Koottu is a South Indian side dish made with vegetables and lentils. Usually koottu is made with vegetables which has rich water content like bottle gourd or ridge gourd. This koottu tastes excellent with simple plain rice and fried pappads(appalam).

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cubed bottle gourd

2 tablespoons moong dhal

1 small sliced onion or 3 pearl onions

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

3/4 teaspoon sambar powder

3/4 teaspoon rice flour

Salt to taste

To grind:

3 tablespoons grated coconut

3 to 4 dry red chilly

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

To temper:

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

Few curry leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a pan, add cubed bottle gourd, sambar powder, turmeric powder, moong dhal, onion, salt. Add enough water and boil it for few minutes in medium flame until dhal and bottle gourd are cooked well.

Then add the ground paste and simmer it for few minutes. Now add the rice flour dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water. When gravy thickens, remove from heat.

In another small pan, add oil. When heated enough add mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. When mustard stops popping, add this tempering to the prepared koottu.

Serve hot with rice and appalam.

Notes:

Rice flour is added to make the gravy thick. If your gravy is thick already, don’t add rice flour.

You can also add fried gram powder (pottu kadalai) instead of rice flour.