Cassava and Purple Kohlrabi in Coconut Cumin Yogurt Sauce

The texture of cassava reminded me of chena, Elephant foot yam, a staple in my mom's kitchen when it is in season. My mom's famous chena-elavan koottu is an all-time favorite. I haven't had it in ages, as I can't find Elephant foot yam in my neighborhood markets. But, when I made the cassava fries, I thought it might be worthwhile to try cassava as a substitute for chena in this recipe.

The coconut-cumin yogurt sauce is pretty standard in south Indian cooking, Palakkad-style.

The purple kohlrabi that came in the CSA basket was handy, along with all the kohlrabi, radish, and chard leaves I had saved.

Mung beans, aka Moong dal, adds body and protein to this packed-with-goodness veggie dish that can be served as-is or with some perfectly done brown rice.

Ingredients
1 small kohlrabi diced
2 to 3 cups chopped radish, chard, and kohlrabi greens
1 cup diced cassava
¼ cup spit yelllow moong dal
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

For the Coconut-Cumin Yogurt Sauce:
1 to 1½ cups thick plain yogurt, beaten till smooth
¼ cup dry grated unsweetened coconut
3 dry red chilies
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

Tempering: (optional but recommended for enhancing flavors)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
½ tsp black mustard seeds
¼ tsp cumin seeds

Preparation

1. Combine the vegetables in a pan, along with mung beans, turmeric, and brown sugar, add enough water, cover, and allow to simmer till vegetables and mung beans are tender but not mushy
2. Meanwhile, combine the coconut, chilies, cumin seeds in a blender or food processor and grind to a fine powder
3. When veggies are cooked, stir in the coconut-cumin-chilies mixture, adjust salt to taste, simmer gently for a few more minutes till well incorporated, then turn off heat
4. Allow to cool slightly before folding in the beaten yogurt
5. Tempering: Heat oil in a pan, when it shimmers add the mustard seeds, when that pops add in cumin seeds and turn off heat; pour this tempering over the dish just before serving, stir well

Kohlrabi Greens with Home-garden Chard Coconut Cumin Kalonji Mung Bean Koottu

The kohlrabi greens along with fleshy, juicy kohlrabi bulbs came together with some home garden chard and mung beans for this simple koottu with cumin, Nigella sativa seeds, coconut and chilies as the primary flavoring.

Although it looks pretty involved with a lot of ingredients, it is actually a very simple, earthy dish. As always, flavors and spices can be adjusted to taste. Since the greens and kohlrabi are fairly bland, the layering of flavors helps develop this dish. The starter flavor of garlic, chilies and mint brings an appetizing aroma, and the finish with the flavoring coconut+cumin+nigella paste rounds out the dish.


Ingredients
1 kohlrabi plus a small bunch of kohlrabi greens with stems
6 to 8 large chard leaves with stems
1 medium vine tomato, diced
½ cup split yellow mung beans
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

1 whole lemon
salt to taste

Flavoring Paste:
1 Tablespoon Nigella sativa (aka kalonji) seeds
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
4 Tablespoons dry grated coconut

Starter flavor to be crushed in mortar/pestle:
3 green chilies
12 mint leaves
3 garlic cloves

Tempering:
1 teaspoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon urad dal
½ teaspoon mustard seeds

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the Starter flavors crushed, a pinch of salt and turmeric, and saute till aromatic
2. Add the mung beans, 4 cups of water, chopped kohlrabi, tomatoes plus the greens
3. Sprinkle salt, stir well, cover and simmer till kohlrabi and mung beans are cooked
4. Meanwhile, combine the Flavoring Paste ingredients and grind into a fine powdery mixture
5. Optional Tempering: heat the oil in a small pan, add the urad dal, when it turns golden brown, add the mustard seeds, when mustard seeds pop remove from heat
6. When kohlrabi and mung beans are cooked, stir in the Flavoring paste, stir in freshly squeezed lemon juice, top with tempering, and serve warm with basmati rice or naan

Plaintain, Carrot, Potato, Zucchini Coconut Poduthuval

Plantain and coconut featured in my meals quite frequently during my formative years. Coconut and green chilies ground together to a powdery mix, with no water added, is a favorite spicing additive to many vegetable dishes in my kitchen.

