Poricha Kootu | Mixed Vegetable Poricha Kootu

        Kootu is a south Indian dish often served with rice, nothing but a fusion of dal, vegetable and aromatic spices. Poricha kootu are made with urad dal and pepper is called poricha (means Fried in Tamil). Here spices, coconut and dal are fried and ground to a powder. Dal and vegetables are cooked in a pressure cooker seperately. Then cooked dal, vegetables and ground powder are boiled in a pan. Finally tempering with mustard was added to the dal.

You can use any vegetables of your choice to make this kootu. Here I added carrot, beans and turnip. This is very healthy dish with full of proteins and vitamins. Kootu with rice tastes divine with a tsp of ghee.

   Ingredients
      To Pressure Cook
   1 Cup of Mixed Vegetables(carrot, beans and turnip), Finely Chopped

           1/2 Cup of Toor Dal (Thuvaram Paruppu)
   1/2 Tsp of  Turmeric Powder
   1 Tsp of Sambhar powder / Red Chilly Powder  
   1/2 Tsp of Oil
   Salt to taste
   To Saute and Grind

   1 Tsp of Coriander Seeds

   1 Tsp of Urad Dal
   1/2 Tsp of Whole Pepper
            1/2 Tsp of Whole Cumin
   2 Red Chillies, Big
   4 Tsp of Grated Coconut, I used dry dessicated coconut
            1/2 Tsp of Oil   
      To Temper

   2 Tsp of Oil/ghee

   1 Tsp of Mustard Seeds
   1 Tsp of Urad Dal
   1/2 Tsp of Whole Cumin
   Few Curry Leaves
   Pinch of Hing
  

       Method
       To Pressure Cook

• Soak the toor dal in water for 1/2 hr. Drain it and wash it in cold running tap water.
• In a pressure cooker, add toor dal, oil, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, salt, enough water (2 cups) and mixed vegetables. Close the lid and cook it for 3 whistles. Let the pressure releases on its own.

       To Saute and Grind

• Heat oil in a pan, add coriander Seeds, urad dal, whole pepper, whole cumin, red chillies, fry until dal turns golden brown color. Finally add grated coconut, fry until it changes color. Turn off. Let it cool down for 10 mins. Grind it to a powder in a blender/mixie.

       Mix and Boil

• Open the cooker lid, turn on the heat, add the ground spice powder, let it boil for 5 mins and turn off the heat.

       To Temper  

• Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, when it is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin, curry leaves and hing, when mustard seeds splutters and dal changes color.Transfer the tempering to the dal.
• Hot mixed vegetable poricha kootu is ready to serve with rice.

     Tips
      

• Add green chillies instead of red chilly powder.
• You can enrich the taste by adding 1tsp of ghee.
• You can use any vegetables of your choice.

      Health Benefits of Dal and vegetables

• Toor dal are rich in folic acid, dietary fiber, protein and carbohydrates.
• Carrot are rich in vitamin A, good source of fiber.
• Beans are rich in minerals, vitamins and fiber. Good for weight loss, lowers the cholesterol and blood pressure.
• Turnips has anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties, prevents cancer.