139. Kootu With Vegetables/Tubers🔗

1. Vegetables such as raw banana, snake gourd, ridged gourd and tubers such as potato and colocasia can be used to prepare this kootu.(Colocasia should be treated with tamarind as described in the recipe 133)

2. Peel off the skin and clean the vegetable /tuber and cut them into small pieces. Take water in a lead coated vessel that can hold 1 ½ padi of water and add the cut vegetable/tuber into it and boil to cook.

3. Fry chilli, pepper, black gram, grated coconut and cleaned sesame seed one by one using a little ghee or oil and grind them into a nice paste adding a little water.

4. Take water and tamarind in a lead coated vessel and blend nicely, take the extract and add to the cooked vegetable/tuber. When the vegetable/tuber is nicely cooked add the ground masala and mix.

5. Add the powdered salt to the kootu and allow it to thicken.Saute curry leaves and add.Season using ghee,red chilly,mustard and black gram follow the 22ⁿᵈ recipe and add to the kootu.

6. Optional: Cook ⅛ padi of pigeon pea and add to the kootu when the

vegetable/tuber is nicely cooked and before adding masala. While adding the

curry leaves a handful of ground nut fried either in oil or ghee can also be added.

Red Chilly - ⅛ palam

Mustard Seed - ⅛ palam Black Gram - ¼ palam

1. Cut the bitter gourd as round pieces and take in a lead coated vessel. Take the juice from lemon and add to the cut bitter gourd.

2. Add the salt to the bitter gourd and gently mix with soft hand for 24 minutes. Marinate for 15 minutes and squeeze the juice. By doing this the bitterness will be reduced.

3. Take water in a lead coated vessel that can hold 1 ½ padi of water and add the bitter gourd into it and boil to cook.

4. Fry chilli, pepper, black gram, grated coconut and cleaned sesame seed one by one using a little ghee or oil and grind them into a nice paste adding a little water.

5. Take water and tamarind in a lead coated vessel and blend nicely, take the extract and add to the cooked bitter gourd. When the it is nicely cooked add the ground masala and mix. 6. Add the powdered salt to the kootu and allow it to thicken. Saute curry leaves and add.

7. Season using ghee,red chilly,mustard and black gram follow the 22nd recipe and add to the kootu.

8. Optional: Cook ⅛ padi of pigeon pea and add to the kootu when the vegetable/tuber is nicely cooked and before adding masala. While adding the curry leaves a handful of ground nut fried either in oil or ghee can also be added.

Asafoetida - 2 ku.a

1. Take the water and tamarind in a lead coated vessel. Extract the juice. Add the salt and jaggery to the tamarind extract.

2. Cut the bitter gourd into round pieces and add to the tamarind extract and cook very well. Cool it, take out the bitter gourd pieces and wash with fresh water and keep it ready.

3. Take ghee in a pan and add the washed bitter gourd pieces and fry till they become brown in colour. Take care not to over-fry.

4. Again mix water and tamarind. Add to a lead coated vessel and take the extract of tamarind. Remove the fibres and seed, if any.

5. Fry black gram, red chilli, pepper and grated coconut these individually either in ghee or in oil and grind them into a nice paste sprinkling some water. Add this paste to the tamarind extract and boil.

6. When it boils once, add the bitter gourd pieces to it and continue to cook. Add salt to the kootu and allow the kootu to thicken. Mix asafoetida with little water and add to kootu.

Water - 3 padi

1. Take the water in a lead coated vessel which can hold 3 ½ padi of water. Bring the water to boil. Add the pigeon pea, turmeric powder and ghee one after another into the boiling water and keep the vessel closed.

2. Peel off the skin of ridge gourd and raw banana and cut it into small pieces. Clean and cut the cluster beans and broad beans into small pieces.

3. Cut the snake gourd into round pieces and add all the five cut-vegetables one after the another when the pigeon pea is three fourth cooked. Fry the ground nut with a little ghee, remove the skin and add it to the vessel.

4. Optionally we can also use bengal gram or butter beans or cowpeas (black eye beans) or all the four.

5. Fry black gram,red chilly, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and grated coconut individually with little ghee or oil and grind them together into a nice paste adding little water.

