Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal | Accompaniment for rice

Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal, a healthy accompaniment made from very few ingredients. Poonanganni keerai is known as Alternanthera sessilis or dwarf copper leaf in english. As i had mentioned earlier, the indian store here stock up these kind of rare greens when it's in season. So far, from my past experiences, most of the indian store carry majority of the north indian grocery items & veggies. Some ingredients specific to south india are mostly difficult to source like karupatti(palm jaggery),sunda vathal(dried turkey berries) and some veggies like siru kizhangu and this greens. But luckily here, the indian store stock all the seasonal veggies from throughout India, but you have to be on time to get those, most of the veggies would be out of stock within couple of days of arrival.
When i had first bought this keerai ,prepared kootu with it and it was really good and we both like it a lot, so on the next time, i tried poriyal. As excepted, it was also so good, this greens is so apt for both kootu and poriyal. If you haven't tried poriyal with ponnanganni keerai before, do give it a try. 

Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ponnanganni Keerai,Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal,Keerai Poriyal Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal, a healthy accompaniment made from very few ingredients. Poonanganni keerai is known as Alternanthera sessilis or dwarf copper leaf in english.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Ponnanganni Keerai - 1/2 bunch
Moong dal - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/8 tsp
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
To grind
Garlic - 2 
Pearl onion - 2
Green Chili -2 
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
To Temper
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Pearl onion - 1 (chopped)

Procedure

First remove the leaves from the ponnanganni keerai bunch and chop the leaves roughly into small pieces.In a kadai, bring one cup of water to boil,then add the moong dal and asafoetida powder, Cook the dal till it's half done, then add the ponnanganni keerai.Let it cook until it softens, in the mean time, grind the ingredients listed under "To grind" into coarse mixture.Add that grounded spice mix & enough salt into the keerai, let it cook until all the moisture evaporates.Next add the grated coconut,give a good mix and remove from the flame.Next temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add into the keerai.Tasty and healthy Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal is ready. Serve it as accompaniment for your meal. We had with rice, sambar.

Notes:

• This green takes long time to cook than the other greens.
• Coconut oil and coconut gives great flavor to this greens. So i highly recommend to use.
  

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Avarakkai Kootu | Broad Beans Kootu | Kootu Recipe

Avarakkai Kootu, a delicious and healthy accompaniment made from broad beans and toor dal. Kootu is the integral part of south indian cuisine. Kootu is a semi solid curry made from dal/lentil and vegetables(mostly country vegetable available in south india). 

Whenever i make curries/kulambu without dal like puli kulambu, kara kuzhambu or vatha kuzhambu, i prefer to have one type of kootu as accompaniment for balanced meal. Coming to today's recipe, this avarakkai kootu is the new addition to my kootu collection and it was a instant hit at home when i made for first time. 

If you like kootu and avarakkai, then give a try on this delicious kootu, i'm sure that it won't disappoint you. 

If you're fond of kootu recipes, here are few of my favorite kootu collection.

Chow Chow Kootu
Bottle gourd Kootu
Keerai Kootu
Vella Poosanikai Kootu
Yellow Pumpkin Kootu
Pudalangai Kootu
Peerkangai Kootu
Palak Kootu
Ponnanganni Keerai Kootu

Avarakkai Kootu | Broad Beans Kootu

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Kootu | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Avarakkai Kootu, Board Beans Kootu, Kootu Recipe, Indian Kootu,Dal,Avarakkai Avarakkai Kootu, a delicious and healthy accompaniment made from board beans and toor dal. Kootu is the integral part of south indian cuisine. Kootu is a semi solid curry made from dal/lentil and vegetables(mostly country vegetable available in south india).

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Avarakkai/Broad beans- 15
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida powder - 1/8 tsp
Pearl onion - 4
Tomato(small) - 1 
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - few
To Temper
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Procedure

First pressure cook the dal with asafoetida powder and keep it ready. Next cut the avarakkai into 1/2 inch pieces & tomato into small and peel the pearl onions. Heat 1 cup of water in a pan and add the avarakkai.

Let it comes to boil and then cover the pan with lid and cook the avarakkai in low flame until they are soft.

Next add the onions & tomatoes(if needed add little more water) , give a good mix and again cover cook them till the onions and tomatoes are soft.

Add the dal, spices( turmeric & red chili powder) & salt. 

Mix it all well, let it simmer till the raw smell gone. Temper the ingredients listed under to "Temper" and add into the kootu, switch off the flame and finally add few coriander leaves on the top.

Tasty Avarakkai Kootu is ready. Serve it as accompaniment for rice.

