KANNUR SPECIAL KOOTU CURRY

Being the Kannur girl that I am, I have a few forever favourite Kannur curries. One of them is the Kannur meen curry which I've already blogged about. The other ones include  Kootu curry,Varutharacha Kozhi curry & Varutharacha Sambar. I've made the latter two at home quite a few times but it's never ever lasted long enough for me to share it here.This time while I cooked the kootu curry, I made sure I save some to photograph and blog about.



Kootu curry as the name suggests is a mix of a few vegetables cooked together. The highlight of this curry is the flavour of the tempering.It is awesome! It transforms the othewise simple looking and simple tasting curry into a good one.This curry is very common on a sadya menu in Kannur and is also made during Vishu & Onam. I maybe wrong here because in my household Onam & Vishu is always celebrated with a good Chicken Biriyani and the food that's sent over by neighbours :-)

Yes, in Kannur you would be surprised to know that not many celebrate Onam with the full swing sadya. There's always biriyani on the table :-) So now, you may know why there's hardly any Vishu & Onam specials here on my blog. How can I blog about things I don't make for that day ? ;-)

KOOTU CURRY
My own recipe

Ingredients:
1 c dried bengal gram / Karutha kadala
1 big green plantain / Paccha ethakka /Kaya, cubed
1 c elephant yam /Chena /Suran , cubed
1 tsp red chili powder
2 -3 tsp pepper powder or to taste
Salt to taste
1/2 c grated coconut
1 tsp cumin

Method: Soak the bengal gram overnight in plenty of water and pressure cook the next day with enough salt & 1 1/2 c water for 2 whistles. Let the pressure go down and then open the cooker. Add the cubed plantain & yam. Pressure cook for one more whistle. Open the cooker and check if the gram & vegetables are cooked enough.Grind together the grated coconut ,cumin & 1/4 c water to a coarse paste. Add this to the pressure cooked veggies. Also add red chili powder, pepper powder and some more water, if needed. Let it come to a boil.

For tempering:
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tbsp urad dal
1/4 c grated coconut

Method: Heat oil, crackle mustard. Add the curry leaves and let it splutter for 10 secs. Add the urad dal and cook till golden brown. Add the grated coconut and fry till it turns golden brown. Pour over the curry and check for salt & pepper. Serve hot with rice!

I can eat this curry on it's own, in a bowl while watching a favourite Malayalam movie. This curry gets it's heat from black pepper powder, so incase you feel the heat is missing, add some more pepper powder. Don't skip the tempering , it really transforms the curry and leaves you wondering what a taste and smell some fried grated coconut can lend to a curry.The flavours were spot on and even the colour of the curry was exactly the same that I've seen in Kannur. You have to try this out,someday :-)

Jobin usually prefers Sona Masoori rice over Kerala Matta rice. But whenever I make any naadan curries he likes to pair it with the big fat Kerala rice :-) Even I think this curry would taste the best with that rice.If you can fry a pappadam or two, a micro mini sadya is there right on your plate! Now, can someone pass me some payasam please? ;-)