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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Chayote Kootu


I grew up in a nuclear family with a sibling, five years younger than me. Flash forward 20+ years later, I ended up in a huge, I mean really huge family through my marriage to M. Just counting my husband's siblings' families, we are now somewhere around 70. It is almost like those large families in Indian movies / TV serials sans the drama and plotting, of course. :)) The new entrants to the family come from different backgrounds and regions ranging from Delhi, Gujarat to Karnataka. 
Though I never had an elder sister, I acquired nine "akkas" (elder sister in many South Indian languages) through my marriage, in between my husband's sisters and SILs. Each of them is a great cook and I get to learn some new recipes each time we get to meet. This kootu comes from one of the SILs with a Tamilnadu collection. I have eaten kootu many times before but have never tried cooking at home as M is not fond of coconut. A kootu is a delicious variation from the regular sambhar fare and tastes good with hot, steamed rice.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chana dal / Bengal gram (or substitute half the quantity with toor dal. Kootu can be prepared with moongdal as well.)
1 chayote squash, peeled and cut into cubes (Veggies like bottle gourd, ridge gourd, cucumber or cabbage can be substituted.)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup fresh, grated coconut
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp rice flour (optional)
Salt to taste
For tadka: 1 Tbsp ghee, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp skinned, split blackgram / uraddal, a pinch of asafoetida and curry leaves

Method:
* I soak chanadal an hour before preparation but that is optional. Cook chandal, chayote cubes and turmeric adding water as needed in a pressure cooker until done. No need to cook until very mushy.
* Grind the coconut and cumins to a fine paste adding little water if needed.
* Add this paste, rice flour, salt and chili powder to the cooked dal and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and turn off the stove.
* Heat ghee in a small pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida and curry leaves. When the dal starts to turn brownish, remove and add to the cooked dal.


This is my third day entry for blogging marathon #12 under "delicious dals" theme. Check out the Blogging Marathon page to find out what other marathoners have been cooking.

Comments

24 comments:

Chef Mireille said...

is rice powder the same as rice flour or is it something different?

Suma Gandlur said...

Mireille, I didn't realize that I typed powder instead of flour. :)

Priya Suresh said...

Super thick and delicious kootu,would love simply with rice and pickles.

Harini said...

Very tempting kootu. My fav and I prepare this rarely for the same as you mentioned.

Suma, I come from a very large family of about 100+ counting only the closest family and on my husband's side it is a very small number in comparison (about 15-20)!! The contrast is interesting!!

Rasi said...

Nicee :) Kootu is a house fav..we do it a lil differently and tamilnadu households they do multiple variations and for most veggies :D..

hotpotcooking said...

I always love this kootu. Looks delicious

Sravs said...

Delicious and superb kootu !!

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Nalini's Kitchen said...

Super delicious and comfort kottu.luv to have it piping hot rice and pappads...yum..yum..

Sayali said...

Thats really a huge family. Must be exciting everyday . Good to know one more south indian dish

Unknown said...

comforting dish with a yummy veggie!...looks good!

Usha said...

I never made kootu at home.. chayote kootu looks delicious!

Srivalli said...

I love this kootu..goes well with anything..looks very nice!

The Pumpkin Farm said...

seems pretty simple, book marking

Unknown said...

Looks delicious. Love the tempering pan..

Gayathri Kumar said...

Irresistible kootu. Great to know that you have 9 akkas...

vaishali sabnani said...

looks very invting...bookmarked!

Unknown said...

I too make this kootu but with pesrapappu will ty with chanadal next time looks yumm suma.

Padmajha said...

My favorite vegetable.I make this a little watery.Clicks are yummy..

Rathai's recipe said...

The kootu looks terrific! I think Sudha at Wit, wok and wisdom is hosting a lentil event that you could send in this awesome recipe to, if you are interested, of course. :) Stunning click as well!

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Kootu looks awesome! I usually eat my kootu with yogurt rice! Simple comfort food for me.

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

whoa, thats HUGE family! must be a lotta fun... kootu looks yum

veena said...

I love kootu and def with chayote

Fairy Garden said...

nice kootu. i got the recipe at last.

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

my all time fav curry (after mattar paneer). looks yum :)