Related: How to make Chow chow kootu

Notes:

• Adjust the spices according to your preference, the given quantity is for mild spice.
• Instead of open cooking, you can pressure cook the avarakkai, onion and tomato for one whistle.
  

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Ponnanganni Keerai Kootu | Keerai Kootu | Accompaniment

Ponnanganni Keerai Kootu, a delicious and healthy accompaniment. Poonanganni keerai is known as Alternanthera sessilis or dwarf copper leaf in english. It's grown mainly on south asian region and exclusively used in Srilankan and South Indian cuisine. It's considered as super food and gives you lot of health benefits if included in the diet regularly. 

Here in Ottawa, the local indian store has stocked this kind of greens occasionally.Whenever i see this kind of rare greens, without a second thought i bought them. Few weeks back, on the same day, the store had the fresh stock of ponnaganni keerai, drumstick leaves & arai keerai. 

Guess what? I had bought all of them and in the next week, the greens would be the side dish for the whole week. If you're following me on Instagram, you might be knowing this already from my feed where i share my daily meal platter or the lunch box which i pack for ST. 

Ok, now let's check out the recipe for this healthy ponnanganni keerai kootu.

Ponnanganni Keerai Kootu

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Accompaniment | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
greens, kootu Recipe, Ponnanganni Keerai Kootu, Dwarf Copperlead, Toor Dal Ponnanganni Keerai Kootu, a delicious and healthy accompaniment made from dwarf copper leaf. It's considered as super food and has lot of health benefits if included in the diet regularly.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Ponnanganni Keerai - 1/2 bunch
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida powder - 1/8 tsp
Garlic - 3 
Pearl onion - 4
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
To Temper
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Procedure

First let's cook the dal, wash the dal and put it in the pressure cooker along with asafoetida powder and cook it for 2 whistle.

In the meantime, remove the ponnanganni keerai from the stalk, roughly chop them into pieces.

Once the pressure is released from the pressure cooker automatically, remove the lid, wash the greens and add into it.

Next add the onion,garlic and the spices (turmeric, red chili powder. Mix it well and cook it for 1 more whistle.

Again let the pressure from the cooker released automatically, then add the salt and let it boil for 2 mins. Transfer into a bowl, temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add into the keerai.

Tasty and healthy Ponnanganni Keerai kootu is ready. 

Serve it with rice and kulambu. We had with vatha kulambu, it was one such awesome combo.

Related : How to make Restaurant style Spinach Kootu

Notes:

• Since this greens takes long time to cook, i prefer to pressure cook them. But you can cook it in open pot too.
• Adjust the red chili powder as per your taste.
• For enhanced taste, use ghee for tempering. 
  

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Kootu Curry | Kerala Kootu Curry | Accompaniment for rice

Kootu Curry, a delicious south indian accompaniment for rice made from mix of country vegetables. This way of making side dish for rice is quite popular in south tamilnadu and kerala, it tastes so good with lunch meal and also it's one of the commonly prepared  sadya delicacy in kerala during onam festival. Here in this kootu recipe i have used  the vegetables like yam, raw banana and  pumpkin,but i had seen recipes of this kootu online without pumpkin too, so i guess you can make this kootu with or without pumpkin too. Today's recipe is more of kerala way of making this kootu which is quite different from what we used to make at our home.  Now let's check out how to make this kootu curry.

Kerala Kootu Curry | Kootu Curry

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kootu Curry , Kerala Kootu Curry, Mix Veg Curry,Sadya recipe, Kerala recipe Kootu Curry, a delicious south indian accompaniment for rice made from mix of country vegetables.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Yam - 1/2 cup(chopped)
Raw Banana - 1/2 cup(chopped)
Pumpkin - 1/3 cup(chopped)
Black channa dal - 1/3 cup(cooked)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
To Grind
Coconut -1/3 cup
Green chili - 2
Garlic - 2 pods
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
To Temper
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Red chili -1 

Procedure

First chop yam,raw banana & pumpkin into small cubes. Pressure cook the chana for 3 whistle and keep it ready. Heat a pan with a cup of water and add the yam first.Cover cook the yam till it's half done, then add the pumpkin and raw banana, if needed add more water to cook.Cover the pan with lid and let it cook, in the mean time, grind the ingredients listed under "To Grind" into smooth paste.Once the veggies are almost done, add the coconut paste, cooked channa, turmeric powder and salt. Mix it well and let it cook until all blends well, it may take 5-7 mins, finally temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper " and add into the curry.That's it, Tasty and healthy Kootu Curry is ready to serve. It tastes good with sambar, kara kuzhambu or even with rasam.

