A Beginner’s Guide to Tamil Greens: Dal with Amaranth [Sirukeerai kootu]

There is a road just past the toll booth that provides access to the Tindivanam highway and the turn-off to Auroville that all the people here would call the “Koot” road. So many non-Indians living around here, the road name always sounded a little oddly foreign–until I realized its Tamil origins: kuudu means to join or combine, so koottam [கூட்டம்] is a crowd or a joining together of people, and indeed the Koot road is one that joins the Tindivanam road. With the Auroville turning at the other end, the intersection feels like a spot where four roads come together. 

So now you’ll understand the use of kootu [கூட்டு] to describe a dal preparation in which lentils are combined with usually just one vegetable and some ground spices and coconut. Kootus are a bringing together of disparate elements, and a recombination of them all into something that makes beautiful sense–and yet retains a sense of the distinctness of each ingredient. 

Kootus are to be distinguished from both the kuzhambu [குழம்பு] and the sambar [ஸாம்பார்]. Kuzhambus rely less heavily on lentils or dal as an ingredient, and can combine multiple vegetables instead of the kootu’s typical showcasing of one vegetable. Sambars are also the most liquid of the three dishes, making them suitable to pour over idlis or vadas which absorb their tastes. Sambars can use a single vegetable or combine many–but do not use coconut, which is an important component of the kootu and can feature in the kuzhambu as well. Most common sambars also rely on a pre-made spice powder (called just sambar powder) for flavor, whereas kootus and kuzhambus most typically are made with freshly ground spices. So also do we call them poricha-kootu and poricha-kuzhambu [porikkyaradu means to fry in Tamil, so spices are roasted, ground, and poured on at the end]. Sambars made with freshly ground spices may at times use coconut, however, and are therefore distinguished as araichivita sambar, or sambar spices ground and poured on, literally. 

Now that that’s all clear, on with the kootu, this time made with sirukeerai, though you could well substitute any green of your choice, amaranth or other, or even a vegetable (like bottle gourd, chow chow/ chayote, or zucchini) for the greens:

Dal with Amaranth Greens [Sirukeerai kootu]

2016-08-08 00:22:15

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Ingredients

1. 1 bunch sirukeerai or any amaranth greens, washed and roughly chopped together with stems
2. 1 cup split green gram dal (pacchai paruppu, moong dal) or red gram dal (tooram paruppu, toor dal)
3. 2-3 cloves garlic, pounded
4. 1 green chilli, sliced
5. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (manjappodi, haldi)
6. salt to taste

To toast and grind

1. 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
2. 1 teaspoon split black gram dal (urid dal)
3. 1-2 dry red chillies
4. a handful of fresh grated coconut, or the equivalent in dried unsweetened coconut
5. Note: if you absolutely don't have coconut, then skip this step and add the cumin/jeera to the seasoning mix instead.

Seasoning or Talippu

1. 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or any vegetable oil)
2. 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (kadugu)
3. 1 dry red chilli, broken
4. generous pinch asafoetida (hing)
5. a few curry leaves (skip if unavailable)

Instructions

1. Start by setting the dal to boil, preferably in a pressure cooker (add enough water to cover the dal) or on stovetop (add a generous quantity of water, bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer until cooked -- about 20 minutes, longer for toor dal, less for moong dal).
2. Once the dal is cooked, beat it with a spoon to break up the individual pulses until the water and dal are well incorporated and you have something of a thick paste. (Don't worry if it's watery though).
3. In a separate, heavy-bottomed pan, toast the coconut, cumin seeds, split black gram (urid) dal and dry red chillies until the coconut is browning and fragrant. Grind to a powder in an electric mixer (a coffee mill works beautifully!) and set aside.
4. In a wide vessel or wok, heat the coconut oil until almost smoking.
5. Drop in the mustard seeds, which should pop and crackle right away, and follow with the remaining seasoning ingredients.
6. Stir for a moment, and then follow with the pounded garlic and slit green chilli.
7. Once the garlic is fried (but not browning), add the turmeric powder -- and then the amaranth greens a handful at a time, stirring well to help them wilt quickly without losing too much colour.
8. When the greens are barely wilted, follow with the beaten dal. Mix well, and add water if necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
9. Add in the ground coconut powder, and salt to taste.
10. Serve hot with rice or chapatis.

Notes

1. Substitute sirukeerai for any amaranth leaf variety, or indeed other spinaches, too. This is a basic and versatile kootu recipe that works with just about all greens.

Pâticheri https://www.paticheri.com/