Avarakkai Kootu | Broad beans lentil curry

 Avarakkai kootu is a popular side dish from the Tambrahm cuisine made from just moong dhall (yellow split gram) , fresh coconut paste and a Sizzling tempering of mustard seeds ,curry leaves in coconut oil.

Avarakkai(tamil),Avrekkai(Kannada), chikkidkaay (Telugu) is a native Indian vegetable and used extensively across cuisines in India . In the Maharashtra and Gujarat it is called as Vaal papdi or papdi and Sem in Hindi .

Avrakkai is a diabetic friendly vegetable and also rich in protein, dietary fibre,vitamin A ,potassium and folates. Consuming avarekkai is a good source of plant protein and apt for vegetarians to meet their dietary requirements of protein intake. The fibre present in the Indian flat broad beans helps to manage cholesterol in the body.

Since, Avarekkai is a native vegetable, it is used during the Mahalaya Paksha , Amavasya cooking and also for cooking during Shraadh or Devasam. During Shraadh , Amavasai or Mahalaya paksha avrekkai is mostly used in the form of kootu but some families also make a simple stir fry known as Thenga pota curry . 

I shall share the recipe of the simple yet flavorful curry very soon. You may refer to Mildly Indian Seema's Kothavarangai Poriyal and in the same way you can make avarekkai poriyal .

Amavasya Lunch Menu

Avrekkai kootu can be mixed with rice or can also be served as an accompaniment to sambar ,vethakuzhambu, milagu kuzhambu along with some toasted papads and a simple paruppu Thogayal or pudina Thogayal. 

If making kootu to mix with rice, make it a little runny else we can have a thicker consistency. 

Avrakkai kootu is purely Saatvik and Vegan making it No Onion No garlic and Jain friendly .

You may also want to try some lip smacking healthy and delicious kootu recipes from my blog

Chou chou (Chayote) kadalai paruppu Kootu 

Cabbage Kootu 

Thiruvadhirai Kootu 

Poosanikkai (Ashgourd) Pulippu Kootu 

Vellarikaai(Cucumber) Kootu 

Keerai (Spinach) Kootu

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Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 25mins 
Complexity - Simple
Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

150 gms Indian broad beans /avarekkai 
1 cup moong dhall
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut 
1 tsp jeera/cumin
8 to 10 pepper corns
2 dried red chillies 
Few curry leaves 
Pinch of turmeric 
Salt as needed 
1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds 
Pinch of asafoetida 

Method 

• Wash the broad beans and trim the head and tail. Bundle them up and chop into medium cuts.
• Wash the moong dhall under running water 3 to 4 times.
• Add the washed moong dhall,chopped avrakkai ,turmeric , 2 cups water and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally. 
• Grind the coconut, cumin,red chillies ,pepper with water to a fine paste .
• Once ,the pressure cools down,lightly mash and mix the lentil and add the ground coconut paste to this along with required amount of salt. 
• If too thick,add 1/4 cup water and bring it to a quick boil with occasional stirring. Coconut paste has a tendency to stick to the bottom and the kootu will get burnt. 
• Turn off the stove when the kootu thickens and the raw flavor from the coconut paste is gone.
• Prepare a tempering of mustard seeds,fresh curry leaves,asafoetida in hot coconut oil and pour it over the delicious kootu.
• Averakkai kootu is now ready to be served.

Keerai (greens) Kootu - vegan south Indian accompaniment

 Keerai is the Tamil name for Green Leafy vegetables in general . Spinach is known as palak keerai , fenugreek is known as Vendhiya Keerai , Amaranthus is known as Arai Keerai , Dill Leaves is known as Soi Keerai ,Drumstick leaves as Murunga keerai so on and so forth.

We all know how healthy and beneficial is the inclusion of greens in our daily diet . So pls do make it a point to include greens as a part of diet atleast once or twice a week  . Of course please exercise caution and consult your Doctor if greens need to be  avoided due to underlying medical conditions.

I am very fond of keerai sambar, keerai masiyal and keerai kootu in south indian cuisine whereas in North Indian cuisine my favorites are Dal Palak,Palak Paneer , Methi theplas, Palak Paratha which feature frequently on our meals regularly. 

Keerai kootu has been my childhood favorite and I would eat this almost everyday as a little girl . The mild sweetness from the cooked moong dal blends well with the coconut jeera paste and cooked palak and the final tempering of mustard in coconut oil simply elevates the flavor profile of the kootu.  You can pair it with some delicious sambar rice or mix this kootu with some steamed rice and ghee and enjoy as is.   You can use any variety of keerai for this kootu,but I personally love palak.  I don't like Methi in kootu as it imparts a slightly bitter taste to the kootu which puts me off.

