Tamil Keerai Kootu Varieties

Kootus are mild, thick curries built from boiled lentils and coconut. A thick kootu without boiled lentils starts resembling a poriyal and a kootu without coconut borders on becoming a dal curry. So cooking a kootu without coconut or lentils is best left to experts. A Kootu is always mildly flavoured. Too much of spices / chilies are never used. A huge variety of spinach is used in Tamil kootus, some of which are listed below  : 

0.:  Arai Keerai  kootu

1.: Mulai Keerai  kootu

2.: Thandan Keerai  kootu

3.: Ponnanganni Keerai  kootu

4.: Murungai Keerai  kootu

5.: Agathi Keerai  kootu

6.: Vendaiya kerai kootu

7.:  Palak keerai  kootu

8.: Manathakkali Keerai kootu

9.: Fusion kootu ( Bok Choy kootu, Kale kootu etc)

The base :
Kootus  are cooked with a variety of dals , though Bengal gram ( Kadalai paruppu), Tuvar dal ( Tuvaram paruppu) and Mung dal ( Pasi paruppu) are the most common. A mixture of lentils is  also used. A kootu cooked with yogurt is a Thayir kootu. The popular Aviyal is a type of thayir kootu. A sweetish pal kootu is cooked up from from milk / coconut milk. Kootus can be eaten not just with rice, but with a variety of flatbreads like chappatis and parathas. Being mild, they also serve as an excellent introduction to south Indian cuisine. A large variety of spinach go well with kootus.

The flavouring :
The blended paste of cocont, cumin and chilies are common to all kootus. . Like most Tamil curries, all kootus can be garnished with a pinch of mustard and curry leaves fried in oil. In addition a mix of fried, roast & ground  or fried and ground spices ( listed in column 2) can be used as flavouring. Ready made kootu podi can be mixed in for an extra burst of flavour.

Easy Kootu podi :

 Take ½ handful roasted urad dal,  1 spoon of roasted chana dal  and 3 red chilies. Add to a mixie and blend all to a powder. Optionally add a bit of dhania, pepper, cumin, curry leaves or sesame seeds.

 Spinach used.: 
Almost  any edible greens can be used in a kootu. A huge variety of spinach is consumed across south India and all of them can be turned into delicious kootus. It is faster to precook spinach and add it to the kootu. Spinach can be easily cooked in the following ways :

Stir frying : Heat a spoon of oil. Add two handfuls of chopped spinach.& stir fry for 3 - 5 minutes.

Boiling :Bring a liter of water to a boil. Add a spoon of salt. Add two handfuls of chopped spinach. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Pour in a colander to drain water. (Chitra rightly points out you lose nutrients here by draining the water. To minimise nutrient loss you can cook spinach in the simmering kootu itself. Would however take longer to cook.)

Microwaving : Add two handfuls of chopped spinach in a microwave safe cup. Sprinkle a bit of water. Cover loosely and cook on high for 1 -2 minutes.
Pressure cooking : Add two handfuls of chopped spinach to a pressure cooker. Add half a cup of water, Pressure cook on medium heat for 2 whistles.

1001 Kootu : Mild Coconut - Lentil curries of Tamilnadu

Kootus are mild, thick curries built from boiled lentils and coconut. They are cooked with a variety of dals , though Bengal gram ( Kadalai paruppu), Tuvar dal ( Tuvaram paruppu) and Mung dal ( Pasi paruppu) are the most common.

A kootu without boiled lentils starts resembling a poriyal and a kootu without coconut borders on becoming a dal curry. So cooking a kootu without coconut or lentils is best left to experts.

A Kootu is always mildly flavoured. Too much of spices / chilies are never used. This is why tamarind is rarely used. However, our love for tamarind is so strong that it is sometimes added to cook up a puli kootu (Tamarind kootu).
A kootu cooked with yogurt is a Thayir kootu. The popular Aviyal is a type of thayir kootu. A sweetish pal kootu is cooked up from from milk / coconut milk - and can almost be called a Kuruma. Like most Tamil curries, all kootus can be garnished with a pinch of mustard and curry leaves fried in oil.

Kootus can be eaten not just with rice, but with a variety of flatbreads like chappatis and parathas. Being mild, they also serve as an excellent introduction to south Indian cuisine.