Nothing extra special about this dish, except that I made it one evening and got to enjoy it over three subsequent meals since none of the others at home really care for this dish. Along with my favorite garlic black pepper rasam and plain brown rice, this vegetable medley was quite the comfort food I was craving for.

Plantain, when green and not too ripe, is wonderful as a vegetable in savory dishes. Peel the thick skin before using.

Simply dice the veggies: I used one each of plantain, carrot, potatoes, zucchini.

Coconut+chili Spice Mix: Chop about 4 mild green chilies and add it to quarter cup of dry grated coconut and blend to a powdery spice mix

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, when they pop add cumin seeds and when they plump up, add the veggies (all but zucchini, which cooks faster than plantains), splash about half cup of water, some salt, cover and allow to cook; when par-cooked, add the zucchini and stir well; check often for doneness and add a bit more water as needed till veggies are cooked to your liking. Off heat, stir in the coconut+chili mix and adjust salt to taste.

Jackfruit Seed, Rhubarb, Radish Greens Koottu

When the perennial rhubarb comes up every spring, I feel an urge to use it in as many dishes as I can. So, when I get past the usual rhubarb scones, rhubarb-strawberry cobbler, rhubarb chutney/relish, rhubarb sambar, I check the garden for what else can be paired with rhubarb for a wholesome dish.

The last of the radish greens were waiting in the garden. Fresh jackfruit seeds and fresh coconut were handy. And so this Jackfruit seed + rhubarb + radish greens koottu popped into existence.

Ingredients
¼ cup finely diced fresh coconut
1 Serrano or Jalapeño chili (or a milder variety if preferred)

½ yellow onion, diced finely
½ cup cooked jackfruit seeds
½ cup diced rhubarb
radish greens (about 2 cups chopped and loosely packed)
½ cup yellow split moong dal
3 to 4 cups water
½ tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

For tempering: 1 Tbsp gingelly oil / sesame oil, ½ tsp mustard seeds


Preparation

1. Combine the green chili and coconut and grind to a fine paste
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and wait till they pop; add the onions, turmeric, and a pinch of salt, sauté for a few minutes
3. Add the rhubarb, radish greens, jackfruit seeds, and moong dal, 3 cups water, cover and simmer on medium low heat till moong dal is cooked; (check as add more water as needed)
4. Off heat stir in the coconut-chili paste and serve warm with hot basmati rice or roti  or naan

Plantain Squash Koottu

Green Plantain, with its potato-like meaty starchy texture, along with watery squash like opo squash or chayote squash is an interesting combination for me.

This koottu is like most other koottus I make usually, only, I used a combination of toor dal and chana dal in this one. Toor dal cooked well and mashed gives some body and the chana dal cooked just enough gives the nutty texture in every bite.

Serve with rice or roti, or enjoy it as-is - a nutritious bowlful to counter the cold winter blues :)

Koottu ingredients that I usually use are pictured here:

grated coconut
urad dal
par-boiled rice (optional)
dry red chilies
cumin seeds

Dry roast them and grind them with just enough water to form a smooth paste, and add to the dals and veggies that make up the koottu.

Ingredients:
Koottu paste
1 plaintain
1 chayote squash
1-2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
salt to taste
curry leaves or cilantro, slit green chilies - for garnish

Tempering: 1 Tbsp canola oil, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds
Preparation:

1. Dry roast and grind the koottu ingredients, keep handy
2. Dice the plantain and chayote squash (peel them first, of course) to bite size chunks
3. Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker or saucepan till mushy, mush it a bit and keep handy
4. Heat the oil in a pan and add the turmeric powder, sauté a bit, then add the vegetables and chana dal, some salt and just enough water, allow to cook
5. add the koottu paste and fresh grated ginger, simmer for a few minutes more till flavors meld
6. Tempering: heat oil in a small pan, when it shimmers, add the urad dal, when it turns golden brown add the mustard seeds, and when they pop, turn off heat and add the tempering to the finished dal; stir well before serving
7. Garnish with curry leaves or cilantro and slit green chilies

Simple Cabbage Koottu

This unpretentious cabbage koottu is such an everyday food that it never occurred to me to post a version of the recipe here until now. Especially now. Since I have not been making anything exotic and have been relying on comfort foods for the last several weeks...

