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Recipe for Poricha Koottu : South Indian Mixed Vegetable Curry with Lentils

It's high time I posted one of my favourite Tambrahm recipes. Poricha Koottu, a mix of vegetables, dal and either a masala ground with coconut or a spice powder is perfect soul food. Eaten with rice along with raita and roasted papad is true comfort food who has grown up eating this meal. As a kid,
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 carrot , diced small
  • 1 cup bottle gourd chopped / dudhi
  • sweet potato , peeled and diced small 1 small
  • 1 potato , diced small with skin
  • 1 cup cabbage chopped (optional)
  • pinch turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/3 Cup moong dal water pressure cooked with (2 cups)

For spice paste:

  • 1 tbsp dal udad
  • 3 chillies red
  • 8 black pepper corns
  • 2 tsps raw rice
  • 1/4 cup coconut grated

For tempering

  • 2 sprigs curry leaves , torn / chopped
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp dal udad
  • pinch asafoetida

Instructions
 

  • In a large vessel, heat 3 cups of water with 1 tsp salt and turmeric. Add all the chopped veggies, bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the carrot and potatoes are cooked.
  • In a kadai/wok, heat 1 tsp oil. Add all ingredients for spice paste, except coconut and fry on a low flame until chillies are bright red, rice is opaque and udad dal is golden brown. Place this in a small mixer and grind to a fine paste along with coconut and 1/2 cup water.
  • Mash the pressure cooked dal well with a ladle or whisk and add to cooked veggies.
  • Mix the cooked veggies (with the liquid), dal and spice paste in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
  • In a tempering ladle or small wok, heat 2 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves, udad dal. Wait for dal to turn golden brown, add pinch of asafoetida and transfer this over the vegetable dal spice mix.
  • Remove from stove and keep covered until ready to serve.
  • Serve with steamed rice and ghee along with a papad on the side.

Notes

This ripe banana raita /Pazham Pachidi will go well with this Koottu and rice.
Feel free to add any other vegetables to this dish such as snake gourd, eggplant, green beans, cauliflower, chow-chow, white pumpkin, zucchini etc. Make sure all vegetables are uniformly diced.
Video recipe for moong dal cooked with water