Though we all like variety of food ..love eating in restaurants…end of the day if you ask anyone,nothing can beat simple home cooked food. Today’s post ” Pumpkin Kootu Recipe ” is one such dish made from Pumpkin and lentils,that is very popular in South India. Pumpkin kootu is known as Kumbalakai kootu in Kannada and Parangikai Kootu in Tamil . Its a delicious alternate to sambar is packed with protein, vitamins and minerals and is easy to make.Tastes perfect with hot rice accompanied with some ghee and papad .
We all know Pumpkin is rich in beta carotene ,vital antioxidants, , vitamins and also rich source of minerals . It is low in calories and almost all its parts are useful . We can roast the seeds and eat , peel can be used in making chutney , Rind can be used in making thambli , actual veggie can be use in making sambar , soup , sabzi etc.Unfortunately most of us don’t like pumpkin .. hehe what to do anything healthy .. tagged as boring 🙂 . The story is same even here too … my kids don’t like pumpkin . Recently … one of my neighbor had given lots of homegrown pumpkin . They were so fresh and organic . I thought of making Poori or halwa out of it thinking kids also will like . But later plan change and made Pumpkin Kootu and soup 🙂 . I had earlier shared cabbage kootu and mixed veg kootu , which is entirely different from Pumpkin kootu both recipe wise as well taste wise.This pumkin kootu is simlar to Snakegourd Kootu . Its a no onion garlic dish and a very traditional South Indian dish . So are you ready to jot down the recipe of Pumpkin kootu recipe … here you go …
PUMPKIN KOOTU RECIPE / KUMBALAKAI KOOTU RECIPE / PARANGIKAI KOOTU
Ingredients
- 2 cup pumpkin, cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup yellow moong dal
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric / Haldi powder
To Grind
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds / jeera seeds
- 3-4 nos Dry Red Chilli
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper corns
- Salt to taste
To temper
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- few Curry Leaves
- a pinch Hing /Asafetida
- 1 tbsp Oil/ Ghee
Instructions
- Cut Pumpkin , scoop out seeds and dice into small pieces as shown in pic. No need to remove skin. Skin will help in retaining shape else pumpkin will become mushy
- Add the moong dal and pumpkin to a wide pan along with the turmeric powder and required amount of water .Close pan and simmer until the pumpkin is cooked and the dal is soft .
- Meanwhile Grind smooth the ingredients listed under “to grind” . Keep aside .
- After about 10 mins , Pumpkin would be done . It should be soft yet retain the shape . Don't cook too mushy
- Later add ground masala , required amount of water and mix . Simmer and bring to boil .
- Now heat oil in kadai and temper with the ingredients mentioned and add it to the Pumpkin kootu and stir well.
- That's it simple Pumpkin kootu is ready to serve. Enjoy it with hot rice drizzled with few drops of ghee
Notes
- Don't skip pepper
- Typically tamarind is not added to this curry . however if you want can add little
- Don't deskin pumpkin. It will make kootu too mushy
- Don't add too much water while cooking pumpkin else chances of kootu becoming watery is more .
- If you want you can cook pumpkin in a pan and cook dal seperately in a cooker and add later .
1 Comment
Shifali
September 17, 2021 at 2:00 pmThank you for sharing this recipe. I found this unique recipe from this article, keep sharing the delicious recipes more.