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Poricha Kootu

Pudalangai Poricha Kootu

Aparna
Poricha kootu is a classic South Indian vegetable stew that’s served with rice, ghee and appalam / pappadam.
5 from 5 votes
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 1 hr
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 People

Equipment

  • Flat bottom pan
  • Flat ladle
  • Small blender
  • Instant Pot / Pressure cooker

Ingredients
  

For Poricha Kootu base

  • ½ cup split yellow mung bean (moong dal)
  • cups water
  • ½ tsp. turmeric powder
  • 3 cups diced snake gourd
  • tsp. salt (or to taste)

For grinding Poricha Kootu masala

  • 1 Tbsp. husked black gram (urad dal)
  • ½ Tbsp. black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 2 whole dry red chilis
  • 1 sprig curry leaves (about 10 leaves)
  • 1 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)

For tempering

  • 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
  • tsp. split husked urad dal
  • 1 tsp. mustard seeds
  • 1 sprig curry leaves

Instructions
 

Prep lentils, spices and vegetables

  • Wash ½ cup moong dal and pressure cook by adding ¼ tsp. turmeric powder and 1 ½ cups water. Set your Instant Pot on manual high for 3 minutes with valve on sealing. Turn off heat and set it aside for natural pressure release
    If using a regular pressure cooker, cook for up to 2 whistles. You can also use a heavy bottom pan for this step and cook until the dal is soft and mushy. Make sure to triple the water as open pot methods use more water
  • Dry roast 1 Tbsp. urad dal (husked black gram), ½ Tbsp. black peppercorns, 1 tsp. cumin seeds, 2 whole dry red chilis and 1 sprig curry leaves (about 10 leaves) until the urad dal changes color and the spices start to give out a flavorful aroma
  • Now add grated coconut and roast it for another minute, turn off the heat and set it aside to cool down to room temperature
    If usingfrozen grated coconut, pop it into the microwave for a minute to thaw
  • While the roasted ingredients cool down, wash the snake gourd under running water, scrape the top layer skin with a blunt knife, slit it open, scrape out the seeds, dice and set aside
  • Add ½ cup water to the roasted ingredients (from Step 3) and grind to a coarse paste using a small spice blender. Add another ½ cup water and grind it to a smooth paste
    Adding water a little at a time while grinding improves the texture of the ground spice paste

Dump cook everything 

  • Mash the cooked dal from step 1 with a ladle
  • To that, add diced snake gourd (step-), the ground paste(step-), remaining 2 ¼cups water, salt to taste (1 ¾ tsp. salt) and set Instant Pot on manual high for 2 minutes with valve on sealing. Turn off heat and set it aside for natural pressure release
    If using a regular pressure cooker, cook up to 2 whistles. You can also use a heavy bottom pan for this step and cook until the vegetable is cooked to fork tender
    To that, add diced snake gourd (step-), the ground paste(step-), remaining 2 ¼ cups water, salt to taste (1 ¾ tsp. salt) and set Instant Pot on manual high for 2 minutes with valve on sealing. Turn off heat and set it aside for natural pressure release

Temper & serve

  • Heat coconut oil in a tempering pan on medium heat setting. Add 1tsp. mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. Now add 1½ tsp. split urad dal and let it cook until golden brown (this will take about for 30 seconds)
  • Turn off the heat, add curry leaves, and pour it over the kootu
  • Enjoy your sublime Podalangai Poricha Kootu with hot steamed rice, home made ghee, and yummy appalams 😋