Neer Mor literally translates into watery buttermilk. With the intolerable heat of the summer, our body loses a lot of water content. To keep up with the dehydration - Neer Mor, Majjiga been the age old mantra for many many years.

I have said this a number of times on this blog – I am not a big fan of curd/yogurt. In fact, buttermilk has always been at the bottom of my food list. I would just gulp it down if not for anything but the health benefits or to satisfy my parents. I like it with sugar, but that’s not too healthy now, isnt it?! To overcome this, we started preparing Spicy Masala Buttermilk at home. This is a very South Indian styled preparation and one sip of it, you would not even know that it is buttermilk 🙂

Usually, we prepare curd at home, making sure it is fresh and thick – it is such a simple procedure. Bring the milk to boil and then let it cool down to a warmer temperature. Take a spoonful of curd and dip it into the warm milk. Set the milk pot in a warm place for 6-8hrs and wonderfully thick, fresh curd/yogurt can be made right at home. Although it is healthy, instead of consuming curd as it is, it is recommended to have it as buttermilk. Beat/whisk the curd with lots of water to make buttermilk and follow the recipe below to make it much tastier, into Masala Buttermilk or Neer Mor.

To make Neer Mor | Majjiga | Masala Buttermilk

Servings: 2
Time: 10 mins
Difficulty: Easy
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What I used –

Thick Curd, 1 cup
Cold Water, 2 cups
Curry Leaves Chopped, 1 tablespoon + extra for tempering (as required)
Coriander Leaves Chopped, 2 tbsp
Green Chili, 1 small (optional)
Ginger Chopped, 1 tsp
Oil, ½ tsp
Mustard Seeds, ¼ tsp
Asafoetida/Hing, a pinch
Salt, as required

Spicy Buttermilk

How I made –

1. To prepare buttermilk, hand whisk the thick curd with 2 cups of water until there are no lumps and the buttermilk is frothy.

2. In a mixer jar, add half of the curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chilli and ginger. Blend it into a coarse paste.

3. Add this prepared paste to the buttermilk along with salt required and whisk it again.

4. In a small pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds and as they splutter, add curry leaves and a pinch of hing/asafetida. Add this tempering to the prepared buttermilk, mix well.

5. Serve it cold in tall glasses 🙂

Note –

Buttermilk can be made either thick or thin. Adjust the quantity of water accordingly.
We have a special whisk just to whisk the buttermilk – called as “challa kavvam” in Telugu, made out of wood. If that’s not available, beat/whisk using a manual whisk.
Green chilli and ginger are optional – they do make the otherwise bland buttermilk spicy.
I like fresh buttermilk but if you prefer sour buttermilk, let the buttermilk stay in a warm place for 4-5 hrs – it turns sour.
Tempering with mustard and oil, helps keep the cold away even when buttermilk is consumed in excess.

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Taking this cool masala buttermilk to Fiesta Friday #123. Hosts for this week are Margy @ La Petite Casserole and Linda @ La Petite Paniere.