6. Combine water and tamarind and prepare tamarind extract as before. Add the ground paste to it and add the mixture to the cooked vegetables and pigeon pea.

7. Add the salt to kootu and mix well. Allow the kootu to thicken. Using ghee, red chilli and mustard season using the 22ⁿᵈ method of seasoning.

8. Dissolve asafoetida in about 1 ru.a of water and add to the kootu. Optionally, you can add 5 or 6 fried papads broken to pieces or pieces of "curry vadagam" to the kootu.

9. This kootu can be alternatively prepared using any one the vegetables/tubers.

1. Take the water in a lead coated vessel which can hold 1 ½ padi of water and bring it to boil.

2. When the water begins to boil add the pigeon pea to the water and keep the vessel closed.

3. Take the tender greens and wash it nicely with water and remove the dirt, dry leaves etc. When the pigeon pea is 3/4 th cooked add the greens to it, mix well and keep the vessel closed.

4. Take the tamarind and water in a lead coated vessel, mix and press nicely and take the tamarind extract and add it to the boiling pigeonpea and greens when they are completely cooked.

5. Add the salt and then fry red chilly,pepper,cumin seeds,fenugreek seeds and grated coconut one after another in a little ghee and mix together and grind using a little water and add to the cooked greens, mix well and allow to thicken.

6. Add the roasted gram flour to the greens, mix well and after two minutes season using ghee,red chilly and mustard seed by following the 22nd recipe and mix with the greens.

7. Mix the asafoetida in 1 palam water and add it to the greens. Following the above procedure greens such as fenugreek leaves, spinach, amaranthus tender and flowers of Sesbania grandiflora and banana flower, vegetables such as brinjal, cucumber and potato can be cooked.

1. Peel off the skin, stalk and remove the tip and split the ripe banana. Cut them vertically into four pieces.

2. Make thin slices of them and take them in a lead coated vessel and keep aside. Mix the sour butter milk and turmeric powder with cut ripe banana, add water to it, wash well and discard the water.

3. Now add enough pure water so that the cut pieces of ripe banana gets immersed and the water level should be ½ inch above the banana. Mix turmeric powder,pepper, red chilli and salt and grind them into a fine paste.

4. Add the paste to the ripe banana and mix well. Keep it on the fire and bring to boil. Mash the banana with spoon and make a paste out of it when it is completely cooked and before the water has not drained fully.

5. Grate the coconut and divide it into three equal portions. Mix cumin seeds with one portion and grind nicely. Add little water, mix well and add to Ericheri. When it starts boiling, take it out of fire. Now take a vessel to hold the whole of Erissery, add the rest of the two parts of coconut shreds and keep on fire.

6. Mix grated coconut slowly till it becomes dry. Add the coconut oil to the grated coconut which is getting fried and when the oil heats up add mustard seeds, black gram to the hot oil and when the mustard splutters, add the Erissery to it and mix well.

7. Following the same procedure, Erissery can be prepared with yam, rasthali(type of plantain), sweet pumpkin and chinese long bean(snake bean).

| Ripe Banana | - 10 | palam | | Coconut Oil | - 10 | palam | | Turmeric Powder | - ¼ | ru.a |

1. Clean and slice ripe banana as before. Add the coconut oil to a pan and heat it up. When hot, add the ripe banana slices and fry them. Break them a little.

2. Now add enough pure water so that the cut pieces of ripe banana gets immersed and the water level should be ½ inch above the banana. Mix turmeric powder,pepper, red chilli and salt and grind them into a fine paste.

3. Add the paste to the ripe banana and mix well. Keep it on the fire and bring to boil. Mash the banana with spoon and make a paste out of it when it is completely cooked and before the water has not drained fully.

4. Grate the coconut and divide it into three equal portions. Mix cumin seeds with one portion and grind nicely. Add little water, mix well and add to Erissery.

5. When it starts boiling, take it out of fire. Now take a vessel to hold the whole of Erissery, add the rest of the two parts of coconut shreds and keep on fire.

6. Mix grated coconut slowly till it becomes dry. Add the coconut oil to the grated coconut which is getting fried and when the oil heats up add mustard seeds, black gram to the hot oil and when the mustard splutters, add the Erissery to it and mix well.