The green Leafy vegetables need to be cleaned very well before using.  There may be a chance of lot of weeds or some rotten leaves hidden in the bunch . I am sharing a detailed video on how to clean the green Leafy vegetables at ease.  If the stems are tender,I chop them finely and use it too while making the kootu.

If you are a lover of exotic greens, then Baby Bokchoy and Shitaake stir fry by Preethi will be the best choice.  I was paired with Preethi for August's Theme of Leafy Greens theme suggested by Seema of Mildly Indian.

A simple lunch platter of keerai kootu, jeera pepper rasam and beetroot curry with fried papads. (Pic updated on Nov 5th 2024)

Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 20 mins
Serves - 2 to 3 

Complexity - easy

Ingredients 

2 small bunch spinach/palak 
1.5 cup cooked moong dhall
1/4 cup grated coconut 
1tsp jeera
1/2 tsp pepper
2 to 3 dry red chillies / 1 tsp red chilli powder 
2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds 
1/2 tsp udad dhall
Pinch of asafoetida
Salt as needed 

Method 

• Clean and wash the spinach  bunch well . Finely chop the palak and cook it well . No need to pressure cook .you can cook it in regular open pot until the raw flavor is lost. Use a heavy bottomed pan always.
• Grind the coconut, jeera ,pepper, red chillies to a fine paste with sufficient water.
• Once the palak is cooked, add this coconut paste,bring it to a rolling boil and then add the cooked moong dhall .
• Ensure the cooking is on medium flame and you are stirring constantly to avoid burning . Moong dhall and coconut paste will stick to the pan very quickly.
• Once the kootu reaches a rolling boil,turn off and prepare a tempering of mustard, udad dhall and asafoetida in coconut oil and pour it over the kootu . Relish the kootu with rice and papads. 

Poosanikaai Puli Kootu - Kalyana Kootu

 Puli Kootu or Pulippu Kootu is an authentic Tamil brahmin recipe and is made quite frequently in most homes .It is a must have on the wedding feast menu and hence also known as Kalyana Kootu . 

Puli kootu is very tasty as it has a balance of all flavors and the tanginess from the tamarind extract gives it an altogether different flavor profile.

Pulippu kootu fits perfectly for those following a Vegan Diet and also being a No onion No garlic recipe  it is Saatvik and Jain Friendly as well.

Pulippu kootu can be made with brinjals,  ash gourd /white pumpkin or chayote/chou chou . In traditional tambrahm weddings puli kootu is made from ash gourd/poosanikaai and has either boiled chick peas or groundnuts added to the kootu .

In my recipe today ,I am going to use boiled peanuts but I also make it using boiled chickpeas many a times and both of them taste really delicious. 

Puli kootu with hot rice and some coconut based vegetable stir fry is an amazing combination for lunch.  In my home most often the left over puli kootu is paired with chapati for night and it pairs well .

Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 30 mins
Complexity- simple 
Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

2 cups chopped ash gourd /poosanikaai 
1/4 cup thoor dal /pigeon peas/thuvaram paruppu
1/4 cup peanuts 
Small lemon sized tamarind ball
Few curry leaves 
Pinch of turmeric
Salt as needed 
2 tsp oil 
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Pinch of asafoetida 

To roast and grind
1 tbsp channa dal 
1 tbsp dhaniya/corriander seeds
2 tbsp coconut grated 
3 to 4 dry red chillies 

Method

• In a pan heat 1/4 tsp oil and roast the channa dhall until crisp and golden brown followed by the dhaniya and red chillies.Allow it to cool and the  grind into a fine paste with coconut and set aside. 
• Soak the tamarind in hot water for 10  mins and then extract the pulp . Strain the impurities and keep ready .
• Boil the chopped ash gourd in sufficient water until it is cooked well..it has to be firm but well cooked .
• Pressure cook the thoor dhall and peanuts in 2 separate containers in the same cooker .Mash the thoor dhall well and set aside.  This saves a lot of time and effort as well.
• In a thick bottomed vessel,add the boiled ashgoured ,peanuts and the tamarind extract with 1/4 cup water and boil it until the raw smell of the tamarind is lost. 
• Next add the coconut paste , cooked thoor dhall and another 1/2 cup water and bring to a rolling boil.Adjust salt at this stage . Donot boil too much as the dhall will begin to start sticking to the bottom of the pan and it may get burnt..we don't want a burnt kootu .
• Prepare a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and pour it on the pulippu kootu.

