There are certain veggies I don’t get bored of and ashgourd is one of them. This poosanikai mor kootu is something I do quite often at home and we all love it. It is similar to an aviyal, but unlike an aviyal, it is done using only vellai poosanikai (ashgourd / white pumpkin) and the coconut masala paste is slightly different than that of an aviyal. Since this curry is similar to an aviyal, I love to pair this with adais (lentil crepes) too.
This poosanikai mor kootu is my mom’s recipe and she usually makes this when ever she makes vathal kuzhambu. Spicy vathal kuzhambu paired with this mild yogurt based curry is a match made in heaven trust me! I also love to eat this kootu as a meal by itself.
This poosanikai curry is so easy and can be done in less than 30 minutes. Since there are no lentils to be cooked, they get done pretty fast. Also you do not need a whole bunch of ingredients to make this recipe unlike a traditional Indian curry. I love the simplicity of this recipe and it goes to prove that you don’t need a whole lot of ingredients for a delicious dish.
Serve this poosanikai mor kootu with adai (spicy rice and lentil crepes) or rice and vathal kuzambu. These are all my favorite combinations to go with this curry. Also this recipe can be easily veganised by using cashew or almond yogurt. I like to use Forager plain cashew yogurt.
This south Indian style yogurt based curry with ashgourd / white pumpkin is mildly spiced and goes well with rice and a spicy gravy.
Boil the cubed white pumpkin with chana dhal until the vegetable is cooked well and becomes soft with 1/4 cup water. (Do not add too much water while boiling as the pumpkin gives out water and the dish will become very watery). The chana dhal is supposed to have a little bite to it. It gives the dish some texture.
Grind the coconut, cumin and green chillies with a little water and make a paste
Add the above mixture and required salt to the boiled veggies and chana dhal and let it boil for 3-5 minutes in low- medium flame.
To temper, heat the coconut oil and when it becomes hot, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dhal and let the mustard seeds pop. Add the tempering to the kootu and mix. The kootu is ready to be served.
Grind the coconut, cumin, green chillies, rice flour, 2 tbsp yogurt to a smooth paste. Set it aside. Let it be a thick paste as we dont want to add more water than necessary
Switch on the saute mode in your instant pot. Add the coconut oil. When the oil becomes hot, add the items mentioned under "to temper".
When the mustard seeds splutter, add the chana dal, ashgourd, salt as needed and switch off the saute mode immediately.
Add 1/2 cup water along the sides of the inner vessel and add the ground paste on top of the veggies.
Now close the lid and cook on manual high for 0 minutes.
Release pressure immediately. (switch off the keep warm mode) Add the remaining yogurt after 6 to 7 minutes and mix well.
Serve with rice/ adais.
If the yogurt you add is very watery like buttermilk, reduce the amount of water you add in the recipe, so that you dont end up with a runny curry. Remember the ashgourd will also release some water while it gets cooked.
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Hi,
The instant pot cook time says 0 mins. Is that accurate? Or is it 10 mins?
It is zero minutes. It would become too mushy if cooked for 10.
This was a superb kootu! I made it with almond yoghurt and had it with Aviyal. A definite keeper in my meal rotation!
I meant Adai!
Superdelicious n healthy preparation
Thank you!