Notes:

• Both raw banana and pumpkin cook easily than the yam, so i have cooked the yam till it's half done and then added the rest.
• Adjust the green chili as per your taste, the given quantity is for mild spice.
• Coconut oil gives great flavor to the curry, so highly recommend to use it.
• If you want more coconut flavor, roast a tbsp of coconut till it becomes reddish in color and add it into this kootu.
  

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Bottle gourd Kootu | Sorekkai Kootu | Kootu recipe

Bottle gourd/ Sorekkai kootu is an easy accompaniment for rice made from bottle gourd and moong dal. As bottle gourd has lot of water content in it, it's good to have them during summer time.
There are few veggies (Ridge Gourd,Bottle gourd etc) that i started to cook after my marriage only. Amma never used those veggies in her kitchen.First time, i bought the bottle gourd to try the famous Lauki halwa and it turned out super delicious. After making that halwa, i left out with small piece of bottle gourd, so i tried this kootu followed the same method of making  Chow Chow Kootu. To my surprise, it tasted really good and it became the part of my daily cooking.It paired well with any spicy kuzhambu and we had it with rice and manathakkali vathal kuzhambu

If you're quite fond of kootu more than poriyal or stir fry, then you can check out my other kootu recipes
Chow Chow Kootu
Keerai Kootu
Vella Poosanikai Kootu
Yellow Pumpkin Kootu
Pudalangai Kootu
Peerkangai Kootu

Sorekkai Kootu

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Accompaniment | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Bottle Gourd - 1 
Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - few
To Temper
Coconut Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Pearl onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Curry leaves - few 

Procedure

In a pressure add moong dal along with asafoetida powder and 3/4 cup water.Bring into boil and let it be in medium flame for 10 mins.In the mean time, chop the bottle gourd into small cubes.Check here on how to cut bottle gourdAdd the sorekkai into dal and cover the cooker with lid and cook it for 2 whistle.Open the lid and place it on heat again and add spices(turmeric,red chili powder) & salt. Bring to boil until the raw smell leaves. Finally add the coriander leaves & switch off the flame.Now temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add into the kootu.That's it, Quick & Yummy Sorekkai Kootu is ready.

Notes:

• Using coconut oil enhance the taste of the kootu.
• Adjust the red chili powder as per your taste.
• Adding sorekkai after 10 mins of boiling dal gives well cooked dal and not mushy sorekkai
  

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Poosanikai Kootu | Yellow Pumpkin Curry

Poosanikai Kootu, a simple curry made with yellow pumpkin and also it is one of the dish that we used to prepare on pongal festival without fail. 

You might have seen using chana dal,moong dal or toor dal for curry, but in our family for this particular curry, we use urad dal especially skinned ones and this curry goes well with any south indian kuzhambu.

Here in the recipe, i have used 2 green chilies, as my pumpkin is not so sweet, but just do the taste test of pumpkin and add less or more of chilies depends on the sweetness of the pumpkin.

One more thing, depends on the firmness of the pumpkin, it may take less or more time to cook.So check it frequently and add water more water than the mentioned amount only if needed, otherwise you end up with pumpkin puree.

Poosanikai Kootu

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 to 4 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Yellow Pumpkin(chopped) - 1 1/2 cup
Green chili - 2
Split skinned urad dal - 1 tbsp
Pearl onion - 2
Garlic - 2 pods
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut - 1 1/2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
To Temper
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Procedure

First cut the pumpkin into chunks ,peel it and then chop into small pieces.

Heat a kadai with 1/2 cup of water, add the urad dal, let it boil to boil.

Then cover cook the dal till it's half done, in the mean time, grind the chilies into coarse paste.

Once the dal is half cooked, add the chopped pumpkin and the chili paste.

Mix it well and then again cover the kadai with lid and cook till the pumpkin becomes tender.In the mean time, add the pearl onion,garlic and cumin seed( i grind little more for other poriyal too) in the mixie jar and grind into coarse paste.

Once the pumpkin becomes tender, add the onion garlic paste and salt and mix well.Cook till all the moisture evaporates.

Finally add the grated coconut & mix it well and transfer to the bowl.

Then temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper " and add into the pumpkin kootu.

That's it , Tasty Poosanikai Kootu is ready.

Related: How to make Pumpkin Bread

Notes:

• Since pumpkin has mild sweetness, adjust the chilies to balance the taste.
• While cooking pumpkin, if needed add little more water.
• Onion,garlic & cumin paste gives great flavor to the dish, so don't skip it. 

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