Saturday 13 July 2013

Peerkangai Kootu | Ridge Gourd Kootu | Chinese Okra with Mung Dal

Cooked Ridge Gourd & Mung Dal with Indian tempering



For me kootu is a very healthy comfort food. Pair it up with steamed rice & rasam, I am a happy person :) Coz I do not have to think about cooking a dal & preparing a veg stir fry separately. Everything goes in together this single dish and gives me a tasty & healthy & easy recipe.. Truly comfort, right? Many would like to have kootu as a side dish with vathakuzhambu or kara kuzhambu but somehow I find it best with rasam. Rasam being subtle, I can enjoy the flavors of the kootu to the max ! Here, you can prepare this with channa dal also. But mung dal is a personal favorite & easy to cook and also it doesn't need much soaking time. Peerkangai (Ridge Gourd/Chinese Okra) being a versatile veggie, you can use even the peel/skin to prepare thogayal or chutney & not to forget about the health benefits. So let's see how this easy kootu can be prepared.





Recipe from Ma

Serves: 2 persons

I Took: 30 minutes



I Used:

Peerkanga/Ridge Gourd - 1 no - medium sized
Mung Dal/Channa Dal - ¼ cup (I used Mung Dal here)
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Red Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Salt - As Needed


To Temper:

Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard - ½ tsp
Asafoetida - ½ tsp
Red Chilly - 2 nos
Curry leaves - A sprig

The Way:

  1. Wash & clean the dal & soak in water for 15-20 minutes. Then pressure cook it till done
  2. Clean the ridge gourd & peel the skin. Reserve the skin/peel for chutney/thogayal. Chop the gourd into small cubes. You need not discard the middle soft portion as in other gourds
  3. Now add the chopped ridge gourd, red chilly powder, turmeric powder & salt to the cooked mung dal. If the dal is too mushy, add ½ cup water & cook uncovered until done. Do not pressure cook the gourd as it will get overcooked
  4. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it splutters, add red chilly, curry leaves & asafoetida & saute. Take care not to burn
  5. Add this tempering to the cooked kootu. Add the grated coconut & give it a mix
  6. Remove from flame & serve with steamed rice & a gravy of your choice
Cheers,
Chitz

38 comments:

  1. I had no clue that the other name for peerkangai is Chinese okra, imagine okra of that size, HaHa :-)!
    Lovely kootu, at least you make rasam along with kootu - I eat kootu along with steamed rice, thatz it ....uber lazy me! I cook properly only when somebody comes home!!
    Awesome second shot, with the rasam rice mix and that side dish, looks more like fish fry, is it??
    Truly a simple comfort food!

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    1. Hehe.. True, would look like soft drumsticks !! Ahh, that is also a yummy way of having it.. Hot rice & kootu :)
      Yupz, that's none other than the fish fry !

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  2. Wow! So flavorful and delicious! Perfect and superb comfort food! I like the addition of okra! :D http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/

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  3. So colorful and tempting !
    Do participate in my event
    @Fast!Fresh!Simple

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  4. Looks very comforting and delicious !

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  5. really delicious looking dish,.

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  6. Love the colour on the dish and mum's recipes always work

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  7. chitz am like you too...love to have a bowl pour some curry first then some rice and much with some side...your clicks are tempting directly for a lunch now

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  8. very very comforting and lovely kootu, I love the way u had mixed with rice and clicked. Wow, wow its tempting me...

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  9. Stunning, the visuals which says how tasty this kootu is. Loved the combination of ingredients and yes, I will certainly enjoy it with rice and rasam.

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  10. 2 in one recipe...Eating as well as vegetable :)

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  11. Hey Chitz,love the way u have improvised on the blog layout this looks good.
    Kootu looks so yummy I make this all the time with some shallots too for tempering.

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    1. Thanks a lot Meena.. I too do that, but then I follow a slightly different recipe !

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  12. wonderful recipe....i m sure this tastes great. :-)

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  13. Super receta me encanta luce muy rica y saludable,saludos y abrazos.

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  14. Very simple healthy gravy.. I usually add onions and tomatoes.. Will try your method sometime..

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  15. My first time on your page and am blown away with your beautiful clicks. really awesome presentation. The kootu looks tempting.

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  16. So creamy and delicious! Miss ridge gourd...

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  17. Yum, a different variation of kootu.

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  18. comfort dish lovely presentation...

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  19. yummy and tempting kootu.. nice cliks...

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  20. A big fan if such curries :) give some n pickle andcuts a happy me.. thank you sweety for sharing the recipe :)

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  21. One of my favor kootu.add some ghee with rice is very good combination.yummy yummy!!!!!!

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  22. Thick kootu...so inviting! Awesome shots, dear!

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  23. Delicious ! This is what I call comfort food:) Great clicks !

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  24. Hmmm....Love all kinds of kootu..Looks so delicious

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  25. Very new and seems so flavourful .. Lovely Chitz !

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  26. Flavourful kooku dear...:) luv to have with my daily rotis

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  27. Ah! totally loved it. Mouth watering indeed :)
    www.merrytummy.blogspot.com

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  28. Very tempting kootu. i simply love with white rice. :)

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  29. wow yummy one .. goes wel with roti too..

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  30. Thanks all my dear fellas for your awesomy comments :) Hugs :)

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  31. cooked this tonight. it was great. loving your maa's recipes :)

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  32. Wow! Looks creamy and tasty.

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