Chow Chow Kootu | Chayote Squash Kootu | South Indian Kootu with Bangalore Kathirikkai

Kootu is one of my favourite side dishes. It is a wholesome meal in itself and requires really less effort and time. And luckily my little one also loves it, so I find making them often. Usually I make kootu with any veggies similar to this Pudalangai kootu (Snake Gourd) or this Yellow Pumpkin Kootu (Poosanikai) without coconut. At times I use coconut but do not grind them like in this Vazhaithandu Kootu (Banana stem). For me those recipes are very light on the tummy and the one like this Chow Chow kootu recipe today is a little heavy with coconut and rice flour ground and mixed in. But I like this one too. It also tastes yum and is like the one in restaurants or the ones that they serve in weddings :) 

Recipe Source: Ma

 

I Took: 30 minutes

 

Serves : 2 persons

I Used:

Chow Chow (Chayote) - 1 medium sized one Channa Dal/Moong Dal - ¼ cup Ginger - An inch piece Garlic - 2-3 cloves Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp Salt - As needed

To Grind:

Grated Coconut	-	3-4 tbsp
Red Chilly	-	1 no
Cumin Seeds/Jeerakam	-	½ tsp
Rice Flour	-	1 tsp

To Temper:

Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Urad Dal	-	1 tsp
Red Chilly	-	3 nos
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Asafoetida	-	2 pinch

The Way:

1. Rinse channa (or moong) dal thoroughly in water. Then soak the dal in water (I took 1.5 cups) for 20-30 minutes. Channa dal pairs well with chow chow but at times I use moong dal too

2. Remove the skin of chow chow (and also the seed in the middle) and dice it and keep aside

3. Add salt & turmeric powder to the soaked dal, diced chow chow, crushed ginger (optional) & crushed garlic (optional) in a pressure cooker. Pressure cook it for 3-4 whistles or until it is done 

4. Alternately you can cook them in a pot as well. If using a pot, make sure you add sufficient water and cook the dal & chow chow. Also take care to see that the water doesn't dry up and leave you with a burnt vessel. However chow chow takes longer to cook. So it's better to use a pressure cooker for faster cooking

5. While the chow chow is getting cooked, take the grated coconut, cumin seeds, red chilly & rice flour in a mixer along with 2-3 tbsps of water and grind it to a smooth paste 

6. Once the chow chow is cooked and the the pressure is released, open the cooker. Add the ground paste to it and give a nice stir

7. If water is less, add enough for your desired consistency. Allow the kootu to boil in low flame

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

9. Add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the urd dal. As it slightly turns colour add the remaining ingredients (red chilly is optional - add to adjust the heat of the kootu) and give a nice stir

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

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

Notes:

Instead of boiling the moong dal, you can pressure cook as well. Just about 2 whistles should suffice. 

Cheers,

Chitz

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

Kerala Parippu Vada | Channa Dal Fritters | Lentil Fritters

Fritters made from Channa Dal & Onions

Come to the God's own country & it is difficult to leave the place without spotting this snack. This is one of the yummiest finger food that you can find in the 'chaya kadas' (Tea stall) in Kerala. Pair it up with a cuppa chai & that makes your eve on a rainy monsoon day :) And did you know that this combo of Parippu Vada & Kattan Chaya (Black Tea) was once the watchword or identity of the Communist comrades ! I guess it is the simplicity of the dish & the abundance that made it so. Again, strictly my views :D And one can never forget the train journeys in South India, especially Kerala & Tamil Nadu without hearing the 'Uzhunnu Vada/Parippu Vada' shoutings ;) 

My mom seldom makes this one at home as it is Uzhunnu Vada that is popular at our abode, but my Mil is an expert in this. Give her 15 minutes (plus the soaking of the dal in the afternoon), she pulls up this yummy snack with hot steaming tea for us in the evening. And we are always ready to gobble this up in lesser time than she took to prepare it ;) So why don't we now see how to prepare this easy & popular snack?

Recipe Source: Mil

Makes: 25-30 medium sized fritters

I Took: 

Soaking Time: 2 hours
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

	Channa Dal/Kadala Parippu - 2 cups Onions - 3 nos - medium sized  Green Chilly - 5 nos  Ginger - A 2 inch piece Curry leaves - 3-4 sprigs Oil - To Deep fry Salt - As Needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the channa dal in water 3-4 times. Soak it in water for 2-2.5 hours
2. Chop the onion, green chilly, ginger & curry leaves finely
3. After 2-2.5 hours, drain the water off the channa dal thoroughly. Use a colander if required & then pat dry the dal using a kitchen towel. Do not over soak the dal as it may increase the moisture content & may cause the vadas/fritters to break
4. Now grind the soaked & dried dal coarsely in a mixie without water. Do NOT grind to a fine paste. Just pulse it 3 or 4 times. Add NO water at all as it may again increase the moisture content
5. Add the chopped onion, green chilly, ginger, curry leaves & salt to the coarsely ground dal and mix well
6. Heat oil in a kadai. When the oil is hot enough to fry the vadas, reduce the flame to medium high
7. Make small gooseberry sized balls with the dal mix. Then flatten the balls using your palm. Hold the ball in one palm and press the other palm over the ball so that they get flattened 
8. Take care not to break the balls. You may moisten your palm before flattening each ball. It is advisable to flatten the balls before adding to the oil, else they will break. Now deep fry the vadas until golden brown or till done

Drain off the excess oil & serve hot.

Cheers,

Chitz

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

Dosha/Dosa Podi | Idly/Idli Podi

Ground lentils with red chilly & pepper corns

It's been almost two weeks since the 'podi' I got from India has been over. I have to tell you it's been a great relief for me not to make side dishes for morning breakfasts during weekdays. Primary thing is I wake up just in nick of time and I will be racking my brain for ideas. And I don't get any !!! So when this podi got over, I was at a loss. So that's when I got the recipe from my Mil and decided to make it. So here's a side dish with a punch for your busy weekday mornings. You can make this over a weekend and store it over for over two months, if it lasts that long ;)

Recipe Source : Mil

I took : 20 minutes

I Used:

Urd Dal	-	1 cup
Channa Dal	-	½ cup
Red Chilly	-	15-20 nos
Pepper Corns	-	2 tsp
Curry leaves	-	10 sprigs
Asafoetida	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	As needed

The Way:

Dry roast all the ingredients separately and allow them to cool. Coarse grind them together and yo-ho !! Dosha podi is ready to be served with oil for steaming idlys or doshas :-)

Cheers,

Chitz