Mor Milagai Recipe – South Indian Sun Dried Chillies

Mor Milagai Recipe is a delicious crisp chilli which is marinated in yogurt and sun-dried. Later these sun dried chillies are fried in oil and then served along with a bowl of curd rice. It is one of the most popular condiments of the South Indian Cuisine. Course : Side Dish Ingridients : 100 grams Green Chillies 1 cup Curd (Dahi / Yogurt) , thick 1/4 cup Water 2 tablespoons Salt Instructions To begin making the Mor Milagai, first wash the green chillies well and allow it to dry completely by wiping it in a cloth.Slit the chillies in the middle slightly till half way along the end. Also, keep the stems, and don't remove them. Slitting of the chillies helps the chillies to absorb curd/ yogurt easily. In a large mixing bowl, add the curd, water and salt. Whisk well and add the chillies. Stir well with a clean ladle and avoid using your hands. We need to now marinate the chillies in a bottle.Place the Mor Milagai, along with the curd mixture into a clean bottle. Cover the bottle and keep aside in the kitchen counter. The next morning shake the bottle well, to allow the marination to blend well into the chillies.  Ensure there is no fungus around the chilles.Remove the chillies from the yogurt mixture and place it on a clean tray and place it under the sun for the entire day. Keep the buttermilk in the bottle, as we be adding the chillies back into the same buttermilk at the end of the day. Do not refrigerate this mixture.Loosely cover the Mor Milagai with a loose kitchen towel. This is simply to preven the dust from sticking to the Mor Milagai.At the end of the day, place the chillies back into the bottle which had the buttermilk. Shake well, so the chillies get well coated with the buttermilk mixture. Allow it to marinate it the entire night.The next morning, shake the bottle and remove the chillies from the buttermilk mixture and dry it again under the sun for the entire day.Continue this process of drying and marination in the buttermilk for 4 days. The buttermilk, will be mostly absorbed by the chillies. The drying of the chillies, helps the chillies to absorb more buttermilk every day.At the end of 4 days you will have very little yogurt mixture and will be a thick paste.Mix the mor milagai chillies into the paste and ensure the chillies are well coated with the remaining yogurt paste.Spread this Mor Milagai in a tray and keep it under the sun to dry.  Repeat the same process the next day, by tossing any remaining buttermilk/ yogurt paste and smearing it over the chillies.Dry it under the sun until  the chillies are completely dry and dehydrated. Once the Mor Milagai is dry and feels de-hydrated and there is no moisture left, you can store it in a ziplock and freeze it and use it as and when required.