Thiruvathirai Kootu is a medley of 7 veggies cooked in a sesame coconut paste, prepared mainly for a Hindu auspicious day Thiruvathirai festival.
The main difference in these two recipes is that the thalagam does not have toor dahl and the ground coconut paste is different from the one mentioned here. Both the dishes taste differently giving me an extra choice / dish to prepare on the regular days if I have many left over veggies or get bored of the regular Sambhar, rasam and curry!
Medley of 7 veggies cooked in a sesame coconut paste, prepared mainly on a Hindu auspicious day.
- ¼ cup tuvar dhal
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon channa dhal
- 1 teaspoon urad dhal
- 3-4 curry leaves, torn
- 1 dry red chilly
- 2 teaspoon tamarind paste mixed in ½ cup water
- 4 cups veggies, chopped in bite size cubes
- Salt to taste
- Coriander for garnish
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon channa dhal
- 1 teaspoon urad dhal
- 2-3 dry red chillies
- ¼ cup grated coconut
Pressure cook the dhal with turmeric powder and keep aside.
Roast all the ingredients (except coconut) separately, under grinding. Cool it and grind it to a fine paste.
- Heat oil in a Kadai | Pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chillies, channa dal and urad dhal and fry until the dhal turns golden brown.
Add the tamarind water and the veggies. Once the veggies are cooked and the raw smell of the tamarind goes off, add the coconut paste and the cooked toor dahl.
- Mix it well. Add salt. Let it boil for a couple of minutes and until everything blends well.
- If it is very thick, add little water. Finally garnish it with coriander leaves and turn off the flame.
- The veggies should be soft and tender. They should hold their shape and not become mushy.
- Sometimes, veggies like raw banana or drumsticks, take time to cook in tamarind water. In that case, cook the veggies separately and then add them.
- Alternatively, you can either boil them or steam them and then add the veggies after the raw smell of the tamarind goes off in step 2.
- The veggies generally used are chayote, ash gourd, potato, carrot, broad beans, mochai, peas and raw banana. Those which we call as native veggies (naatu kai karigal). But as always, there is a relaxation. You can use whatever you have at hand.
- Generally, this kootu is on the thicker side. But if you are having it with rice, you can loosen it up a bit.
veena krishnakumar says
That is a lovely kootu Nisha. Loved the clicks
Ruchi Indu says
Good presentation... I love to have this koottu with rice...
Chef Mireille says
delicious dish and I love your dark moody pics
Priya Srinivasan says
Perfect kootu!! I love the taste the freshly ground spice gives to the kootu!
The Pumpkin Farm says
Nisha, i am loving your pictures much more than usual this time , nice kootu recipe
Padmajha PJ says
Beautifully presented. Am yet to make this but I have tasted it when my neighbor shared a bowlful with us.Delicious!
rajani says
Mom and Grandma used to force me to eat this when I was a kid. now I know better. I've never made this on my own though.
Nalini's Kitchen says
Finger licking kottu and this is one such comforting kottu goes well with thiruvadirai Kali and rice too..
Smruti Shah says
Amazing version of the kootu. I found an interesting way to use pumpkin, apart from just sambhar 🙂
Priya Suresh says
Simply love this kootu, especially for pumpkin pieces, a must for thiruvathirai at home.
Padma Rekha says
this was in my to do list from long time. such a healthy and treditional recipe...
Amara Annapaneni says
Lovely kootu Nisha, 7 veggies cooked in dal... Such a healthy one too:)
Sowmya Sundararajan says
Nice photos and neatly displayed Nisha
Gayathri Kumar says
My neighbour introduced me to this kootu and from then I have been making it regularly. Your look so tempting...
Srivalli says
Beautiful shots Nisha..I am enjoying all your kootus..we are going to have a treasure trove..:)
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Kali and ezhukari kootu is one of the strangest and best combinations I have ever eaten. This is very similar to how we make it too. Lovely choice for the alphabet.
Sapana Behl says
Seven vegetables cooked with dal sounds amazing.Love the lightening in the images.
Usha says
Kootu looks yummy loaded with so many vegetables.
vaishali sabnani says
Lovely recipe there and beautiful clicks . I must try these recipes to understand them , my normal South Indian is restricted to Sambar and Rasam .
Kalyani says
This is a nice variation of the 7 kari kootu .. Bookmarking ..we don't use tamarind usually ..
Harini-Jaya R says
The kootu/kuzhambu varieties you are dishing out are very tempting!
Pavani N says
What a lovely kootu with 7 veggies. Great dish to use up leftover veggies too. Bookmarked!!
Suma Gandlur says
Had seen tnis on Tamil blogs begore. Traditional dishes are the best and loving this flavorful kootu.
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan says
Love this with the kali. Great pick for E