Poosanikkai, also known as ash gourd is the newfound happiness for our family. After our move to the South, I can very easily find this vegetable in the local Indian or Asian markets and I have been cooking marathons with this vegetable. Back in the North East where this vegetable was not available quite readily, I used Chow – chow (Chayote squash) as the substitute. There are several different types of kootu/stew that can be made, but a few days back I had come across this recipe where the author had cooked it with garbanzo beans/chickpeas. We love channa (garbanzo beans/chickpeas) and use it often in our house. My older son especially loves channa and I try to make it often for him. One of the most made recipes with chickpeas apart from chole masala would be this quick channa chaat that I make for him as an evening snack. This Ash Gourd kootu is made in the traditional South Indian way by cooking the vegetable in tamarind juice and then flavoring it with spices. Preparation time – 10 minutesCooking time – 40 minutesDifficulty level – easyRecipe adapted from – Padhu’s Kitchen
Ingredients to make Poosanikkai Kootu – serves 4
Poosinikkai / white pumpkin/ash gourd – 3 cups (diced into ½ inch cubes) Tuvaram paruppu / Toor Dal – ⅓ cup Tamarind – a small lime size piece Chickpeas/ channa / Kondaikadalai – 1 can (14 oz) or about a handful of dry ones (optional) Sambhar powder – ½ tsp Salt – to taste
To roast and grind –
Kadalai paruppu / Bengal gram dal – 2 tbsp Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp Ullutham paruppu / urad dal – 1 tsp Red chilies – 4 or 5 Coconut – ¼ cup (grated) Oil – 1 tsp
For seasoning the Poosanikkai Kootu –
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Ullutham paruppu – 1 tsp Curry leaves – few Asafetida – a pinch Oil – 1 tsp
Procedure to make White Pumpkin Kootu –
Wash and cook the Tuvaram paruppu / toor dal in a pressure cooker until soft and mushy. Add a pinch of turmeric powder when cooking the dal.
If using dry chickpeas, soak them overnight in enough water and cook it also in the cooker along with the toor dal.
Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract its pulp. Squeeze it one more time and remove the juice.
Fry the ingredients mentioned under ‘to roast and grind’ in 1 teaspoon of oil. When it cools down a bit, grind it to a paste and keep it aside.
Wash, peel, and chop the pumpkin into small cubes. Add this to the pan along with the extracted tamarind pulp. Make sure that the tamarind extract covers the vegetable, if not add more water to cover the vegetable. Also, add the cooked or canned chick peas to this along with salt and sambhar powder and let it come to a boil over medium flame.
Let the vegetable cook well and then add the ground paste. Mix well and then add the cooked tuvar dal.
Let Poosanikkai Kootu come to a gentle boil and then simmer for few minutes.
Heat a small pan with 1 teaspoon of oil and then add the seasoning ingredients. Add it to the simmering White Pumpkin kootu and mix well. Turn off the flame and serve hot with rice and a dollop of ghee.
More Side Dishes
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