Poritcha Koottu

Toor (or) Thoor dhal or Pigeon pea is a legume that is used widely in Indian cooking. In my culture we start our lunch with hot rice mixed in with cooked toor dhal and ghee. To know more about this wonderful legume click here.

This is a simple recipe where vegetables are cooked in a freshly ground spice mixture and mixed in with toor dhal to create a complete nutritional wonder. We typically serve this kootu with hot rice.



Ingredients
- 2 cups of mixed vegetables (carrots, Peas, potatoes, beans, brinjal, tomatoes) cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup spinach chopped finely
- 3/4 cup cooked thoor dhal/Pigeon pea
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
- pinch of hing

Roast in a dry pan and grid to a fine powder:
- 1 tbsp urad dhal
- 2-4 red chillies
- 2 teaspoon jeera
- 2 teaspn pepercorns

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp jeera
- few curry leaves


Method:
1. Boil 3 cups of water and add the ground powder. Add hing, turmeric and salt to it. Let it boil for 2- 3 minutes. This will get rid of the raw smell.
2. Now add the hard vegetable like potatoes,carrots and beans. Once they are half cooked add the rest of vegetables and cook until all the vegetables are tender.
3. Once the vegetables are done add thoor dhal and let it boil for 3-4 minutes at medium heat.
4. Now heat oil in a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add jeera and the hing powder. Fry till they turn brown. Finally add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling koottu.




This recipe finds its way to my legume love affair hosted by mirch masala