Malabar vellari & chickpeas kootu, a south-indian style dal made with Indian yellow cucumber, chickpeas and freshly ground spice with coconut.
What is Kootu
Kootu (Tamil:கூட்டு) is a Tamil word means to add, combine, mix. In the dish, vegetables are combined with lentils to make the dish kootu. Not only vegetables, you can combine legumes like chickpeas, black-eyed peas, edible flowers etc to make kootu.
I have quite a few varieties of kootu in my blog, ashgourd kootu with masoor dal, zucchini kootu etc. This drumstick flowers kootu is a delicacy made with fresh drumstick flowers/moringa blossoms when they are in season.
An elaborate South-indian thali always includes kootu. A festive thali has 2 dry curries, 1 kootu along with sambar, rasam, and of course payasam and vadai. Like this Tamil year Lunch
Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot
Pressure cooker is a blessing when making kootu. Kootu is an easy to cook dish. Just dump everything in the pressure cooker and cook it for 4-5 whistles. It gets done in literally few minutes. Recently I have started using my Instant Pot too for the making kootu. With IP, I cook 2/3 things at the same time.
Since it takes very less time, it is my personal favorite. I make kootu every day. Kootu and rasam is our regular lunch. Keerai kootu is my lil ones and my personal favorite, so i happily include a greens kootu in my thali regularly.
If you are in Instagram and follow my handle I Camp in my Kitchen or my #tag #icampinmykitchenlunch, you will know what I say. My everyday lunch thali, contains a kootu, dry curry and rice. Interestingly, I have posted 84 lunch thali’s under this tag. So, if at all you need any inspiration for lunch, do check my page.
The Ingredients
- The vegetables, for today’s kootu i have used malabar vellari/Indian yellow cucumber, the same kootu can be done with other vegetables like cabbage, ashgourd, chayote etc.
- Dal, I have used a combination of moong and masoor dal in my kootu recipe today. You can use a combination or just one dal.
- Legume, i have use brown chickpeas in this kootu today. You can replace it normal chickpeas or any other legume.
- Spices, I have made fresh spice mix using cumin, coriander, pepper, tuvar dal, chilies and coconut for this kootu. I usually make kootu with my Kootu podi, which is a handy spice to make kootu everyday.
- Tempering, the most important part of Indian cooking, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red chilies along with curry leaves is used.
- I served this part of my lunch thali along with broccoli stir-fry and paruppu rasam.
Step by Step instructions to make Vellari Kootu
Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions
- Wash and soak the lentils in water for 10 minutes. Wash, peel, remove the seeds and chop the indian cucumber into cubes. The chickpeas are presoaked overnight. I keep a pack of soaked legumes in my freezer so i have used it in the recipe.
- Heat a pressure cooker with oil, splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chili, hing and curry leaves, saute.
- Add chopped tomatoes to this and saute. Dump the chopped vellari/yellow cucumber to this and saute for minute.
- Drain and add the dal, and the presoaked legumes to this and mix well. Add 2-3 cups of water.
- Take the spices mentioned in a mixer jar and grind it to a paste with 1/4 cup water. Add this spice paste to the kootu. Add salt, mix well and close the lid and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.
- Let the pressure fall on its own, open the cooker, mix well and serve it along with rice.
If you have tried this recipe and like it, give it a star rating or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #icampinmmykitchen and tagging me @priyasrinivasan.
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More Kootu Recipes
Recipe
Malabar Vellari & Chickpeas Kootu | Yellow Cucumber Kootu
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 cups chopped malabar vellari/Indian yellow cucumber
- 1 no medium sized tomato chopped
- ½ cup soaked chickpeas i have used brown
- ½ cup Moong dal/split green gram
- ½ cup Masoor dal/Split red lentil
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
To Grind
- 1 tsp coriander seeds/dhaniya
- 1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
- 1 tsp black peppercorns/milagu
- 1 tsp tuvar dal/split pigeon peas
- 1/3 cup coconut fresh
- 2 nos green chilies
- few curry leaves
Tempering
- 2 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 nos red chilies
- 1/8 tsp hing/asafoetida
- few curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash and soak the dal in water for 10 minutes. While the dal is soaking, wash, peel and chop the vellari/yellow cucumber into cubes.
- Take the ingredients given under 'To grind' and grind it to a fine paste in a mixer jar, using ¼ cup of water.
- Heat a pressure cooker with oil given under 'tempering', splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, thrown in red chilies, hing and curry leaves.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for a minute, add the chopped vellari/indian cucumber and saute.
- To this now add drained dal and chickpeas, Mix well. Add 3-4 cups of water, the vegetable should be covered with water, that is quantity we are looking for.
- To this now add the ground paste, add ¼ cup water to the mixer jar, shake and add that water to the cooker. Add salt, mix well.
- Close the lid of the pressure cooker, let it cook for 3-4 whistles. I sometimes allow 5 whistles too. Let the pressure fall on its own.
- Once the pressure falls, open the cooker, be careful of the gust of steam. Mix well. Serve this delicious kootu with rice and a generous drizzle of ghee.
- Any leftover kootu can be refrigerated for just a day. Since the kootu is made of dal and coconut, there is a high chance of it getting spoiled, if left outside for a long, especially in hot and humid climates.
Serve this delicious vellari kootu with rice and a drizzle of ghee. Enjoy it hot for the warm feeling. It is a wonderful recipe to pack as lunch too.
This vellari kootu can also be served with roti. We love to pair roti and kootu for our lunch.
Do you like the Recipe? PIN IT
Delicious kootu with cucumber Priya.
looks so delicious . love to have this with rice
Yummy kootu…
new kind for me, must refershing with cucumber addition, bookmarking
I have never tried adding chickpeas to kootu..sounds very yumm.
Interesting addition of chickpeas in kootu..Healthy and very tempting kootu.
Now I know the meaning of kootu. I like this vegetable & in coorg they make many dishes with vellari
Interesting to know the addition of chickpeas in kootu, have you added tomatoes too. Found something like that in picture.
Thanks Manju, I added tomatoes n forgot to mention it in the post. updated it now!!!
Priya, that picture looks so inviting..I love all sorts of kootus, so will be bookmarking all your recipes..
That is one yummy looking kootu..
I have never used the yellow cucumber in my recipes, I guess it would taste like courgette? Will look for it in the next Indian grocery shopping. Very interesting kootu recipe.