Kootu With Vegetables/Tubers

Kootu is a lentil and vegetable dish, particularly in Tamil and Kerala cuisines. The etymology for kootu is derived from the Tamil word “kootu” which means “add” i.e. vegetable added with lentils form the dish, which is semi-solid in consistency. Like the curd or moru based dishes, kootu are also side dishes, similar to dhal fry, pachadi and curry, sometimes devoid of the tangy or sourness of tamarind or curds. Kootu is a tasty side dish as well as a very healthy food.

The dish is noted for its nutty and complex flavors and textures, owing to the liberal addition of lentils and coconuts. It is typically less watery than sambhar, but more so than dry stir-fries. All kootus by default have some vegetables and lentils, but many variations of kootu exist.

Poricha Kootu: A kootu made with urad dhal and pepper is called poricha (means “fried” in Tamil) kootu. Fried urad dhal, pepper, few red chilies, some cumin and fresh coconut are ground together. Moong dhal and the cut vegetables are cooked separately. Then, the ground paste, cooked vegetables and moong dhal are mixed and heated. Vegetables such as beans and snake gourd are common ingredients in this kootu.

Araichivita Kootu: A kootu which has a powdered (freshly ground) masala in it; the word araichivita in Tamil literally translates to “the one which has been ground and poured.” The ground paste is a mixture of fried urad dal, cumin seeds and coconut.

Araichivita Sambar: The chopped vegetables and toor dhal are cooked separately. Then, the ground paste, cooked vegetables and dal are heated together to which a ground paste of coconut, Bengal gram, coriander, red chilies, a few pepper corns, a piece of cinnamon is added. The dish is completed with a seasoning of mustard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koottu

Ingredients :

Any Vegetable / Tuber – 18 palam

Water – ½ padi

Red Chilly – palam

Pepper – ¼ palam

Black Gram – 1½ palam

Grated Coconut – 2½ palam

Cleaned Sesame Seed – ½ palam

Water – ¼ padi

Tamarind – 1 padi

Powdered Salt – ¾ palam

Curry Leaves – ¼ palam

Ghee – ½ palam

Red Chilly – palam

Mustard Seed – palam

Black Gram – ¼ palam

Method :

1. Vegetables such as raw banana, snake gourd, ridged gourd and tubers such as potato and colocasia can be used to prepare this kootu. (Colocasia should be treated with tamarind as described in the recipe 133 or colocasia morkuzhambu recipe)

2. Peel off the skin and clean the vegetable /tuber and cut them into small pieces. Take water in a lead coated vessel that can hold 1 ½ padi of water and add the cut vegetable/tuber into it and boil to cook.

3. Fry chilli, pepper, black gram, grated coconut and cleaned sesame seed one by one using a little ghee or oil and grind them into a nice paste adding a little water.

4. Take water and tamarind in a lead coated vessel and blend nicely, take the extract and add to the cooked vegetable/tuber. When the vegetable/tuber is nicely cooked add the ground masala and mix.

5. Add the powdered salt to the kootu and allow it to thicken. Saute curry leaves and add. Season using ghee, red chilli, mustard and black gram follow recipe no. 22 and add to the kootu.

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6. Optional: Cook padi of pigeon pea and add to the kootu when the
vegetable/tuber is nicely cooked and before adding masala. While adding the
curry leaves a handful of groundnut fried either in oil or ghee can also be added.

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