Mixed Vegetable Kootu Recipe

If you are from a south Indian household, you would know that no thali is complete without a kootu. It is a simple and delicious dish using lentils and vegetables usually served with rice. I love this version of instant pot mixed vegetable kootu. They are nutirtious, protein rich and sometimes perfect enough to eat on its own. If you haven’t tried eating it with some hot rice and a drizzle of nalla ennai (sesame oil), you got to try it now. It is just divine!

I usually just have a bowl full of hot kootu like a soup for a meal. In that case I add some extra channa dal or urad dal in the tadka for some crunch and flavor. It goes well with chapatis too. Most of the kootu recipes uses coconut and spices like cumin, pepper chillies. You can add veggies of your choice and get creative with the spices used.

This version of the mixed vegetable kootu is my friend Sukirti’s recipe. I usually just use one or two vegetables in my kootu. Couple of months back, when I visited her, she had made this for her lunch box the next day and I tasted it. It was really good, spicy from the black peppers and very flavorful. I got the recipe from her and found that it was very similar to what I usually do except for the addition of one or two ingredients. It is amazing how the inclusion of just one ingredient can elevate the dish so much.

She used a mix of veggies like cabbage, peas, carrots, potatoes. I thought it was a great way to eat more veggies. It is also a nice way to sneak in more veggies for the little ones at home 🙂

Here’s a picture of a South Indian thali I made this weekend which has the mixed vegetable kootu as one of the dishes 🙂 You can find recipes for some of the items here

• vathal kuzhambu
• Rasam

4.12 from 9 votes

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Mixed vegetable Kootu

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Vegetables and lentils cooked with coconut and spices.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings: 4

Author: Preethi

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped mixed vegetables ( I used carrots, chayote squash, cabbage)
• 1/4 cup masoor dal (Indian red lentils)
• 1/4 cup moong dal
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste

To roast and grind

• 3 tbsp grated coconut
• 3/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 11/2 tsp chana dal
• 3 to 4 dried red chillies (or as per taste)
• 10 to 15 curry leaves

Tadka

• 1 tbsp coconut oil / sesame oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 2 fat pinches asafoetida

Instructions

Instant pot Recipe

1. Switch on the saute mode (medium) in your instant pot. When the base becomes hot, add 1 tsp oil and add all the ingredients mentioned under "to grind"  except the coconut. Saute them until the lentils start turning golden.
   

2. Now add the coconut and saute briefly (about a minute). Now set aside everything in a bowl to cool. When cool enough, grind the ingredients with little water to a thick paste.
   

3. Now add the remaning oil to the IP and add all the ingredients for the tadka. Let the mustard seeds pop. (Keep the saute mode high when you do the tadka)
   

4. Add the vegetables, turmeric powder, lentils, 2 cups water, salt and switch off the saute mode.
   

5. Add the ground paste to the IP and close the lid. Cook in manual high for 7 minutes. Release pressure after 8 to 10 minutes or you can wait for the pressure to subside.
   

6. Serve hot with rice/ rotis.
   

Pressure cooker method:

1. Heat your pressure cooker and add a tsp of oil. Add the ingredients for the ground paste (mentioned under "to grind") except the coconut and saute until the dals turn golden. Now add the coconut and saute for a minute. Grind everything to a thick paste with little water.
   

2. Add the rest of the ingredients (vegetables, lentils, salt, ground paste, turmeric powder, 2 cups water) and cook for 2 whistles. Open when the pressure settles naturally
   

3. Now make a tadka by heating the remaining oil in a pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida and let the mustard seeds crackle. Add the tadka to the cooked kootu and mix well. Serve hot with rice/ chapatis.
   

Recipe Notes

• You can add any vegetable of your choice (squash, zuchini, peas, brocoli, cauliflower, snake gourd, ridge gourd)
• You can also use toor dal in the recipe instead of moong or masoor or along with them. If using toor dal, make sure you soak them for a hour or so. If using toor dal you will have to cook them longer (say 15 minutes)

*The kootu recipe has been updated with regards to the timings for the instant pot