Peel and dice the carrots and sweet potatoes ~1 cm dice. In a medium sized saucepan, take 1/2 cup water. Add all the prepared vegetables, 1/2 tsp salt, pinch of turmeric and bring to a boil. Reduce flame and allow to simmer on a low flame for around 8-10 minutes until carrots are tender.

Meanwhile, pressure cook the dal with 1.5 cups of water. Whisk until smooth and keep aside.

In a small mixer jar, grind the coconut, cumin and green chili to a fine paste with the aid of 1/4 cup water and keep aside.

Add the cooked dal and ground spice paste to the cooked vegetables. Add 1/2 tsp or as much as necessary and bring to a simmer. Adjust consistency depending on how you will serve the kootu, keeping it thinner if it will be mixed with rice and slightly thicker to serve as a vegetable side dish.

Heat oil/ghee in a small tadka ladle. Add udad dal and once it turns golden brown, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies. As the mustard seeds splutter, add the asafoetida and turn off the flame. Transfer this tempering over the kootu.