I can eat a bowlful of this cabbage koottu as a meal by itself... but, it is good with rice, simple roti or even spelt or whole wheat tortillas.

Crisp green cabbage, some moong dal, and perhaps some coconut, curry leaves and green chilies is all it takes to make this dish in its simplest form. If moong dal is limited to say ¼ cup (dry) per 4-5 cups of finely chopped cabbage, this qualifies as a "low-carb" diet easily, of course, not including the rice or roti to go with it, and assuming one doesn't eat it all in one sitting. Agreed, I am not a nutritionist and wouldn't want to start pretending to be one, but, this sure seems like such a light carb-load to me, at least based on glycemic index readings I've seen so far :)

Ingredients
4-5 cups of finely chopped green cabbage
¼ cup split yellow moong dal
¼ cup dry (unsweetened) grated coconut
1-2 dry red chilies or fresh green chilies
5-10 curry leaves (optional)
salt to taste
chicken or vegetable bullion cubes, or broth (optional)
water as needed

Preparation

1. combine the coconut, chilies and curry leaves in a blender and process to a fine powdery paste; set aside; reserve some curry leaves for garnish if preferred
2. bring about 2-3 cups of broth or water to a boil, add the moong dal and allow it to cook partially; add the bullion cubes to the water, if using; add the cabbage and cook till it is not raw anymore - I like the cabbage to hold the crunch and not get mushy
3. add the coconut+chili+curry leaves paste, simmer some more till moong dal is done to your liking - I like it cooked through but still firm and holding shape, not mushy
4. adjust salt to taste; add water as needed - I like the koottu to be fairly thick, not runny, so it can be eaten by the spoonful as a solid meal

Green beans or even carrots are a good addition to this dish... of course, peas and potatoes will not keep it low-carb, but are a good addition as well...

Chaenai Elavan Koottu

One of my favorite sides when I was little was this Chaenai-Elavan koottu.

Chaenai ('ch' as in chair), aka Elephant foot yam, is a yam that seemed ubiquitous in India, which is not quite the same as the yam sold here. This Chaenai (Suran) has thick dark brown muddy skin, with slightly hard yellowish flesh and is a bugger to clean up and chop. So naturally my mom did not make it often.

Elavan is ash gourd or white pumpkin with spongy/watery white flesh, light green rind and lots of seeds inside. It is about the size of a water melon and is sold in wedges. It is fairly bland and cooks up fast.

I hadn't had this yummy chaenai-elavan koottu in many years until my mom managed to make it last year when I visited India. Imagine my thrill when the other adult came home one day from Indian store with this frozen cleaned-and-par-cooked chaenai!

I *had* to cook up my favorite koottu and share the recipe here - except, I didn't have elavan handy, so, substituted opo squash instead.



Now, one pot meals like red beans and rice make the best quick and simple meals on weeknights, especially if all the ingredients are handy and all you have to do is come home from work, start it on the pot, go play with the baby as you missed her all day, and in about 20-30 minutes yummy dinner is served!

What feels even better is presenting a typical homely comfort meal with a couple of dishes that complement each other and be able to cook and serve them in about 20-30 minutes.

A few short-cuts that I try to remember for Indian recipes:

• cook larger batch of toor dal/moong dal/chana dal and store 2 or 3 cup portions (for a family of 2 adults) in the freezer; so, when ready to cook, just thaw the small 3-cup-frozen-batch and cook it up as desired
• when making paruppusili, soak and steam a largish batch of toor dal balls, freeze the unused portion, again in small batches; thaw the frozen steamed lentil balls in the microwave for a quick approach, or leave it in the fridge overnight, and cook it up with favorite vegetable
• when making ground masala at home, make a larger batch and store the extra - like for arachu vitta sambar, I make a larger batch of the ground paste and freeze it; or, if it is powdered spices, even better, simply store it in air tight container

Why am going on and on about this? Well, I came across Mallugirl's Summer Express Cooking Event and thought I must dedicate a post for it since Quick and Easy yet Delectable Victuals are what this blog is all about (at least most of the time).

The menu is yam koottu served with pepper-garlic rasam and plain hot rice.

