Seven vegetables kootu - ஏழு கறி கூட்டு

ஏழு கறி கூட்டு

This kootu is a festival delicacy prepared for Thiruvathirai festival to go along with the sweet kali (களி)

Ingredients:

Vegetables ( all the below should make two cups after been cut in medium pieces)
Note: The below are traditionally used. In case some of the vegetables are not available you can however substitute with a few others like carrot, beans, chow-chow, knool khol etc. NO ONIONS OR GARLIC.

1. White pumpkin - ash gourd sub Chow chow /knool khol
2. Pumpkin
3. Mochai or Lima beans 
4. Green plantain
5. Flat beans ( avarai)  sub beans
6. Areba ( சேம்பு)
7. Sweet potato

Other ingredients

1. Toordal - 1/2 cup
2. Tamarind  -lemon size or Tamarind paste 1 teaspoon. 
3. Dried red chillies - 5 or 6 ( remove the stalks)
4. Coriander seeds - 2 teaspoons
5. Channa dal - 2 teaspoon
6. Urad dal - 2 teaspoons
7. Coconut - 2 teaspoons
8. Salt to taste.

Pre-preparation:

1. Dissolve the tamarind in 1 and  1/2  cups of water and keep it aside. ( if you are using raw tamarind, dissolve  using warm water, mash it with your fingers and filter to remove the debris and fibres)
2. Clean the toor dal and put it in the cooker vessel.
3. Add 1 cup of water and add the turmeric powder
4. Pressure cook for 20 minutes ( till the dal becomes soft and mash able).
5. Keep aside.

Boil the vegetables:

1. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder  and boil all the vegetables (except the Ariba which has to be pressure cooked)  in a closed vessel till they are almost cooked.
2. Keep aside.

Grinding of dals:

1. Using a spoon oil, fry the red chillies, coriander seeds,urad dal, channa dal,coconut and grind them to a fine paste.Keep aside.      

Preparation:

1. In a large vessel boil the tamarind water.Add the ground dal paste and add salt. Let this boil for 10 minutes till the raw aroma of the masal disappears.
2. Take out the pressure cooked toor dal, mash with a hand churner or a thick spoon and pour this  into the boiling tamarind water.
3. Now add the boiled vegetables.
4. Add the curry leaves, Coriander leaves. 
5. Cook in a low flame till the smell of the dal disappears and you see the kootu boiling with bubbles in them. Control the amount of water to decide on the consistency you prefer.
6. Season with mustard seeds and serve hot.