Chettinad keerai kootu recipe | Keerai kootu recipe with full video and step-by-step pictures.
We usually make keerai kootu without using onion, tomato, or garlic. In this kootu recipe, we are adding onion, tomato, garlic, and cooked toor dal. This goes well with plain rice and also with chapathi too. I have tasted this similar kootu in a Veg restaurant meal thali here. They add boiled white chana to this keerai kootu.
I have used the local spinach we get in the Hongkong wet market. You can use, arai keerai, mulai keerai, manathakkali keerai, venthaya keerai, choysum and ponnangani keerai too. I used Toor dal in this recipe. You can replace this with yellow moong dal too. Adding coconut and cumin seed paste enhances the flavour of kootu.
Usually, we don’t add onion, tomato, or garlic to the traditional kootu which we make at home. I wanted to try this version for a long time and it tasted very nice. We all enjoyed keerai kootu with plain rice and potato curry.
You can also check out, Thakkali kootu, cabbage kootu, Keerai kootu, Vazhaipoo kootu, keerai molagootal and Keerai vadai recipe
Chettinad Keerai kootu recipe
Chettinad keerai kootu recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- ¼ cup uncooked toor dal
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 small tomato
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3 tsp oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 red chili
- 2 green chilis
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp asafoetida powder
- Salt as needed
- Water to cook the dal
- To grind
- ¼ cup coconut
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
Instructions
- Wash and pressure cook ¼ cup of toor dal with 1 cup of water and a pinch of turmeric powder, for 4-5 whistles.
- Once done, whisk this well and keep aside.
- In a pan add 3 tsp of oil and add the mustard seeds and urad dal.
- Add the red chili and green chili. Let the mustard splutters and the dal turns golden brown.
- Now add the crushed garlic cloves to this.
- Saute this for a minute.
- Add finely chopped onions.
- Cook till they become translucent. Add little salt while cooking.
- Once done, add the chopped tomatoes.
- Cook for a minute.
- Now add in the chopped spinach to this.
- Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ½ tsp turmeric and ¼ tsp asafoetida to this.
- Mix well and add the cooked toor dal.
- Grind ¼ cup of coconut and 1 tsp of cumin seeds into a fine paste.
- You can add ½ tsp of black pepper corns also to this while grinding.
- Add this to the keerai kootu.
- Mix this well and add ½ cup – 1 cup of water to adjust the right consistency.
- Let this boil for 2 minutes.
- Switch off the flame.
- Chettinad keerai kootu is ready.
Video
Notes
- Wash and pressure cook ¼ cup of toor dal with 1 cup of water and a pinch of turmeric powder, for 4-5 whistles.
- Once done, whisk this well and keep aside.
- In a pan add 3 tsp of oil and add the mustard seeds and urad dal.
- Add the red chili and green chili. Let the mustard splutters and the dal turns golden brown.
- Now add the crushed garlic cloves to this.
- Saute this for a minute.
- Add finely chopped onions.
- Cook till they become translucent. Add little salt while cooking.
- Once done, add the chopped tomatoes.
- Cook for a minute.
- Now add in the chopped spinach to this.
- Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ½ tsp turmeric and ¼ tsp asafoetida to this.
- Mix well and add the cooked toor dal.
- Grind ¼ cup of coconut and 1 tsp of cumin seeds into a fine paste.
- You can add ½ tsp of black pepper corns also to this while grinding.
- Add this to the keerai kootu.
- Mix this well and add ½ cup – 1 cup of water to adjust the right consistency.
- Let this boil for 2 minutes.
- Switch off the flame.
- Chettinad keerai kootu is ready.
- You can any variety of keerai | spinach of your choice.
- Amaranth leaves, arai keerai, manathakkali keerai, choy sum, swiss chard, beets greens, methi leaves can be used.
- Chettinad keerai kootu pairs well with potato curry | yam tawa fry or any spicy curry.
