🇮🇳 Indian Cuisine

Kootu

Lentil and Vegetable Stew

Prep Time 35 minutes

Servings 4

Difficulty medium

Calories 170 kcal

A semi-dry South Indian dish where vegetables are cooked with lentils and a ground coconut-spice paste. Less soupy than sambar, kootu is a staple side dish in Tamil and Kerala meals.

Ingredients

chana dal or moong dal (1/2 cup)
vegetables (snake gourd, raw banana, or pumpkin)
grated coconut
cumin seeds
black peppercorns
mustard seeds
curry leaves
dried red chilies
coconut oil
turmeric
salt

Instructions

1 Cook dal with turmeric until half-done. Add chopped vegetables and cook until tender.
2 Grind coconut with cumin and peppercorns into a coarse paste.
3 Add the coconut paste to the dal-vegetable mixture and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
4 Prepare tempering with coconut oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and dried red chilies.
5 Pour tempering over kootu and mix. Serve as a side dish with rice.

Did You Know?

In traditional Tamil Brahmin households, kootu is served as one of the 12+ dishes in a ceremonial banana leaf meal.