Essential Ingredients
The Vegetable: 1 large Snake Gourd (peeled, deseeded, and cubed).
The Lentils: ¼ cup Moong Dal (split yellow gram) and optionally 2 tbsp Chana Dal (split chickpeas) for texture.
For Ground Paste: ½ cup fresh grated coconut, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 green chilies, and optionally ½ tsp black peppercorns.
For Tempering: 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp urad dal, a pinch of asafoetida (hing), and fresh curry leaves.
Others: ½ tsp turmeric powder and salt to taste.
Preparation & Cooking Steps
Prepare the Paste: Grind the grated coconut, cumin seeds, green chilies, and peppercorns with a little water into a smooth paste.
Cook Lentils & Vegetable:
Pressure Cooker Method: Add washed lentils, cubed snake gourd, turmeric, and 1.5 cups of water to a pressure cooker. Cook for 2–3 whistles until the lentils are soft.
Stovetop Method: Boil the lentils first until they are halfway cooked, then add the snake gourd and continue cooking until both are tender.
Simmer: Mash the cooked dal slightly. Stir in the ground coconut paste and salt. Let it simmer on low heat for 3–5 minutes until the raw smell of the paste disappears and the kootu thickens.
Tempering (Tadka): Heat oil (preferably coconut oil) in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds, then add urad dal and curry leaves. Once the dal turns golden brown, add the asafoetida and pour the mixture over the kootu.