• Wash and soak chana dal/gram dal/kadalai paruppu for atleast 20 minutes.
• Wash and chop the vegetables. I kept the zucchini skin. Chop the zucchini horizontally into half, then each half into 3 vertical slices and chop them into cubes. Chop the tomatoes and keep it ready.
• Since i m using freshly pounded spice powder here, measure them and pound them in a mortar-pestle. You can also grind it in a spice grinder.

Cooking in Instant Pot

• Plug the instant pot and turn the saute mode on for 10 minutes. Add oil, when hot, splutter mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves and green chili.
• To this hot tempering, add chopped tomatoes, saute for a minute, now add the chopped zucchini and saute.
• To this add the drained chana dal and freshly pounded spice powder. Mix well.
• Add around 2- 2.5 cups of water to this. Add salt, fresh coconut and turmeric powder to this.
• Close the instant pot, cancel the saute mode, press pressure cook and set timer for 6 minutes. I use Instant Pot Duo plus, if you use any other model and have to turn the valve or any extra steps, kindly follow that.
• After the said time of pressure cooking, let the instant pot release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release.
• Open the instant pot, mash the dal with the back of the ladle. Mashed chana dal adds creaminess to the kootu.
• If you find the kootu to be little runny, then add a slurry of either 1-2 teaspoon rice flour/gram flour mixed with the kootu liquid, add it to the kootu, mix well and let it boil in saute mode for 5 minutes.
• Add fresh coriander leaves to the kootu and serve it warm with rice or roti

Cooking in Indian Pressure cooker

• Follow the above instructions and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
• Check and adjust consistency, Garnish and serve it warm with rice or roti.
• Any leftover kootu can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for a day or two. While serving, reheat it for 30 seconds - 1 minute and serve it warm.

To make slurry to thicken the kootu

• 1-2 teaspoon gram flour/rice flour mixed with ¼ cup of kootu liquid or water. Make a smooth liquid and pour it into the kootu and let it boil for 5 extra minutes.