Monday, May 30, 2011

Bottlegourd in coconut gravy / Suraikkai Paal Kootu | Indian Curry Recipes

Kootu is a gravy based side dish made with vegetables with or without lentils. In south-Indian cooking, it can be tamarind based or coconut based. While adding tamarind gives warmth and tartness, adding coconut to any gravy gives it a unique rich taste. This method of paal kootu with coconut is my personal favorite whose taste I got hooked to when I was working in Chennai and staying at my family friend's house as a paying guest. She is an excellent cook and her food is the best next only to home food. Coming home to a hot and tasty meal, after a tiring day's work is heaven. Oh, how I miss those days... Now for the Suraikai pal kootu.


Ingredients:
Bottle gourd - 1 medium sized - peeled and cubed ~ 2 cups
Chana dhal / Split Chick peas - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
To grind:
Coconut - 3 tbsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 1 big
To Temper:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Broken Red Chilli - 2 
Method:
Cook chana dhal in 3/4 cups of water with a dash of salt until soft when pressed but still hold its shape. I pressure cooked it for one whistle. Make a smooth paste of the ingredients under 'To grind' with a little water. In a medium pan, cover and cook bottle gourd with 1/2 cup of water, turmeric powder and salt about 5 to 7 mins. When it is soft, add the ground paste and cooked chana dhal. Allow it to boil until the raw smell of the paste disappears, about 5 mins. Add milk and heat it through. Transfer to a serving bowl. For tempering, heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal, chillies and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds pops, remove from heat and pour it over the kootu. Serve hot with rice or rotis.
 

32 comments:

  1. Love kootu anytime .. love the tadka pictures :)

    Vardhini
    VardhinisKitchen

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  2. I have heard of this dish,nice to see it here.

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  3. Very nicely prepared botttlegourd curry dear ~ Loved the look of it.
    US Masala

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  4. Curry looks delicious..will go perfect with hot steamed rice..

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  5. Yummy Comfort food with white rice...

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  6. A great comfort food. The seasoning adds another layer of flavors, right? Simply delicious!

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  7. Yumm, super delicious kootu, can have with pickles and rice..lovely..

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  8. Omg, drool worthy kootu,simply inviting...

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  9. Looks Yum and wonderful kootu !!

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  10. I love the surakkai koottu...I wish I have it now for the dinner.....

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  11. This is our family's favorite side dish for rice.

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  12. kootu looks really delicious, good one krithi !

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  13. Yummy sorakka kootu.Nice one.

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  14. i rarely make bottle gourd gravy and this version sounds very nice.

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  15. Creamy, delicious gravy!!!
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  16. love this combination delicious
    congrats on the 100th post delicious kheer

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  17. Nice gravy..that will make a delicious maincourse with some rice and vathal.

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  18. Love your grounded mixture, delicious.

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  19. Krithi, my mom makes this often..But I don make this nowadays,..U've tempted me, now i gotta do this

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  20. looks like a delicious gravy and yummy too ......

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  21. Looks really delicious...Liked the tempering in it..

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  22. comforting and hearty!! love such dishes!!

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  23. So good.. Tadkha looks beautiful..

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  24. hi Kriti,

    thanks for your comments on my blog. I was actually wondering what to make with bottlegourd ..thanks for the idea:)

    Cheers,
    Binitha
    yourstastefully.blogspot.com

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  25. Very nice kootu...looks more inviting n It would taste great with rice...lovely clicks...at last I visited u...enjoyed your space....more yummy delights ...glad to follow

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  26. Looks delicious. Its been a real long time i cooked with coconut milk! ;)

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  27. lovely dish
    hello krithi,

    This is the author of FOOD BLOG NEWS.

    This is a very new blog that contains info about events.

    If you do not wish to see your news on my blog please mail me to foodblognews@gmail.com

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