Kootu (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

:கூட்டு) is a lentil and vegetable stew in South Indian, particularly Tamil and Kerala cuisines. The etymology for kootu derives from the

word "kootu" which means "add" or "mixture/medley" i.e.

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

added with

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...

s form the dish, which is semi-solid in consistency. The dish is noted for its nutty and complex flavors and textures, likely owing to the liberal addition of lentils and coconuts. It is typically less watery than sambhar, but more so than dry stir-fries. Virundhu Sappadu (typical Tamil feast) comes with a combination of boiled rice (''Choru'' in Tamil), sambar, rasam,

curd Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as l ...

, poriyal, kootu, appalam, pickles and banana. All kootus by default have some vegetables and lentils, but many variations of kootu exist: * Poricha Kootu: A kootu made with urad dhal and pepper is called poricha (means "fried" in

) kootu. Fried urad dhal, pepper, few red chilies, some cumin and fresh coconut are ground together. Moong dhal and the cut vegetables are cooked separately. Then, the ground paste, cooked vegetables and moong dhal are mixed and heated. Vegetables such as beans and

snake gourd ''Trichosanthes cucumerina'' is a tropical or subtropical vine. Its variety ''T. cucumerina'' var. ''anguina'' raised for its strikingly long fruit. In Asia, it is eaten immature as a vegetable much like the summer squash and in Africa, the red ...

are common ingredients in this kootu. * Araichivita Kootu: A kootu which has a powdered (freshly ground) masala in it; the word ''araichivita'' in

literally translates to "the one which has been ground and poured." The ground paste is a mixture of fried urid dhal, cumin seeds and coconut. * Araichivita sambar: The chopped vegetables and

toor dhal The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southe ...

are cooked separately. Then, the ground paste, cooked vegetable and dhal are heated together. Then add the ground paste of coconut,

Bengal gram The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

, coriander, red chilies, a few pepper corns, a piece of cinnamon (optionally) - all roasted and ground. Season with mustard seeds and

fenugreek seeds Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredient ...

. Add the vegetables, including

shallots The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as th ...

(known as "Madras onions" in India), saute and then add water. Add

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...

extract, and then the ground paste and boiled dal. Served with rice. Many other regional variations exist.

References

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* {{Indian Dishes Indian legume dishes South Indian cuisine Tamil cuisine Sri Lankan soups and stews Vegetarian dishes of India

See also

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External links