Pooshinikai Kootu / White Ash gourd gravy

Ingredients:
White ash gourd - 1/2 kg
Tamarind - a medium lemon size
Chana dal - 1 tblsp
Sambar powder - 3 tsps
Haldi powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt as required
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Hing- a pinch
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp for seasoning
Urad dal - 1 tsp for seasoning
Rice flour - 1 tsp for thickening the kootu.

Method:
Peel the skin of the ash gourd and cut into small pieces wash nicely and keep aside.
Make a thick extract of tamarind.
Now pour the tamarind juice in a vessel over the ashgourd pieces
Put the Chana dal along with the ashgourd pieces and mix nicely.
Keep the vessel on the gas and let it boil nicely.
When the kootu has boiled and cooked well you can take 1 tsp rice flour in a small cup make a paste with little water and pour it into the kootu so that it becomes a little thick.
After the kootu is cooked nicely remove from fire and garnish with coriander leaves.
Now take a kadai and add 1 tsp ghee with mustard seeds, urad dal and hing and season and pour it on the kootu.
Now the kootu is hot and ready tob eaten with plain rice or a side dish for chappathis,phulkas or even parathas.
Add salt sambar powder, haldi powder,curry leaves and mix nicely and let the liquid boil and cook nicely.

Vazhaikai Kootu /Raw plaintain kootu

Ingredients:

Raw plaintain (Vazhaikai) - 3-4

Chana dal - 1 big Tblsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt as required

Fresh grated coconut

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Roast and wet grind:

Urad dal - 1 1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies - 3-4

Black peppercorns - 10

Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Coriander (daniya) seeds - 1 tsp

For seasoning:

Ghee - 2 tsps

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Hing a pinch

Method:

Remove the plaintain skin with a peeler and cut into small pieces and put in a vessel with water.

Now add chana dal along with plaintain with water and pressure cook for 20 minutes.

Mean while roast the items for roasting and wet grind with fresh grated coconut and keep aside.

After the kootu is cooked in the cooker remove it and add the ground paste and mix nicely.

Add salt and curry leaves and cook for 2-3 mins on the gas.

Now remove from gas and keep aside and garnish with coriander leaves.

Now take a kadai and add all the seasoning items and season the kootu and mix nicely.

Now the Vazhaikai kootu is hot and ready to be had with plain rice and roasted appalam or can even be had as a side dish with chappathis.

Vellarikai Kootu /Cucumber Kootu

Ingredients:

Cucumber - 2 medium sized

Chana dal - 1 Tblsp

Split yellow moong dal - 1 1/2 Tblsp

Black pepper corns - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 1/2 tsps

Curry leaves - few

Fresh grated coconut

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Hing a pinch

Ghee for seasoning

Coriander leaves for garnishing.

Salt as required

Dry red chillies - 3-4

Method:

Remove the cucumber skin with a peeler and cut into small pieces.

Wash the cucumber and put in a vessel along with chana dal,moong dal and some water and pressure cook for about 15 minutes.

Roast Urad dal, dry red chillies, black pepper and grind along with fresh coconut and jeera.

Now remove the cooked cucumber from the cooker and add the ground paste with curry leaves and salt and mix nicely.

Take a kadai and season in 1 tsp ghee with Urad dal,mustard seeds, a pinch of hing.

Now add the seasonings to the kootu and garnish with coriander leaves.

The cucumber kootu is ready to be eaten either with plain hot rice with dollops of ghee or even with Chappathis as a side dish.

Chow chow / Bangalore kathrikai/ chayote kuttu

Ingredients:

Chow chow - 1

Chana dal (bengal gram dal) -1 Tblsp

Moong dal - 1 Tblsp

Coconut Grated fresh -1/2 cup

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Jeera -1 tsp

Black peppercorns - 1 tsp

Whole red chillies - 2-3

Curry leaves - few

Salt - as required

Ghee -2 tsps for seasoning

Hing -1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

Peel the skin of chow chow and cut into small pieces and wash thoroughly.

Take a vessel put the cut pieces and chana dal and moong dal as indicated above in the ingredients and pour some water in the vessel and keep it in the cooker to cook for approximately 20 minutes.

Take a kadai dry roast the urad dal, pepper corns, jeera and red chillies and wet grind with fresh grated coconut.

After the vegetable is cooked in the cooker remove it and mix it with the ground masala, a pinch of turmeric, curry leaves thoroughly.

Now keep it on fire just for 5 minutes and keep mixing and stirring.

Now remove from fire and garnish with coriander leaves and season in a little ghee with mustard

seeds urad dhal and hing.

Now the chow chow kootu is ready to be eaten either with rice and ghee or as a side dish for chappathi.

Avarakkai (broad beans) kootu

Ingredients:

Avarakkai - 1/4 kg

Moong dhal - 1 Tblsp

Chana dhal - 1 Tblsp

Freshly grated coconut -1/2 cup

Curry leaves - few

Salt - as required

For grinding:

Urad dhal -1 tsp

red chillies - 3-4

Black peppercorns -7-8

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

For seasoning:

Urad dhal -1 tsp

mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida (hing) a pinch

Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

Cut the avarrakai into small pieces and put in a vessel along with moong dal and chana dhal and pressure cook for about 25 minutes.

After it is cooked, remove from the cooker and keep aside.

Now roast in a little oil Urad dal, red chillies, methi seeds, peppercorns.

Now wet grind the items along with jeera and fresh coconut into a rough paste.

Now mix the ground items with the cooked vegetable thoroughly, add salt, curry leaves.

Now season with little ghee, urad dal, hing, and mustard seeds.

Now the kootu is ready to be served.

It can be had either with chappathi, or plain rice and ghee.

This kootu can be done with different vegetables like beans, cabbage,chow chow,white melon etc