Ash Gourd/ White pumpkin kootu.

A few days ago I happened to find white pumpkin in my Asian market. This is a rare occourance in my small town. I got a piece and typically I make a kootu with lots of coconut and channa dhal. I wanted to try something slightly different with this one. I ended up making this gravy and it was a slight variation to my original recipe.

Ingredients:
- 1 small piece white pumpkin cut to bite size pieces
- small piece of tamarind (Soften it in the microwave)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar or jaggary

Fry till they become golden brown
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp jeera seeds
- 3-4 red chilies
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp urad dhal
- 1 tsp rice (This thickens the gravy. You can substitute this with rice flour or atta)
- 1/2 cup frozen coconut (Add it after the above whole spices turn slightly brown)

Seasoning:
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- few curry leaves

Method:
1. In a heavy bottom vessel boil your pumpkin in water and salt.
2. Meanwhile grind all the ingredients which you had fried with tamarind to a fine paste. So it is enough if your tamarind is slightly softened.
3. Add this mixture to your boiled pumpkins. Mix in jaggary and cook till the pumpkins become soft and tender to touch.
4. In a seperate pan add oil and the ingredients for seasoning. Once they turn brown add it to the pumpkin.

Serve this with fluffy white rice.

Sending this to Book Marked Recipe hosted by Priya

Watermelon Rind Kootu

We planted watermelon in our vegetable garden last year. This year we skipped it as the watermelon creeper grows everwhere and it becomes very messy. But somehow the watermelon plants sprouted again. There was a medium size watermelon in the creeper. After browsing the net, I decided it was time to pick the watermelon. But I was wrong, the watermelon was not ripe yet. My MIL suggested we make a kootu out of that. Even though I have seen many kootu recipes with the rind, I was still doubtful. We tried it out and it was very tasty. Please try it out the next time you buy a watermelon. It tastes like white pumpkin kootu. My husband could not tell the difference. This is one yummy kootu with watermelon rind, stuff that you would normally discard.

Ingredients

- 5 cups of wateremelon rind (chopped into small pieces)
- 1/4 cup chana dhal
-  pinch of turmeric

To Temper

- 1/4 tsp mustard
- 1/2 tsp uradh dhal
- 1/2 tsp Jeera
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 1 ts Oil

To Grind

- 3/4 cup coconut
- 5-6 red chilli
- 1/2 tsp jeera

Method

1. Boil chana dhal and the watermelon rind with salt and turmeric.
2. In a blender grind the coconut,red chilli and jeera until it become a smooth paste. Add to the watermelon and cook for few minutes
3. Heat oil in a pan and saute the mustard seeds, uradh dhal, jeera, curry leaves.
4. Add this tempered spices to the watermelon kootu.

Serve it with rice or rotis.

Pavakai pullita kootu - Bittergourd tamarind kootu

Ingredients:
- 2 bittergourd
- 1 cup tamarind extract
- 1 tspn black pepper
- salt to taste
- pinch of turmeric
- 1 tspn jaggary
- 1/2 cup boiled toor dhal
- 1/4 cup coconut (optional)

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tspn mustard seeds
- 1/2 tspn uraddhal
- 1 tspn channa dhal
- 1 tspn peanuts
- few curry leaves

Method:
1. Chop the bitter gourd to bite size pieces and soak it in salt water for 30 minutes. This will decrease the bitterness.
2. Wash the bitter gourd thoroughly. Pressure cook the bitter gourd with a little bit of salt and turmeric. Drain all the water. Wash it one more time.
3. Add the tamarind extract, pepper powder and boil for 5 minutes. Finally add toor dhal and jaggary. Let it boil for few more minutes.
4. If using coconut fry it in a little bit of oil with the seasoning and add it to the kootu. Let it boil till it thickens.

Serve hot with rice.

Avial

Ingredients:
- 4 cups mixed vegetables chopped into 2 inch pieces
(Some of the vegi we add are ash gourd, snake gourd, potatoes, carrots, beans, valakai(plantain), eggplant/bringal, chow-chow, unripe mango (mankai))
- 1 cup butter milk/ curds
- pich of turmeric
- salt to taste
- 1 tblspn coconut oil (optional)

Grind to paste:
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1 tspn jeera
- 1 tspn rice flour
- small lemon size tamarind softened
- 3 Green chili
- 2 red chili

Method:
1. In a deep vessel add all the vegetables with salt and turmeric. Boil them till they become tender.
2. Add the ground mixture. Let it boil for a few minutes.
3. Finally add the butter milk/curd. If you need it to be like kulumbu add buttermilk. But if you need it to be like kootu then add curds. Add curry leaves and coconut oil. Simmer it for a few minutes. Make sure it does not boil too much else the buttermilk will start to curdle.

Kerai mor kootu ( spinach with buttermilk)

Ingredients:
- 5 cups chopped spinach
- 1 cup butter milk
- 1 tspn rice flour

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tspn oil
- 1/2 tspn methi seeds
- 1/2 tspn mustard seeds
- 1 tspn channa dhal
- 3 red chilies

Method:
1. Boil spinach with salt till it becomes tender. Then puree it in a blender.
2. Mix butter milk and rice flour in a bowl.
3. In a pan add all the seasoning ingredients and fry till channa dhal turns into a light brown color.
4. In a pot add the spinach, butter milk and the seasoning ingredients and let it simmer. Make sure it does not boil too much because butter milk has the tendency to curdle at high heat.

Serve it hot with rice.

Variation:

Instead of rice flour you can use 1/4 cup shredded coconut, 1 tspn channa dhal and 3 red chilies. Grind it to a paste with the butter milk and pour it with the spinach puree. Use the same seasoning except the red chilies.