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Kos (Cabbage) Kootu | South indian style cabbage lentil curry

 Winter is the best time to enjoy and relish fresh vegetables.  These days though almost all vegetables are available year round ,there is always something special about buying and cooking winter special veggies .  Cabbage and carrots are my most fav winter vegetables. 

My favorite for lunch time would be the yummy mildly spiced Cabbage kootu which mom would serve with hot rice ,ghee and roasted papad .

As a child,I would love to visit the vegetable market with my mom to enjoy the beautiful display of crisp fresh winter produce namely radishes, cabbages,cauliflower,  spinach (palak), fresh methi (Fenugreek) ,capsciums,carrots , broccoli etc . The vendors would have stacked them so perfectly that one would not feel like disturbing the stack .

Gajar would be bought unfailingly to make garma garam gajar halwa and methi ,cabbage ,cauliflower would also join the band wagon to get transformed into yummy methi theplas , gobhi parathas , pakoras etc .

This month in our food group Shhh cooking secretly, we had decided on Healthy Cooking as the theme . I was paired with Anu Kollon of Ente Thattukada and we exchanged our secret ingredients to dish out our healthy recipes . Anu has dished out green peas egg stir fry which I am sure will be a hit with egg lovers and I chose to make this humble and protein packed Cabbage Kootu which is a family favorite at my place.  Hubby loves to have paruppu podi rice and cabbage kootu while I love to have kootu rice and papads with some pickle or cool Vellarikaai Pachadi in summer .

Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 20 mins
Serves - 2 to 3 
Complexity - easy 

Ingredients 
2 cups chopped cabbage 

1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas 
1/2 cup moong dhall/paasi paruppu 
4 - 5 tbsp fresh grated coconut
1tsp jeera 
1/2 tsp pepper corns 
3 to 4 dry red chillies 
1 tsp coconut oil 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
Pinch of turmeric
Salt as needed 
pinch of asafoetida 
Few fresh curry leaves 

Method 

• Wash the moong dhall thoroughly and pressure cook with 2 cups water and pinch of turmeric until soft and mushy .
• Boil the cabbage and peas in a deep pan with water and some salt .
• Grind the coconut, red chillies,  jeera,pepper into a fine paste .
• Add this ground paste to the cooked cabbage and bring to a rolling boil then add the cooked moong dhall to this cabbage and mix well . Adjust salt if needed 
• Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a rolling boil while you keep stirring the kootu else it will get burnt easily because of coconut paste .
• Prepare a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves in coconut oil and pour over the kootu . Mix the tempering and serve hot with rice. 
• Goes well with rotis too .

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Chou Chou Kadalai paruppu Kootu | Chayote Lentil Curry - Vegan & GF

 Kootu is a classic side dish from the cuisines of Tamil Nadu and Kerala .  Kootu is served as a side dish along with the other items on the menu. Kootu Curry is a must have on the Sadhya during any festive occasion in Kerala . 

Kootu is normally thick in consistency made using thoor dhall (pigeon peas), moong dhall (pasi paruppu /split lentil) or a combination of the two dhalls . Kootu is served alongside sambar ,rasam and other  stir fries as a part of main course .

Today, I am sharing a  very tasty  kootu using chayote /chou chou /Bangalore kathrikai and channa dhall/kadalai paruppu . This is my amma's recipe and I love to have this kootu anytime . This kootu is mildly spiced and has very subtle flavors . Elders or kids who are unable to take too much spice, this will surely be a treat to their taste buds .

If you don't get chou chou / seeme badnekaai you can also use ash gourd /pooshnikaai to make this kootu.Chou chou kadalai paruppu kootu goes well with rice and chapathi too. 

Various other kootu recipes on my blog 

Avarekaalu Kootu 

Vellarikaai (Cucumber) Kootu 

Thiruvadhirai Kootu / Thalagam

Vazhakkai (Raw banana) Kootu 

Everyday we want to provide a healthy and balanced meal to our family and we are on the look out for preparing a nutritious side dish for our meals. This week it was my turn to suggest the theme and Side dish won the votes hand down and we are celebrating SideKaKamaal the 304th week in our Foodie Monday Bloghop group .

Chayote /chou chou is a versatile vegetable and can be used extensively in our day to day cuisine in various ways  and the best part is chow chow  is easily available all over the world . If you also relish this vegetable like me,then you must definitely try out Chou Chou Kootu and Chou Chou Poriyal (stir fry) already posted on my blog .