Ingredients:

1 packet frozen yam (chaenai/suran)
½ medium opo squash
2/3 cup chana dal
For rasam spices: 1 Tbsp whole black pepper, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 6-8 garlic cloves
1 tsp tamarind paste
4 Tbsp brown sugar (some for rasam, some for the koottu)
½ cup grated coconut
salt to taste
a few tsp canola oil
2 Tbsp coconut oil (optional)
For tempering: 1 tsp oil (canola or coconut), 1 tsp mustard seeds, curry leaves

And this simple menu can be cooked and served in under 30 minutes with a little bit of multi-tasking: (Ready? Set the timer to 30 minutes and Go!)

• Start the rice in a rice cooker.


• Set the microwave timer and thaw the frozen chaenai/suran a.k.a yam in the microwave.


• Add ½ to 2/3rd cup of chana dal to about 2 cups of water in a pan and allow the dal to cook in the back burner.


• Meanwhile, in a mortar and pestle, add a tsp of cumin seeds, a tablespoon of whole black pepper and 6-8 cloves of garlic and pound it to a nice powdery paste.


• Chop up a few tomatoes for the rasam.


• Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pot in the back burner, add the pounded paste and the tomatoes, 4-5 cups of water, some salt, tamarind paste, 1 Tbsp brown sugar and leave it on medium-low to come to a boil and simmer gently.


• Chop up elavan a.k.a white pumpkin/ash gourd or opo squash.


• Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, add the opo squash, some salt and water and start cooking; part-way through, add the thawed yam pieces and 3 Tbsp brown sugar - these frozen yam pieces are par cooked so they don't need to cook for long to be done - and allow them to cook through.


• (By now, the timer should be close to 18-20 minutes if you work at a fairly normal-to-brisk pace)


• The chana dal should be cooked through but not mushy by now; drain it and add it to the yam and opo squash cooking in the pan. Stir well and adjust salt to taste. leave it on low heat.


• Right about now, rasam should be done as well - the rawness should be gone, and it should have reduced a bit - taste and adjust salt. Off heat.


• Tempering: In a small pan heat 1 Tbsp oil, when it shimmers, add the mustard seeds and when they begin to pop add the curry leaves (if handy), remove from heat and garnish the rasam and koottu with the tempering.


• Then, in the same small pan, add the coconut oil and the grated coconut, toast the coconut till it is golden brown and aromatic, don't let it burn; off heat.


• Garnish the koottu with this toasted coconut.

By now the rice should be done and the timer close to going "beep" - just in time to serve the yummy wholesome meal!

Enjoy!

green papaya koottu

Koottu, usually served as a side in south indian meals, is a comfort food for me. Koottu is quite flexible: a couple of vegetables, some moong dal, and tempering is all it takes to make this dish. It is usually mild-tasting, and can be eaten as a snack by itself :)

Ingredients
1 small green papaya
1 carrot
½ cup moong dal
salt to taste
4-5 curry leaves (optional)
1 Tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)
Tempering: 1 Tbsp canola oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp urad dal

Preparation

cook the moong dal in a pan adding enough water, and a bit of salt; cook till dal is just done, not mushy, still holds shape, sort of al dente

meanwhile, skin the green papaya, scoop out the innards and dice them; slice the carrot as well

tempering: heat oil in a pan, add the urad dal, when it turns golden brown, add the mustard seeds, and when they pop, add the curry leaves and ginger

add the green papaya and carrots, some salt, turmeric powder, some water and cook the veggies till well done but not mushy

add the cooked moong dal, stir well, adjust salt to taste

Serve warm as a side with rice, and pepper rasam, or kozhambu

chayote squash koottu

Chayote squash is generally bland and watery and doesn't seem to have much of a strong flavor of its own. So, to me, it is ideal for using in several different dishes combined with different spices. I like its texture when cooked.

I grew up calling it chou-chou and loved the various dishes my mom made with it - like chou-chou more-kozhambu(aka more-kali), more-koottaan, chou-chou koottu, even chou-chou sambar.

The koottu recipe here is adapted from one of my favorite cook books for south indian foods: Dakshin by Chandra Padmanaban. This book is a gift from my husband and I treasure it because when the recipes are followed closely, they come out pretty tasty - sort of like how my mom makes them.



Koottu, to me, sort of refers to the gravy in the dish which is made with specific ingredients: if it has lentils and certain ingredients which i list below, then it is a Koottu :-) The vegetable in the koottu can be substituted for other seasonal vegetables - for instance, chayote squash in this recipe can be substituted with say, ridge gourd or ash gourd or yam or snake gourd and still have a delicious koottu.

