Kootu Recipe
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What is Kootu?
Kootu, or vegetable stew, is native to Tamil Nadu. It is a nutritious and delicious medley of spices, lentils, and vegetables of your choice, that can be savoured with a side of steamed white rice or chapati. It also makes for a tasty and silling side dish for sambar saadham, mor saadham (curd rice) or my personal favorites, Tomato Rasam saadham, Tamarind Rasam saadham and Milagu Rasam saadham. This authentic brahmin vegetable kootu recipe is a flavour-packed superfood in my opinion, because it is not only highly nutritious because of its abundance of vegetables, lentils, and antioxidants, but also keeps your tummy full and happy, enough to get you through your day till your next meal.
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What Are The Different Types of Kootu?
The versatility of this dish allows for it to have endless variation, depending on the vegetable used - Chow Chow kootu, Pudalangai kootu, Sorakkai kootu, Peerkangai kootu, Cabbage kootu, Bottle Gourd kootu, Beans kootu, Ash Gourd kootu, White Pumpkin kootu, or Kadalai Paruppu kootu, among many others.
Image Source : Kalaiselvi Murugesan, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Kootu Recipe
(Vegetable Kootu Recipe - with any Vegetable of your choice)
INGREDIENTS -
2-3 Cups - Your Choice of Vegetable for Kootu, Roughly Diced
1 tsp - Turmeric
1 Cup - Green Gram (Paasi Paruppu/Moong Dal)
1 tsp - Mustard Seeds
1 tsp - Black Gram (Ulundhu Paruppu)
2 Cups - Desiccated Coconut
Salt
2 cups of water
For Coconut Paste -
3-4 - Dried Red Kashmiri Chillies, Depending on your spice preference
1/2 tsp - Cumin Seeds
1/4 Cup - Rice Flour
Water - Adjusted as per requirement
For Tempering and Garnish -
2 tbsp - Oil
1 tsp - Mustard Seeds
1 tsp - Black Gram (Ulundhu Paruppu)
1-2 Sprigs - Curry Leaves
PREPARATION -
Boil your choice of vegetable(s) with Salt and Turmeric.
If the vegetable is particularly difficult to cook through with just boiling, you can cook it in a pressure cooker with water, salt, and turmeric for about 1-2 whistles, until it is soft.
Cook the Green Gram in a pressure cooker with water and turmeric for 5-6 whistles. Once cooked, mash it well and set it aside.
Grind Coconut, Red Chillies, Cumin Seeds, and Rice Flour into a fine paste.
Once the Vegetable is soft, add the fine coconut paste and mashed Green Gram.
Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes.
For Tempering -
In a separate pan, heat some oil.
Once hot, sauté the mustard seeds, black gram, and curry leaves until they start to sputter.
Once it has sputtered, add it to the Kootu as garnish
Serve hot and enjoy as a side dish or as the main dish with a side of steamed white rice or chapati.
