Looking for a departure from the usual koottu recipe? Try this one – a rich, creamy and sweetish kind!
Yellow pumpkin is one of the few vegetables that I cook time and again, and relish all the time. I like the version my mom makes, which has a fine coconut paste grounded with coriander seeds, cumin seeds and a couple of red chillies. Yet, I wanted to try out a different sort other than the one I’m accustomed to.
Last Saturday, I got my hands on the sweetest coconut I’ve ever had, and this is the first recipe that struck in my mind. Bottle gourd tastes best with this recipe. You could also use snake gourd, ash gourd or chayote.
—Ingredients—
1 1/2 cups yellow pumpkin or vegetable of your choice, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons moong dal
1 1/2 cups thin coconut milk
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
2 green chillies
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 sprig curry leaves
3-4 shallots
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt as needed
For tempering
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 tablespoon urad dal
2 red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
a pinch of hing
—Process—
1. Boil the moong dal and grind it to a fine paste along with shallots. In a pan, add a tablespoon of oil, saute the paste for a couple of minutes and keep aside.
2. In another pan, add the cut vegetables, thin coconut milk, green chillies, curry leaves, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt. Close the lid and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the vegetable turns mushy.
3. Add the paste into the boiled vegetables and cook in a medium flame for 3-4 minutes.
4. Pour in the thick coconut milk, give it a stir and switch off the flame in a minute or two.
5. Tempering – In a small pan, add in the coconut oil and mustard seeds. Once the mustard starts spluttering, add the remaining tempering ingredients and pour it atop the curry.
—Tips—
You could pressure cook the moong dal along with rice, by placing it in a small vessel on top of the rice bowl.
Loavesandfishez 