Parangikottai paal koottu

I did not think it would be harder to get to the 'extras of routine' to fall in place once you have given it a break. While getting back to everyday life after nearly four months of whirlwind activities was necessary, to do more did not seem to happen. For instance, getting back to blogging;  I might happily  call it 'writer's block', which will be blatantly lying. It was not that I had anything more important or attention dividing task on hand; simply that I did not try. But here I am trying to get this blog back in action with a simple recipe.
In the past few weeks, we keep pressing our daughter for updates on her life in her new home. Through the conversations on many of the available sources, we discuss her cooking, other activities and add our inputs. It interests me that she is doing well on her own and wants to have more ideas with cooking certain vegetables and such. Thus I tell her, send her written recipes, through mails. During our last video chat, she told me that she purchased some squash, and wanted to use it. I suggested that she can use it in this koottu with milk. She insisted that I send her a mail. Instead, I hoped to make it at home, and share it here. I had a small pumpkin and this was an opportunity to use it up too.
The recipe is very simple and usually I go by eye-balling the ingredients as there aren't many. However, when I gave my daughter this, she told me that it might help if she knew near exact quantities while making it for the first time. So, I referred to the cookbook Samaiththu Paar by  S.Meenakshi Ammal, and reduced the recipe to suit my requirement. Slight alterations are deliberate to accommodate our taste.

Parangikottai Paal Koottu
(adapted from Samaiththu Paar volume 1 by S. Meenakshi Ammal)
Servings 2 to 3

Ingredients:
2 cups thinly sliced tender pumpkin pieces
1/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon rice flour (to mix with the milk)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 or 2 green chillis (according to heat level and taste)
Salt to taste


For tempering:
1 teaspoon cooking oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 green chilli 
1/2 teaspoon split urad dhal
fresh curry leaves

Method:
Cook the sliced pumpkin pieces adding sufficient water, slit green chilli and salt until soft, but not mushy.
If the water seems to be extra, drain a bit and add sugar. Cook for just about two minutes.
Dissolve the rice flour in the milk, and add this to the vegetable.
Stir the stewing vegetable and allow to boil for a few minutes.
Switch off the heat.
Heat the oil for tempering in a pan, add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the urad dhal and green chilli. Toss until the dhal is golden.

Add this tempering to the stewed vegetable along with the curry leaves.
Serve as accompaniment with steamed rice and sambhar or rasam.
The milk can be partly replaced with coconut milk.
For a vegan version of the same, coconut milk will work well, only take care not to split this while boiling .

Aezhu Kari Kootu

The 7 kari kootu is usually made on the Thiruvaadhirai festival to consume with the Thiruvaadhiraikkali, a sweet dish made with roasted and powdered rice cooked with jaggery.

Ideally the kootu will have those vegetables grown during an Indian winter, as the festival is celebrated in the Tamil calendar month of Margazhi (period mid December to mid January).

As the name suggests it shall be made with 7 different vegetables. But we usually end up adding more vegetables than the suggestion. The kootu tastes best with creeper grown veggies like ash gourd, pumpkin, broad beans, snake gourd and most importantly lima beans is added. Other than these you may add sweet potatoes, potatoes, yam, chayotes etc.

Certain vegetables like ridge gourd, bottle gourd and drumsticks are not allowed on festival cooking ( I'm not aware why, though). On other occasions you may add these to the kootu.

It is a very vegan dish which goes well with hot steamed rice. Being a kootu freak, I consume bowls of this just like that. I refrain having anything else when I cook this.

The recipe I share below serves 4 full servings.

Ingredients:

2 cups vegetables, suitably cut or diced in big chunks.( use any of the above mentioned.You may add or reject according to your taste)

1/2 cup thuvar dhal

A big lemon size ball of tamarind

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

To be roasted in 3 teaspoons oil and ground to a coarse paste:

12 -15 long variety dry red chillis

3 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons channa dhal

1/4 cup fresh dessicated coconut

For tempering:

6 teaspoons cooking oil

2 teaspoons mustard seeds

2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds

2 dry red chillis

2 green chillis slit lengthwise

1 teaspoon asafoetida powder

Few fresh curry leaves.

Method:

Wash and suitably string/ peel and cut vegetables into big pieces. Cook tubers separately and the vegetables separately. If you are using fresh Lima beans or green peas, you may cook them with other vegetables. If using dry beans, soak them ahead suitable for use.

Soak tamarind in water for about half an hour and extract pulp until thoroughly drained of pulp.

Pressure cook thuvar dhal very soft adding the tuemeric powder. Keep aside.

Roast the ingredients for grinding, cool and grind to a coarse paste adding water.

Take a heavy pan. Place it on high heat. Heat the oil for tempering and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the rest of the tempering. Toss until the green chillis turn slightly white.

Add the tamarind extract and salt. Bring to a boil.

Add the cooked vegetables and simmer for 12 - 15 minutes until the raw flavour of tamarind subsides.

Add the pressure cooked dhal and a few minutes later the ground paste.

Allow to boil and continue to boil for only three further minutes.

Switch off the heat. Give one thorough mix and serve hot.

At the final point adding a teaspoon of coconut oil will make it very delectable. I make this often whenever I have random mix of vegetables.

This vegan dish is off to It's a vegan world - Indian hosted this month by Erbe in cucina an event started by Vaishali of Holy Cow! Vegan recipes.