Name: South Indian Keerai Kootu
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ½ bunch Spinach, keerai/palak, washed and finely chopped; ¼ cup Split Yellow Mung Beans, washed and soaked for 15 mins; 2⅔ tbsp Fresh Coconut, grated, for paste; ¾ tsp Cumin Seeds, divided for paste and tadka; 1 Green Chili Pepper, for paste; ⅛ tsp Ground Turmeric; ¼ tsp Mustard Seeds; ½ tsp Split Black Gram (Skinless), split black gram, for tadka; 1 Dried Red Chili Peppers, broken; ⅛ tsp Asafoetida, hing; 5 Curry Leaves; ¾ tbsp Coconut Oil, essential for authentic flavor; ½ tsp Salt, to taste; ¾ cup Water

50 mintotal

35 min hands-on15 min hands-off

Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Mild

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Method

Put the soaked moong dal, finely chopped spinach, turmeric powder and the measured water into a pressure cooker. Cook for 2 whistles, until the dal is completely soft and mushy. Mash it lightly by hand.
Meanwhile, make the kootu paste: in a small blender, combine the grated coconut, some of the cumin seeds and the green chillies. Grind with a trace of water to a completely smooth paste.
Relocate the heavily mashed spinach and dal amalgamation to an open pot. Regulate the heat to a steady medium-low.
Introduce the highly concentrated coconut-cumin paste and accurately season with salt. Mix the entire assembly with absolute cohesion.
Let the kootu simmer gently for 5 minutes. This is what cooks the raw, sharp taste out of the coconut paste. Do not let it come to a hard boil. Turn off the heat.
5 min
Construct the Tadka (Tempering): Elevate the coconut oil in a small tempering pan. Deposit the mustard seeds and stand by while they fully splutter.
Drop in the urad dal and fry with high vigilance until it reaches a toasted golden shade. Immediately follow up with the remaining cumin seeds, shattered dry red chillies, asafoetida (hing), and fresh curry leaves.
In one quick movement, pour the sizzling tadka straight over the kootu. Stir it gently to mix the flavoured oil through, and serve.

How to tell it's done

A deeply soothing, exceptionally thick, and brilliantly bright green puree of spinach and dissolved lentils, rendered opulently creamy and faintly sweet by the rich coconut paste.

Getting it right

Tip

A kootu isn't a thin dal. It should be thick and creamy. The finely ground coconut and cumin paste is what gives it its South Indian character.

What to serve it with

An everyday dish in Tamil Nadu. Mix it into hot rice with a spoonful of ghee, and serve it with a potato sabzi or crunchy vathal (fryums).

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