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Cooking Time - 20 mins

Complexity - easy 

Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

2 medium sized chou chou /chayote / seeme badnekaai 

1/2 cup channa dhall / bengal gram /kadalai paruppu 

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut 

2-3  green chillies

1 dry red chilli 

1/2 tsp jeera/cumin seeds

2 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

Fresh curry leaves 

Pinch of asafoetida (skip for GF) 

1/2 tsp turmeric

Salt to taste 

Method 

• Wash and soak the channa dhall in water for 10 mins.
• Peel the chayote and chop into medium sized cubes ; say 1 inch cubes .
• Grind the coconut, jeera , 2 green chillies and 1 red chilly to a fine paste with some water and keep it aside. 
• In a pressure cooker ,add the chou chou,soaked bengal gram /channa dhall , 1 green chilli slit, turmeric ,little salt and 1/2 cup water.  Pressure cook on medium flame for 2 whistles . Let the pressure release naturally.
• In a thick bottomed vessel,add the pressure cooked chow chow , the ground spice mix and bring it to a quick boil . Adjust water and salt if needed at this stage.  Don't add too much water else the kootu will become runny . We need just enough water to let the kootu boil without getting burnt or sticking to the vessel.
• Heat the coconut oil and temper the mustard seeds along with the curry leaves and asafoetida.  Pour it over the kootu and mix it well . Serve hot .

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Kootu Curry - Sadhya special (Vegan)

 Kootu Curry also known as kootkari , kootu kari is an important recipe on the Sadhya menu for Onam or Vishu . For those who don't know what Sadhya is, it is the Malayalam word for a feast or an elaborate special menu. There are more than 10 items which includes  minimum 2 varieties of paysam along with various other items like  

[ Click on the individual items below to get their recipe . Kerala style rasam & sambar will be updated shortly on the blog ]

• Erissery
• Puli inji 
• Avial 
• Kaalan
• Pulissery
• Cabbage thoran (coconut based curry)
• Beans carrot thoran
• Sambar 
• Rasam
• Aval payasam
• Paal payasam
• Sambaram / Mor 
• Nendran Chips
• pappadam , pickle,curd etc . 

These are all the quintessential items of the sadhya and no sadhya is complete without these .

Coming to kootu curry now, "kootu"  in tamil or malayalam means a mixture or a mix and curry is word used to denote a gravy . So kootu curry means a mix gravy if we have to put it in lay man's terms . 

Traditionally native vegetables like yam(chenai), raw banana(kaaya), ash gourd(elavan) , red pumpkin (mathhan) are used in the preparation of kootu curry along with boiled black channa (chickpeas) or bengal gram dhall (channa dhall/kadala paruppu) . Like any other kerala recipe, this too requires a lot of fresh coconut and coconut oil . So please don't compromise on the quantity of coconut and coconut oil if you want to savor the original flavor of Kerala kootu curry .

In today's recipe, I have used a combination of red pumpkin (mathhan) and raw banana along with channa dhall . The other combinations that can be tried are 

Raw banana + yam 

Raw banana + ash gourd

Ash gourd + red pumpkin + raw banana /yam 

Yam + red pumpkin

**channa dhall or black chickpeas can be added to the above combinations.

Preparation Time - 15 mins 
Soaking Time - 8 hrs ( if using black chickpeas)
Cooking Time - 20 to 30 mins
Serves - 3 to 4 
Complexity - simple

Ingredients 

2 medium sized raw banana
200 gms red pumpkin 

1/3 cup channa dhall/bengal gram 
1/2 a coconut freshly grated 
3 to 4 red chillies
1 tsp jeera
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Fresh curry leaves 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
1 tsp jaggery 
Salt as needed 
1/2 tsp turmeric 

Method

• Peel the skin of the pumpkin and raw banana and chop them into medium sized cubes .
• Soak the channa dhall in water for about 10 to 15 mins .
• Take 2 tbsp of coconut gratings and keep aside and using the rest ,grind coconut, jeera and red chillies with enough water to a semi fine paste .
• In a pressure cooker add the chopped vegetables along with the soaked channa dhall , turmeric , pinch of salt and sprinkle some water and pressure cook for 1 whistle. 
• If using black chickpeas then pressure cook it separately and add it to the curry later on with the coconut paste.
• Once the pressure releases , open it and lightly mash the vegetables.  In a wide ,thick bottomed vessel, add the cooked vegetables, the ground coconut paste , 1/4 cup water and some salt and bring it to a nice boil until the raw flavor of the coconut and red chillies is lost. Add the jaggery at this stage.
• Keep stirring and cook on low flame,else there is every chance of the coconut sticking to the bottom and burning.  This curry has to be thick, so pls donot add too much water. It will take about 2 to 3 mins and your kootu curry will be ready. 
• In a dry pan roast the 2 tablespoon of coconut until it turns crisp and golden brown and keep aside .
• Heat coconut oil in a kadai , splutter mustard seeds and fry the curry leaves and pour this tempering over the kootu curry along with the fried coconut.  Kootu curry is now ready to be served with steaming hot rice and some pappadums.

