Koottu with tamarind (Puli Koottu)

Ingredients

• 2-3 long long purple Brinjal (Eggplant) cut into cubes


• 1 teaspoon sambar powder


• 1 lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)


• 2 tblspn Channa dhal


• 1 teaspoon jaggary or brown sugar


• 2-3 tblspn Coconut


• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric


• 1/4 teaspoon Hing

For thaduka


• Curry leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of Mustard seeds, Urad Dhal, Methi seeds

Method

1. Boil brinjal with salt and turmeric powder till it is half cooked


2. Add tamarind juice, sambar powder to the boiled brinjal


3. Cook for 5 minutes or till the raw smell goes away.


4. Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the urad dhal, Methi seeds hing powder and coconut. Fry till they turn brown. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling kootu.


5. Finally add jagary or brown sugar to the kootu. Take the kootu off the heat

Use the same method to make bitter gourd (Pavakai) kootu. To get rid of the bitterness soak bitter gourd in water with salt for 1/2 hour. Preasure cook bitter gourd with salt and turmeric. Drain all the water and follow the same steps to make pavakai kootu. This kootu tastes very good with rice.