Ria's Collection: KANNUR SPECIAL KOOTU CURRY

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

KANNUR SPECIAL KOOTU CURRY

Kootu Curry

Being the Kannur girl that I am, I have a few forever favourite Kannur curries. One of them is the Kannur meen curry which I've already blogged about. The other ones include  Kootu curry,Varutharacha Kozhi curry & Varutharacha Sambar. I've made the latter two at home quite a few times but it's never ever lasted long enough for me to share it here.This time while I cooked the kootu curry, I made sure I save some to photograph and blog about.

Kootu curry

Kootu curry as the name suggests is a mix of a few vegetables cooked together. The highlight of this curry is the flavour of the tempering.It is awesome! It transforms the othewise simple looking and simple tasting curry into a good one.This curry is very common on a sadya menu in Kannur and is also made during Vishu & Onam. I maybe wrong here because in my household Onam & Vishu is always celebrated with a good Chicken Biriyani and the food that's sent over by neighbours :-)

Kootu Curry

Yes, in Kannur you would be surprised to know that not many celebrate Onam with the full swing sadya. There's always biriyani on the table :-) So now, you may know why there's hardly any Vishu & Onam specials here on my blog. How can I blog about things I don't make for that day ? ;-)

ChanaKOOTU CURRY
My own recipe

Ingredients:
1 c dried bengal gram / Karutha kadala
1 big green plantain / Paccha ethakka /Kaya, cubed
1 c elephant yam /Chena /Suran , cubed
1 tsp red chili powder
2 -3 tsp pepper powder or to taste
Salt to taste
1/2 c grated coconut
1 tsp cumin

Method: Soak the bengal gram overnight in plenty of water and pressure cook the next day with enough salt & 1 1/2 c water for 2 whistles. Let the pressure go down and then open the cooker. Add the cubed plantain & yam. Pressure cook for one more whistle. Open the cooker and check if the gram & vegetables are cooked enough.Grind together the grated coconut ,cumin & 1/4 c water to a coarse paste. Add this to the pressure cooked veggies. Also add red chili powder, pepper powder and some more water, if needed. Let it come to a boil.

For tempering:
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tbsp urad dal
1/4 c grated coconut

Method: Heat oil, crackle mustard. Add the curry leaves and let it splutter for 10 secs. Add the urad dal and cook till golden brown. Add the grated coconut and fry till it turns golden brown. Pour over the curry and check for salt & pepper. Serve hot with rice!

I can eat this curry on it's own, in a bowl while watching a favourite Malayalam movie. This curry gets it's heat from black pepper powder, so incase you feel the heat is missing, add some more pepper powder. Don't skip the tempering , it really transforms the curry and leaves you wondering what a taste and smell some fried grated coconut can lend to a curry.The flavours were spot on and even the colour of the curry was exactly the same that I've seen in Kannur. You have to try this out,someday :-)

Jobin usually prefers Sona Masoori rice over Kerala Matta rice. But whenever I make any naadan curries he likes to pair it with the big fat Kerala rice :-) Even I think this curry would taste the best with that rice.If you can fry a pappadam or two, a micro mini sadya is there right on your plate! Now, can someone pass me some payasam please? ;-)

12 Comments:

Vineetha Sush said...

Oh yes this is our Sadya special...even now back in Kannur at my home Sandhya won't be Complete with some fish or chicken :)

Unknown said...

girl u rock...my husband luvs this....

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Looks very delicious...Lovely presentation..

Jobin said...

I am just protecting the image of sona masuri

Divya Kudua said...

I love Kootu curry too-only difference in my recipe is-I add a tsp of crushed jaggery to balance the flavors and it gives a nice kick to the curry,try it sometime!

Rinku Naveen said...

I make it the same way except for the pepper powder. One of my fav. Just love the flavour that comes from adding the roasted coconut. It is just too good. I still get feedback on this.

gigi said...

Ria,

so now i will have to go and get yam to make this curry...yam, though i love it, i haven't tried preparing it myself only because of the fear of cleaning it..u know the 'chorichil' associated with chena..but when u say it here, i have to go ahead and prepare it...wish me luck!!

thanks for sharing and lovely presentation as usual..

Spandana said...

Never made this type of curry, but the pics look so very delicious!!!!

Unknown said...

good one..
http://www.deccansojourn.com

Julie said...

Hi Ria, been stalking you for sometime now ;) needless to say, your blog is FABULOUS and the recipes, oh so yummy... yours is one of the very few blogs where i get good results after following a recipe.. kudos to you for doing such a wonderful job.. and yes, mouth-watering pics, too :)
Keep going!

Twinsy Rachel said...

tried this ria... n it was yummmmy :)

Unknown said...

Thanks Ria. I have tried this today and it is yummy, everyone loved it. Perfect recipe.

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