Vazhakkai Puli Kootu | Raw Bananas in Tamarind gravy

Vazhakkai Puli Kootu is a delicious and a nice alternative to the regular raw banana curry / vazhakkai curry or vazhakkai podimaas .
This recipe belongs to the South Indian cuisine and more so is a very traditional recipe of the Tamil Brahmins. Mostly this recipe features on the menu of the wedding meal . This puli kootu can be served with some piping hot rice with a dollop of ghee and some papads as side or can also be served as an accompaniment to any vethakuzhambu variety or sambar or even More kuzhambu.

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Complexity : simple

Kootu Podi | South Indian Dhall Masala

Just like sambar powder, rasam powder help us prepare sambar or rasam very easily in our day to day cooking, this kootu podi is also a keeper. Generally , we grind fresh coconut, chilli , jeera / pepper into a fine paste and add it to boiled veggies and dhall and bring to a rolling boil to prepare kootu.
Alternatively if we are making poricha kootu, then we roast certain spices and then grind it with fresh coconut.  This spice powder comes to your rescue when you dont have time to prepare an elaborate meal or grate fresh coconut etc.
All you have to do is add 2-3 teaspoons of this powder to pre boiled dhall and vegetables ,mix well and bring it to a rolling boil and finally add a tempering of mustard and asafortida .
If you have some fresh coconut sitting in your fridge, you could grind some coconut and this spice powder and make kootu to be savored with some hot hot rice and papads.

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 5 mins
Complexity : easy

Avarekaalu Kootu | Mochakottai Kootu | Surti Papdi Gravy

Avarekaalu (Kannada) / Mochakottai (Tamil) /Surti Papdi -Lilva (Hindi/Gujrati) is a winter vegetable and is available in plenty in the markets. Fresh and green its very very tempting to buy.

Every year during this season there is an Avarekaalu Mela hosted in Bangalore,Karntaka wherein recipes using this beans are show cased extensively and innovatively.

Traditionally it is used in Upma/Uppitu,Nippatu(flat disc fried snack),Saaru(rasam),Akki Roti(flat bread made of rice),Huli/Sambar,Sagu (mix veg gravy),Kootu ,Pulao .
People in Karnataka buy this in Kgs and very patiently de pod them and relish them.Click here to  know more about the Avarekaalu Mela 

The Gujratis and Maharashtrians also use this widely in their cuisine,Undhiyo being the most popular one in Gujarat.

I personally love these beans and use it extensively in my cooking in the winter season. My favorite being Avarekaalu Upma and Akki Roti.

Today's recipe is a typical south indian gravy which is made frequently at my home using various vegetables in different combinations. In this particular recipe I have used avarekaalu,potato and carrot.
Mix the kootu with steamed rice and spoon of ghee and have it with some crunchy appalam/papads or vadams/fryums...I am sure you will be transported to a different world of taste !!!

Preparation Time : 10mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Serves : 3-4
Complexity : Medium

Chou Chou /Chayote Kootu

"Kootu" is a Tamil word meaning "ADD".In this particular recipe,its a combination of vegetables and lentils/dhall.Most of the vegetables can be used to prepare except for Okra/Lady's finger/bhindi due to its slimy nature.
There are various varities of kootu,like

Arachuvitta Kootu - A kootu which is prepared using freshly ground masala/spice powder using corriander seeds,gram dhall,dry red chillies mixed with thoor dhall ,vegetables and tamarind extract.

Poricha Kootu - Poricha meaning FRIED in tamil is prepared using ground coconut,pepper seeds,cumin seeds and fried udad dhall and mixed with vegetables and moong dhall.

Thengai Arachuvitta kootu - A kootu prepared using fresh coconut,green chillies,curry leaves and cumin seeds mixed with Moong dhall and vegetables.

 Here I am going to present Chou Chou/Chayote also called as Bangalore Kathirikaai.You can use ash gourd/white pumpkin,orange pumpkin instead.


Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Serves : 2-3
 

Chou Chou /Chayote Kootu