Kerai kootu with coconut and pepper

Ingredients:
- 5 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup coconut
_ 1/2 cup toor dhal
- salt to taste

Fry
- 1 tspn peppercorn
- 2 tspn urad dhal
- 1 tspn jeera
- 4 Red chilies

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tspn oil
- 1 tspn Jeera
- 1 tspn mustard seeds
- 1 tspn urad dhal

Method:
1. Pressure cook toor dhal.
2. Boil chopped spinach with salt till it becomes tender.
3. Grind coconut and the fired ingredients to a fine paste.
4. Add toor dhal and the coconut paste to spinach and let it boil till kootu thickens.
5. In a separate pan add oil and all the seasoning ingredients. Pour this on the top of the kootu before serving.

Serve it hot with rice.

You can do the same dish with other vegetables too. We add carrots, bell pepper, potatoes, zucchini and spinach to this kootu.

This is my entry to Healing Foods:Spinach an event by Siri and hosted at present by Divya

Keerai Pulita Koottu (Spinach with Tamarind)

Ingredients

• 3 cups spinach chopped finely


• 1 small size lemon (extract the juice to get 1.5 cups water)

For thaduka


• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds


• 1 teaspoon Methi seeds


• 3 Red Chillies


• 1 teaspn Oil

Method

1. Boil the chopped spinach in tamarind extract with salt till they are cooked.


2. Add oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add methi seeds and red chillies. Once they are brown add them to the boiled spinach. Let the spinach boil for another 3 minutes.

Server it hot with rice and poritcha Koottu.

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

Koottu (with Channa dhal)

Ingredients
- 2 cups snake gourd or cluster beans
- 1/2 cup channa dhal
- 1 cup cocounut
- 2-4 red chillies
- 2 teaspoon Jeera
- 1 teaspoon rice flour
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon hing

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp urad dhal
- few peanuts
- sprig of curry leaves

Method
1. Boil channa dhal till it becomes tender.
2. Add the hard vegetable like potatoes and carrots and once they are half cooked add the rest of the vegetables. Add salt and turmeric. Let it boil for 5 more minutes.
3. Grid jeera, red chillies, coconut and rice flour to a fine paste. Add the ground mixture to the boiled vegetables and boil for another 5 minutes.
4. Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the jeera, urad dhal and hing powder. Fry till they turn brown. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling kootu.

Variation 1:

Follow the same method and instead of a single vegetable use a mixture of vegetables like beans, carrots, potatoes, peas tomatoes etc.

Variation 2:

Instead of channa dhal boil some lima beans and add it and follow the same process.

This kootu tastes very good with rice.

Cabbage Koottu (With Moong Dhal)

Ingredients

• 1 small Cabbage cut into small pieces


• 1 tomato


• 3/4 Cup moong dhal


• 2 tbs Cocounut


• 2-4 Red Chillies


• 1 tblspoon Urad dhal


• 1 teaspoon Jeera

For thaduka


• Curry leaves, Mustard seeds, Urad Dhal, 1/4 teaspoon hing, peanuts

Method

1. Preasure cook Moong Dhal and Cabbage seperately for one whistle.


2. Fry red chillies, urad dhal and Jeera in a dry pan.


3. Grid the fried mixture with the coconut to a fine paste


4. Add dhal and the ground mixture to the cabbage.


5. Cut tomatoes and add it. Boil for 2-5 min


6. Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the urad dhal,jeera, hing and peanuts. Fry till they turn brown. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling kootu.

Kathrikai Puli Koottu

Ingredients

• 2-3 long purple Brinjal (Eggplant) cut into cubes


• 1 teaspoon sambar powder


• 1 lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)


• 2 tblspn Channa dhal


• 1 teaspoon jaggary or brown sugar


• 2-3 tblspn Coconut


• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric


• 1/4 teaspoon Hing

For thaduka


• Curry leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of Mustard seeds, Urad Dhal, Methi seeds

Method

1. Boil brinjal with salt and turmeric powder till it is half cooked


2. Add tamarind juice, sambar powder to the boiled brinjal


3. Cook for 5 minutes or till the raw smell goes away.


4. Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the urad dhal, Methi seeds hing powder and coconut. Fry till they turn brown. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling kootu.


5. Finally add jagary or brown sugar to the kootu. Take the kootu off the heat

Use the same method to make bitter gourd (Pavakai) kootu. To get rid of the bitterness soak bitter gourd in water with salt for 1/2 hour. Preasure cook bitter gourd with salt and turmeric. Drain all the water and follow the same steps to make pavakai kootu. This kootu tastes very good with rice.

Kotsu

Ingredients
- 2-3 long purple Brinjal (Eggplant) cut into cubes
- 1 medium sized onion (optional)
- 1 lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)
- 4 red chilies (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon jaggary or brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
- pinch of hing

Seasoning:
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp channa dhal
- 2-3 tbsp peanuts (optional)
- few curry leaves

Method
1. In a heavy pan add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the channa dhal, hing powder, red chillies and peanuts. I like adding peanuts as they give a crunch to this dish. Fry till they turn slightly brown.
2. Add onions, curry leave and fry till they turn golden brown. Add brinjal and fry for a few minutes. Now pour about a cup of water.
3. Once the vegetable is half cooked add salt and tamarind extract. Cook till it is tender. Mash it a little bit with the back of your spoon. As there is no coconut this step helps blend the dish well. Add brown sugar or jaggary. Simmer for a few minutes and remove from heat.

Garnish with corriander leaves and serve with hot idlis or dosai. This dish comes together very fast and tastes great.