Ramya's Recipe...: Koottu curry

Koottu curry is a traditional dish of Kerala and is included in Kerala Sadya. It is made with black/brown chana, Yam and Raw plantain. This is traditionally served with rice, but also goes well with roti.

Ingredients:

Black/brown chana (Kadala) - 2/3 cup
Yam - half of a small sized (after peeling and cutting to pieces it was a little more than a cup)
Raw plantain - 1
Turmeric powder
Salt

Shredded coconut - 3/4 cup
Whole black pepper corns - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp (Coconut oil is preferred)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red chillies - 2 or 3
Curry leaves - a sprig

Preparation:

1. Soak chana overnight. Cook in a pressure cooker with salt,turmeric powder and water. Add just enough water to cook the chana, as this dish has a thick gravy. Keep aside.
2. Peel and cut the yam and raw plantain to small pieces. Cook it with salt,turmeric powder and water. When it is almost cooked, turn off the stove and keep aside.
3.Meanwhile grind together coconut, cumin seeds and pepper corns without adding water.
4. Add the cooked yam and plantain and the ground coconut to the cooked chana and combine well and cook for few minutes.
5. In a small pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add dry red chillies and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning over the cooked curry and immeditely close the lid. After 5 mins, open the lid and combine well.

Recipe source: My mother.

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen - August 2011 hosted by Vidhya of Sugar N Spice. Visit The Kerala Kitchen page here.