Model recipes
Suganya's Kootu
Zlamushka's poricha kootu
Snake gourd kootu
Laksh's seven vegetable Puli kootu
Nirmala's Soya Palak Kootu
Shriya's Mixed vegetable Kootu
Kamala's Manathakkali Keerai Kootu
Laavanya's Cabbage Kootu with Fennel

Kootus with a twist
Kalai's Keerai Kootu
Onions and tomatoes are rare in Kootus. Here's a recipe with one. And for a double twist, coconut is absent.
Sarada's unusual Cilantro Kootu
Cilantro is rarely used as a vegetable. Here , it takes the place of a spinach.
Maheswari's Ridgegourd Kootu
Another Kootu without coconut
Sarada's Parangikkai paal kootu
Kootu with a triple twist - without either coconut or dal but with Sambar powder !

And that is my last submission for AFAM - coconut, and reposted for MLLA, an event started by Susan.

10 Traditional Tamilnadu recipes

10 Traditional Tamilnadu recipes

The one page cookbooks give you the basic recipes, designed to be cooked by anyone in under 30 minutes. For more detailed recipes and variations of the recipes, check out my fellow bloggers below..

1.: Yogurt
I’d easily rate the simple yogurt as the tastiest ‘recipe’ of them all.

2.: Thayir Pachadi (Raw Yogurt curry)
One of the easiest and fool proof recipes.

3.: Thenga Thogayal ( Blended Coconut- Tamarind curry)
If you can operate a blender, you won’t go wrong with this one.

4.: Paruppu Podi (Spiced Lentil powder)
Contrary to popular belief, Paruppu podi can be prepared from just one kind of lentil. Any roasted lentil or any mix of roasted lentils blended with red chili and salt tastes delicious.

5.: Kootu (Coconut - cumin –chili curry)
Note that a kootu need not always have boiled pulses in it. A thick Kootu doubles as a Poriyal ( dry vegetable curry)

6.: More Kulambu ( Buttermilk curry).
Apart from the blend of coconut-cumin and chili with yogurt, other versions call for a variety of soaked lentils, rice, dhania, garlic etc to be blended together and mixed in with yogurt. Though not common, a more kulambu is perfectly edible even when uncooked.

7.: Tomato Rasam ( Thin curry)
A rasam need not always have lentils/tamarind in it. Here, the sourness comes from tomatoes. You can replace the sambar powder in this recipe with a pinch each of coriander powder, pepper powder and cumin powder.

8.: Kulambu (Sour Curry).
Though the recipe above calls for boiled vegetables, stir fried vegetables taste even better in a kulambu.

9.:. Paruppu (Boiled Lentils)
A paruppu needs no flavouring, though spicy versions exist.

10.: Sambar (Lentil- sour curry)
It took me quite a while to realise all that differentiates a kulambu from sambar is the addition of boiled dal.

Once you master these basic recipes, you can easily cook up scores of variations. Look in the archives of this blog for thousands of sambars, kulambus, rasams, kootu etc.,

1001 traditional Andhra curries

Andhra Pradesh, being one of the largest producers of chilies in the world, is famous for its hot and spicy curries. Like other Southern states, the staple food is rice (the delicious Sona masoori), which is served with a variety of curries built from tamarind, lentils, yogurt, and coconut.

Andhra cuisine can be divided across three regions - The eastern Kosta (Coastal Andhra), the northern Telangana and southern Rayalaseema. Kosta is famous for its fiery tamarind curries and spicy sea food, Telungana for its Mogul influenced cuisine and Rayalaseema for its vegetable curries.

In coastal Andhra, tamarind is much loved and is added to just about anything. It is here you’ll find tamarind eaten raw and even young tamarind leaves being used in curries. Hardened by centuries on a spicy tamarind – chili diet, the coastal cuisine seems to have been immunized against the relatively bland Muslim or Christian cuisines. This is probably why despite its proximity to the center of the Muslim rule, coastal Andhra cuisine shows little signs of Muslim influence. This is why Vijayawada cuisine is so very different from Hyderabadi cuisine.

A lot of similarities can be found in the cuisine of Rayalaseema and the cuisine of Southern Karnataka. This is where you find a roti - the Jonna Roti (made from Sorghum/Jowar/ cholam) challenging rice for a place on the dinner plate.

Telangana is where the mild Mogul cuisine was shocked by the fiery spices of Andhra and gradually morphed into the Hyderabadi cuisine. These curries are very different from regular south Indian curries and are not covered here.

