During our childhood days, both myself and sis were not big fans of kootu (for no reasons:-)) so Amma won’t prepare kootu frequently. On the contradictory hubby loves kootu, and even if I repeat kootu twice a week he will happily eat. Now a days I have one more kootu lover in home – my Little hero.
There are lot of variations for kootu with many lentils, different grinding methods etc. This is one way of preapring it with channa dal.
Checkout my other recipes with White Pumpkin,
Ingredients
White Pumpkin/ Ash guard – 1 medium size, peeled and cubed
Channa dal/ Kadalai Paruppu – 1/3 cup
Turmeric Powder – a pinch
Salt – as needed
To grind:
Grated Coconut (Fresh/Frozen) – 3 tbsp
Green chillies – 1
Cumin Seed – 1/2 tsp
To Temper:
Coconut Oil – 1 tsp
Mustard – 1/4 tsp
Asofetida – generous pinch
Curry leaves – few
Method:
- Pressure cook dal and white pumpkin for 1 whistle.
- Grind coconut, green chilli and cumin seeds into a fine paste with little water
- Add oil to the pan, when the oil is hot add the ingredients under “To temper” and let it splutter
- Add cooked dal and pumpkin to the same pan. Add the ground coconut paste, salt and turmeric powder; mix well
- Cook for 3 -5 minutes and switch off. Serve it with rice
My Notes:
- Toor dal can be used instead of Channa dal or combination of both dals can also be used
- Coconut oil gives nice flavour to the kootu. You can use any oil instead