A simple vazhakai kootu with roasted kala channa. This is more commonly known as tentirupathi kootu in my MIL's place. I am not sure how this dish got the name but thats how it has been called. My mom in law said that the dish must have come from the ten tirupathi region and hence the name but the thing is I am not sure how it travelled all the way to tirunelveli. Even though the name is very unique it is very similar to the common thirunelveli "vazhakkai puliitta koootu". The only difference is that we add channa in this. This is made in the poricha kuzhambu style with sambhar powder and toor dahl.
In my in laws place they make kootu with all the veggies. During my initial days I had some tough time getting adjusted to their style of cooking. Some were too good while some made me clench my stomach. Especially the cauliflower kootu and this vazhakai kootu. I still cannot stomach the cauliflower kootu. I cannot accept the taste of a fully cooked cauliflower. I am so used to my mom's cauliflower roast and when I first had it, my taste buds went into a shock. But surprisingly, my taste buds got acquired to this vazhakkai kootu.
Well thats just me. This is definitely a unique and a different kootu. Dont be skeptical about the channa being not cooked and how it might hurt your teeth (yeah that was my thought initially!), When you roast it and add it in the kootu, it get softened a bit and that biting taste is the highlight of this dish. This is frequently served as a side dish to thengai aracha kuzhambu.
Vazhakkai Kootu | Tentirupathi Kootu
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
25 mins
Vazhakai and roasted karupu kondakadalai cooked in tamarind base kootu
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Tamarind paste mixed in ½ Cup water
- ¼ Cup karupu kondakadalai | Kala channa
- 2 tablespoon kadala parupu | channa dahl
- 1 teaspoon Sambhar powder
- 2 tablespoon cooked dahl
- Salt to taste
- Coriander for garnish
For Tempering
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon ulutham parupu | urad dahl
- 3-4 Curry leaves torn
- 3 Red chillies
Instructions
- Peel the raw banana and chop into cubes and immerse them in water till you use.
- Cook the toor dahl with turmeric until it is soft and mushy.
- Dry roast the channa and keep aside.
- 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 urad dahl, curry leaves, red chillies and fry for a second.
- Then add the chopped plantain and kadala parupu, sauté for half a minute. Add 1 Cup of water, sambhar powder, roasted channa and cook it. Once it is ¾th cooked, add the tamarind water.
- Let it boil for about 7-8 minutes until the plantain become soft and the raw smell of the tamarind goes off.
- Then add the cooked dahl and keep it on the flame for about couple of minutes.
- If the mixture becomes very thick, add some more water. Add salt.
- Finally garnish it with coriander leaves, grated coconut and turn off the flame.
Recipe Notes
- Add more water if the plantain does not get cooked in the above mentioned amount of water.
- The roasted channa is the speciality in this dish. If you feel it might be hard to bite then boil the channa and add it.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63 here.
Smruti Shah says
That is such a wonderful dish. Well made and amazing clicks too.
Sapana Behl says
Plantain kootu with chana looks yummy.
Pavani N says
That is sure a different way of making kootu. Addition of Chana sounds healthy and delicious.
vaishali sabnani says
Wow ! A different combo , never used chana daal in this combo . Interesting .
Amara Annapaneni says
Lovely kootu with Chana dal must have tasted delicious.
Gayathri Kumar says
I use vazhakkai in a simple stir fry. Kootu version with channa dhal sounds so interesting to me.
Priya Suresh says
Omg, i can have this kootu happily anytime, both vazhakkai and channa are my favourite,loving it.
Srivalli says
Sounds so different Nisha...I can't imagine cauliflower too..infact for all my love for cauliflower, I don't like all the forms..just few selected ways...this kootu seems a must to try...all your dishes for this BM goes to my bookmark..thanks for the efforts..
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan says
I either try vaazhaikai poriyal or yeriseri. this kootu is new and will definitely try.
Usha says
Kootu looks delicious and a nice side dish so serve with rice.
Suma Gandlur says
Sounds like a comfort food. The other name of the Kootu is an interesting one and I have to try this recipe at least to see how Kala Chana tastes in it. 🙂