A recipe for passion is always simmering !
The Brinjal, the popular vegetable of the masses, is native to India. The most common variety, the glossy purple Brinjal is a familiar component of Indian curries.
This inexpensive vegetable was known as Malayan purple melon in China. There it was a common food item since 600 BC.May be the shape of first varieties that English speakers came across prompted them to call it as eggplant. The botanical name of Brinjal is Solanum melongena.
Kootu is a semi thick lentil gravy cooked with vegetables, often had with rice or roti. Here is simple kootu preparation using cabbage.
Kootu is a semi solid curry made with lentil and vegetables. Poricha kootu is made with combination of Moong dal and vegetable of your choice flavoured with fresh grated coconut.
Ivy Gourd ~ English
Kovakkai ~ Tamil
Kundru ~ Hindi
Dondakaya ~ Telugu
Koval ~ Malayalam
Tondekayi ~ Kannada
Tindora ~ Gujarathi
Ridge gourd cooked with split green gram (Moong dal / Pachai Paruppu) to make a semi thick lentil gravy. Tastes good as a side with Meen kuzhambu, Kara kuzhambu or Vatral Kuzhambu varieties or even goes well when mixed with rice with a drizzle of ghee.
Cook the dhal in a cooker with turmeric powder and oil. May use thur dhal, channa dhal, or pasi dhal. Best with channa dhal or pasi dhal. Wash and cut veg. Can use vegs. like chow chow, vazhakkai, or a combination of carrot, ladysfinger and potatoes. Boil the veg in a vessel with salt. Close and cook. In the meantime grind coconut, cumin seeds, green chillies and make a paste. Add it to the veg.
Simple Kootu curry made with Zucchini or Courgette.
Snake gourd cooked with moong dhal, a speciality dish from Tamil Nadu often served with rice.
Curry made with combination of mixed vegetables and Bengal gram. Instead of using many vegetables i have tried with Bottle gourd. Any squash would be good too.
Sambar Powder or Sambar Podi is a blend of spices & lentils from South India that is added to sambar to make it extra flavorful and tasty.
