Kootu( Vegetables + Dhal)

Most of my friends are tasted and liked it very much. Kootu is the one of the famous dish among Tamil people. Its very easy to make and healthy also.

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Moong Dhal
2 tsp Channa Dhal( Optional)
2 cups chopped Hairy Melon
2 Medium sized Carrot
1 tsp sambhar Powder
Salt
3 tsp of desiccated Coconut( i used fresh coconut)
1tsp Cumin seeds
1 Green Chilli
little chopped Coriander

For Seasoning:
1tsp oil
1tsp Mustard
1tsp Urad dhal


Method:
1. Wash and pressure cooker Dhal and vegetables. Just  2 Whistles is enough.
2. Grind coconut, cumin seeds and green chilli, make into paste.
3 . Add sambhar powder, salt and the paste to the cooked vegetables and dhal.
4.  Heat oil and season Mustard and urad dhal add to the Kootu.
5  Allow it to cook for few minutes. Add coriander.
6.  when the oil gets separates and switch off the flame.

7.  Serve with Rice or Roti.

Note:

The other vegetable can be used to make kootu are  beans, cabbage, Snake gourd, green peas..... with your desired combination of vegetables. its should be like thick gravy.


Thanks :))

Sambhar

Ingredients:

1 Carrot (cut like thin circles)
1 Medium size onion, chopped
Marble sized tamarind
1 serving spoon cooking oil
1 cup of  Toor dhal
2 tsp sambhar powder
1 tsp salt (full headed)
little coriander(washed and chopped)
water
small pinch of Asafoetida powder /Hing

Method:
1. Cook dhal in pressure cooker with nice amount of water.
    Over cook the dhal so that u can mash it with serving spoon.
2. Open the lid mash it, add Hing and keep aside.
3. Soak the tamarind with little water for 1/2 hr
4. Heat large pan (heavy bottomed pan). Pour oil and add vegetables and fry it for 2mins
5. Add sambhar powder and salt. Make a tamarind paste and add.
6. Pour water so that the vegetables will cook for 5-7 mins.
   Don't add more water. Later we have to add dhal water also.
7. Add dhal and allow it to boil for 5 mins or until it cook well.
8. Switch off the gas. Season mustard seeds with little oil and add to sambhar.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with hot rice and ghee(optional).

Hints:

1. If you feel the sambhar is  little sour taste you can add little pepper powder.Don't add more so it will give different taste.
2. You can use more vegetables like beans, chow-chow, drumsticks, eggplant, white radish and capsicum etc..
3. You can mix vegetables according to the taste like carrot n beans, chow-chow n carrot, capsicum n carrot n beans according to your taste.... mix n match.
4. While seasoning the mustard seeds you can add 1 dry red chillies also. It will give good aroma.
5. Sambhar should not be more watery or very thick.
6. I won't add turmeric powder in sambhar. Because its already added in sambhar powder.
 if not, then you can add little turmeric powder.


Thanks for reading :)