Palak Keerai Kootu
Spinach and lentil dish with ground coconut, chillies and cumin
Ingredients
- 1 bunch palak / spinach about 150-200g
- ¼ cup moong dal / paasi paruppu
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
To grind
- 3 tbsp grated coconut
- 2 green chillies
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp rice flour
To temper
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 dry red chilly broken
- Few curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash the dal and add ½ cup water, pinch of turmeric powder and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Once pressure releases, open and mash dal. Set aside.
- Grind coconut, green chillies, jeera and rice flour to a paste adding little water.
- Wash the spinach well to remove any sand or dirt and drain the water completely. Chop them finely.
- Add the spinach to a vessel with salt, turmeric powder and ½ cup water and cook uncovered over medium heat.
- Once the spinach is cooked, mash it with the ladle. Add the ground paste and bring to boil. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add dal and cook for another 2-3 minutes. In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add red chilly, curry leaves and pour over kootu.
Notes
- You can use 2 dry red chillies instead of green chillies.
- The kootu generally has thick consistency. So add water according and once it has thickened slightly, remove from heat.