Amaranth Kootu
Nothing beats a warm and healthy dhal on a rainy day. Amaranth Kootu is the perfect chettinad side dish to rice and is sure to keep you feeling warm all day long!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Amaranth (4 cups chopped leaves and 2 cups chopped stems)
- ½ cup moong dhal
- 1½ cup water (for cooking dhal)
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 4 tsp oil
- 8 pearl onions (cut into 4 pieces) (you can also use scallions or any other onions)
- 1 clove garlic (crushed)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp urad dhal
- 3 red chilies (broken in half)
- ½ cup water (use as needed to adjust consistency)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash amaranth leaves and stems.
- Remove the leaves from the stem and chop them. Wash thoroughly and set aside.
- Next, remove the fibers from the stems when chopping. Chop into small pieces, wash, and then set aside.
- Then. add moong dhal to a pressure cooker. Wash thoroughly and drain the water.
- Add water, turmeric powder, and 1 tsp oil to the cooker.
- Cook the dhal for 1 whistle. Remove from flame and set aside to let the pressure release naturally.
- In a pan, add 3 tsp oil. Once hot, add urad dhal, cumin seeds, and red chilies.
- Once the urad dhal is golden brown, add pearl onions and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Now, add the chopped stems and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Then, add the chopped leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes. The leaves should shrink in size.
- Add the cooked dhal and mix well.
- Next, add crushed garlic and salt. Boil for 5 minutes.
- Mash the dhal so that the dhal mixes with the amaranth greens.
- Serve as a side dish with rice and sambar or rasam.