Vazhaipoo Kootu (Banana Flower Kootu Recipe)
Vazhaipoo Kootu or Banana Flower Kootu Recipe is a South Indian Side dish made with banana blossom, lentils in coconut gravy. Healthy, Wholesome, No Onion No Garlic Side dish recipe for chapati, rice, dosa and adai.
Servings 3 people
Ingredients
Ingredients for Kootu
- 1 & 1/2 cups Vazhaipoo (Cleaned and Chopped) 1 cup is 250 ml measurement
- 1/4 cup Karamani (to be soaked)
- 1/3 cup Toor Dal or Arhar Dal
- 1 no. Small Lemon Size Tamarind Ball
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1/4 tsp Hing or Asafoetida
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup Water to adjust the gravy consistency Approx quantity mentioned.
Ingredients for the Coconut Gravy for Kootu
- 1/2 cup Freshly Grated Coconut
- 2 tbsp Chana Dal 1 tbsp is 15 ml
- 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds or Malli
- 4 nos. Kashmiri Red Chillies (whole)
- 2 tsp Coconut Oil 1 tsp is 5 ml
- 1/2 cup Water for grinding
Ingredients for Tempering
- 2 tsp Coconut Oil
- 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 2-3 nos. Whole red chillies (broken into pieces)
- Curry Leaves as required
Instructions
- Wash and soak the dal for 20 minutes. Chop the vazhaipoo and keep it submerged in a buttermilk mixture. Soak the Karamani overnight and drain the water. Pressure cook all the 3 ingredients separately.
- The pressure cooked ingredients are ready. Mash the dal and keep aside.
- In the meanwhile, soak a lemon size tamarind ball in hot water for atleast 10 minutes. Squeeze out the water and keep aside.
- Heat a thick bottom kadhai, add some coconut oil, chana dal, whole dry red chillies (kashmiri red chillies used here) and coriander seeds. Saute until they have nicely roasted.
- Cool it completely and grind it along with freshly grated coconut into a thick paste. Add very little water while grinding.
- In the same kadhai, add the cooked vazhaipoo along with the tamarind water. Add turmeric powder, hing and salt to taste. Cook this until the raw smell of the tamarind goes off.
- Add the cooked karamani or cow peas to this along with cooked dal, coconut paste and adjust seasoning (Note - We have added some salt while cooking the vazhaipoo in tamarind)
- Mix well and cook for a few minutes until the gravy thickens. Add water to adjust the Kootu consistency as required. Once it reaches a boil, switch off the flame, add the tempering and serve piping hot with chapati or rice.
Notes
- I have added Kashmiri Red Chillies for the colour and not the spice. If you want a spicy gravy, add a mix or a suitable variety
- I have used coconut oil for the gravy and the tempering. I tend to do that mostly for coconut based gravies and we love the aroma. You can use any neutral oil, sesame oil etc of your choice.
- The water quantity mentioned in the recipe is approx quantity only. It does not include water for soaking, washing and pressure cooking the ingredients. Gravy consistency differs from person to person. If you are serving this with rice, it can be a little watery consistency whereas for chapati, it can be thick. So add water accordingly.
- For a gluten free version of the recipe - skip hing or asafoetida.
- The recipe is Vegan.