Pudalangai Kootu (without coconut) | Easy Snake Gourd Kootu in Pressure cooker | Padavalanga Kootu with Channa Dal

Kootu, that name to me is synonymous with comfort food :) And also comfort cooking ! Yes, it combines both lentils and veggies and all it takes is a pressure cooker and a tadka pan to clean in the end :) So definitely comfort cooking right :D And my little one adores this kootu and can have it with just plain rice and a dollop of ghee.. I on the other hand would love to pair it with rasam sadam (rice).. This is also my dad's favourite 'kalichikoora'. 

I am not sure if I have spelt the term correctly. But that's what we call a kootu in our 'Telugu'. And yea, the Telugu that we speak at our home is a medley of all sorts of language :P  And also this kootu is a protein and fibre packed dish. Proteins from the dal and fibre from the gourd. So totally a winner recipe right. Also yes, I prefer my kootu mostly without coconut. So if anyone is on the same page as mine, here is that perfect kootu recipe for you :) 

Recipe Source: Ma

 

I Took: 30 minutes

 

Serves : 2-3 persons

I Used:

Snake Gourd/Pudalangai - 250 gm - 1.5 cups after dicing Channa Dal - ¼ cup Red Chilly powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp Salt - As needed

To Temper:

Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Urad Dal	-	1 tsp
Red Chilly	-	2 nos
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Asafoetida	-	2 pinch

The Way:

1. Rinse channa dal thoroughly in water. Then soak the dal in water for 20-30 minutes

2. Remove the skin (you can scrape using a knife) of the snake gourd/pudalangai (and also the middle mushy part). Rinse it well in water and then dice it into quarter inch pieces



3. In a pressure cooker take the soaked channa dal, the diced snake gourd/pudalangai, red chilly powder, turmeric powder & salt. Pressure cook for 2 whistles in high and four (five makes it 50% mushy :D) in simmer. If you overcook, it will get mushy but still tasty :)

4. Now for the tadka/tempering, heat oil in a tadka pan/kadai

5. Add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the urd dal



6. As it slightly turns colour add the broken red chilly, asafoetida and curry leaves and give a nice stir. Take care not to burn the asafoetida, else it gives a burnt taste

7. Add the tadka to the kootu and mix and serve



Tastes awesome with Plain Rice / Rasam Sadam / Kathirikai Kara Kuzhambu / Pavakkai Puli Kuzhambu

Notes:

You can crush 2-3 garlic and an inch of ginger piece and add to the dal-gourd while pressure cooking. Since we do not like the taste of that in this kootu I avoid it

Cheers,
Chitz