Palak (Spinach) Kootu

Kootu is basically a South Indian gravy dish, eaten either as an accompaniment with rotis or mixed with rice. It has all the wholesome ingredients, very healthy and easy to digest. It is made by cooking veggies along with moong dal and a ground paste of coconut and spices. You can make this with many veggies such as cabbage and peas, carrots, beans, palak and snake gourd. This recipe is with palak.

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 bunch Palak (spinach)

• 1 tsp Turmeric powder

• Salt, to taste

• 1/2 cup Moong dal

For the paste

• 3/4 cup Fresh grated coconut

• 4 Red chillies

• 2 tsps Cumin seeds

• 4 peppercorns

For tempering

• 1 tbsp Coconut oil

• 1 tsp Mustard seeds

• 1 tsp Urad dal

• 6 Curry leaves

• 1 tsp Hing

Instructions

1. Soak moong dal for half an hour

2. Cook this in a pressure cooker for 2-3 whistles

3. Wash spinach bunch well after stalking the leaves and finely chop them

4. Add the leaves in a pan along with salt and turmeric powder and start cooking

5. Make a paste with red chillies, cumin seeds, peppercorns and coconut adding very little water

6. When the palak is almost cooked, add the moong dal and cook for 5 minutes

7. Add the ground paste and cook for another 5 minutes till the kootu is well blended

8. In a small pan, take coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds and urad dal

9. When the urad dal become slight brown, add hing and curry leaves and add it to the kootu

10. Serve hot either with rotis or with rice

Notes

Kootu is mixed with hot steaming rice and ghee and eaten along with South Indian raita called pachadi and fried papadam

South Indian Raita or pachadi :

• In a bowl grate 1/2 carrots and 1 cucumber, remove all the water from the cucumber

• Grind a paste of 4 tbsp fresh grated coconut, 2 green chillies without adding any water

• Add this to the veggies, salt and thick yogurt and mix well

• Temper with 1 tsp mustard seeds in 1 tsp oil