Ingredients
for the spice paste:
2/3 cup dry(or fresh) grated coconut
7-8 dry red chilies (less, if you prefer)
1 Tbsp urad dal
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 Tbsp par-boiled rice (puzhungal arisi)

2 cups cooked toor dal
3-4 cups diced chayote squash (or any other vegetable in season)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
salt to taste
2 Tbsp canola oil
some water
6-8 curry leaves*

tempering:
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp mustard seeds

Preparation

1. dry roast the spice paste ingredients and when cool enough to handle grind them to a fine paste with just a tad bit of water to get them all together; set aside
2. heat oil in a pan, add the tempering: chana dal first, when it turns golden brown, urad dal and when it is golden brown, add mustard seeds; keep a screen lid handy as mustard seeds will try to jump out of the pan
   
3. when mustard seeds splutter and die down, add the diced chayote squash, turmeric powder, curry leaves, some salt and some water; cover and let the chayote squash cook till soft
4. add the spice paste from step 1, and the cooked toor dal, brown sugar; stir well and let it simmer for about 5-8 mins till the flavors meld; add a little water if the gravy seems too thick; adjust salt to taste
   
5. off heat garnish with curry leaves; serve warm with rice or roti or naan.

* Curry Leaves are sort of special and I love to incorporate them into my cooking. When I was growing up in India, I noticed many of my friends and family sort of pick it out of their food and throw it away. What a waste. I have not found any substitute for the wonderful flavor they impart, and they are certainly not equivalent to bay leaves. Curry leaf chutney or thohayal is one of my favorite ways of getting all its goodness.

Green Tomato Dal (Koottu)

With the cold setting in, our vegetable garden is withering, so, we had to harvest all the green tomatoes. I have not found green tomatoes sold in stores (tomatillos aplenty, of course), but, maybe I haven't been looking in the right stores...

"Dal" (dhaal) in general is a wonderful side or main dish, served with rotis or rice, or eaten as a soup by itself. Dal dishes can be made with either moong dal or toor dal, although moong is my favorite. I love the versatility and heartiness of moong dal.

"Koottu" is a south indian term referring to a certain style of making sides - while this recipe is strictly not a traditional koottu, I use the terms dal and koottu interchangeably as my method of preparation of each sort of overlap.

Instead of green tomato, any suitable vegetable can be used to make this koottu/dal: i like opo squash, chayote squash, red ripe tomatoes, ash gourd, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, or even tomatillos as alternatives.


Ingredients
2 cups dry split yellow moong dal (not the whole green moong)
2-3 medium green tomatoes,cut into chunks
1 medium yellow onion,diced
3-4 green chilies, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

2 Tbsp cilantro/coriander leaves for garnish
2 Tbsp fresh or bottled lemon juice
3 Tbsp grated coconut (dry or fresh)*

1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
2 Tbsp oil
salt to taste
water as needed

for tempering
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp split (dehusked) urad dal - optional
*can be omitted without seriously compromising the outcome

Preparation

1. pressure cook the moong dal, or just boil 6 cups of water and add the moong dal and let it cook till it gets mushy; set aside
2. heat oil in cooking pot, when oil starts shimmering, add the tempering - urad dal first, and when it starts turning light brown, add the mustard seeds, then cumin seeds; mustard seeds will spatter, keep a screen lid handy and cover the pot, turn the heat down if needed so as not to burn the tempering
3. when spattering dies down, add the chilies, ginger and onions, a little salt, turmeric, asafoetida and sautee; the smell of ginger and onion sauteeing after the tempering is very appetizing
4. then add the green tomato chunks, a little water, cover and let it cook till green tomatoes are a little soft
5. add the cooked moong dal, coconut, more water if it is too thick or dry, adjust salt to taste and cover and simmer till green tomatoes are well done, but not mushy, and the dal has the consistency of a thick soup
6. off heat stir in lemon juice and garnish with cilantro leaves
7. serve warm with basmati rice, or roti, assorted indian achar (pickle) or pappadam
8. alternately, cook the dal with more water so it has a hearty soup consistency and just have it as a soup - makes a great filling, healthy dinner on cold winter nights