In spite of regional variations, certain curries are so popular, they are cut across regions. A variety of Pachadis (vegetables blended with tamarind, coconut and chilies into a thick sour curry) are eaten throughout Andhra. The chief among them is the Gongura Pachadi (sour spinach blended curry) - a uniquely Andhra curry. See 1001 Blended curries for recipes.

Podis (Roasted lentils powdered with chili) are very popular and are eaten across the state mixed with hot, cooked rice and ghee. Powders like the Kandi Podi (Yellow lentil powder) Papulla Podi ( Roasted gram powder) , Karvepaaku podi (curry leaves powder) are eaten everywhere. See 1001 Podis for recipes.

Eggplant is probably the best loved vegetable, though all other vegetables common to south India are consumed. A specialty vegetable is the Dosakkai - an orange sized, round, yellow variety of cucumber which is not common in other southern states.

Andhra pioneered the cooking of vegetables along with tuvar dal into a thick curry - the Pappu. The delicious Maamidikaaya Pappu, Beerakaaya Pappu and Dosakaaya Paapu are uniquely Andhra curries.

Let us now take a bird's eye view of the curry families cooked across the state.

Majjiga pulusu is a medium thick curry where vegetables are simmered in a spiced yogurt base. This is closely related to the Kadis of North India and More Kulambu of Tamilnadu. As yogurt splits on prolonged cooking, this curry needs to be cooked for as less time as possible, on low heat. Using boiled vegetables would greatly shorten cooking time.
Sailaja's Majjiga Pulusu ( Sailaja’s recipes dominate this cookbook – thanks Sailaja !)

Charu is a flavoured, thin sour curry, without lentils, simmered with select vegetables ( usually tomato / garlic). A variant called Majjiga Charu is also cooked where buttermilk replaces tamarind water. If the sourness comes from lemon, it is called nimbu charu.
Maha’s rasam
Aruna’s Majjiga charu
Majjigae Charu

By adding boiled and mashed lentils to Charu above , we get Pappu Charu.
Cooking 4 all season’s Ulava Charu – a charu with a twist as the regular tuvar dal is replaced by horse gram.

Pachhi pulusu is thick, sour curry made by mixing raw tamarind paste with boiled and mashed vegetables. Andhra's love affair with tamarind is so strong that it is only here you'll see tamarind eaten raw.
Shivapriya’s Eggplant Pachhi Pulusu

Perugu Pachadi is the uncooked variation of Majjiga Pulusu. Mix in a variety of raw / boiled vegetables with raw yogurt and you have perugu pachadi. Majjigae pulusu is normally yellow due to the use of turmeric, but perugu pachadi is usually white as turmeric is not used.
Vaniram’s Eggplant Perugu Pachadi
Cilantro Perugu Pachadi

Kura is nothing but spiced vegetables. The vegetables used are cooked in numerous ways. They can be boiled, stir fried, deep fried, steamed, baked or braised. In some variations, the spice mix is stuffed inside the vegetables, which are then cooked as in the much loved Gutti Vankaya Kura. ( Stuffed Eggplant Curry).
Sailaja’s Chana Dal Kura

Pappu, as the name suggests is just dal (tuvar dal / mung dal) boiled with a pinch of turmeric. Popular variations have a variety of vegetables boiled along with the dal to cook up a range of vegetable- dal curries like Dosakkaya Pappu, Mamdikkaya pappu etc.
Srivalli's Mamdikkaya Pappu (Mango Dal)
Mudda Pappu (Boiled Tuvar dal)
Daily Meals' Nimmakaya Pappu (Lime Dal)
Luv 2 Cook's Cabbage and Carrot Pappu

Kottu is vegetables cooked in a coconut- cumin curry.
Sailaja’s Sorakaya kootu ( Bottlegourd Curry)

Pulusu is vegetables simmered in a medium thick tamarind curry. Usually a bit of jaggery is added to balance the sourness of tamarind. A few pinches of rice flour / gram flour is normally added to the boiling curry to thicken it.
Thotakoora Pulusu ( Spinach Tamarind curry)
Amar’s Sorakaya pulusu ( Bottlegourd Tamarind Curry)

Pappu pulusu :: Add boiled and mashed tuvar dal to a pulusu and you have the pappu pulusu, very similar to a sambar.
Onion- Tomato pappu Pulusu
Jyothi’s Pappu Pulusu with a twist, using lemon instead of tamarind for sourness.

If you have a traditional Andhra recipe not listed here, please leave a comment or mail me. Thanks !