SASIVE KOOTU

SASIVE KOOTU

Sasive kootu as the name suggests has the flavour and taste of mustard predominant. In English name for sasive is mustard. This kootu can be prepared with mixed vegetables or with a single vegetable of your choice. Some of the vegetables used for this dish are ridge gourd, chow-chow, peas, carrot, potato, beans and knol-khol.

Ingredients

Mixed vegetables of your choice cut in to 1” long pieces: 4 cups

Tuvar dhal: 1 heaped cup

To grind

Mustard: 2 tea spoons

Byadagi red chillies:  10

Rice:  2 tea spoons full soaked in water.

Fresh grated coconut: 4 table spoons full.

Turmeric powder:  ½ spoon

Coriander leaves:  chopped 2 table spoons 

For tempering

Oil (of your choice): 2 table spoons

Mustard seeds: ½ tea spoon

Ground nut: 2 fist-full

Curry leaves: 2 sprigs

Asafoetida: a little pinch

Take 1 heaped cup full of tuvar dhal in a pressure cooker and wash well. Add 2.5 cups of water, 1 tea spoon full of oil and ½ teaspoon of turmeric and close the lid and keep it on high flame. Place the cooker weight as soon as steam gushes out. When the cooker whistles, lower the flame immediately and cook for exactly 5 minutes and switch off the stove. Open the lid of the cooker when the pressure has completely released. With this approach, you can be ensured that the dhal will be cooked in an optimal manner. Transfer the cooked dhal to a vessel where you will store the final dish.

Place the chopped  mixed vegetable pieces in the same cooker used for cooking dhal. Add 1 cup of water, a teaspoon full of salt and stir well. Close the cooker lid and keep the cooker on high flame. When steam gushes out from the vent, cover it with a cup or tumbler. Steam cook for 5 minutes and then place the weight on the vent. Subsequently, turn off the heat and allow the cooker to cool. In this method, the cooked vegetables will not become mushy.

Grind coconut, red chillies, mustard seeds, soaked rice and turmeric powder in to a paste.

GROUND MASALA

Add cooked dhal to the cooked vegetable in the cooker and mix well. Add ground masala paste, 2 additional tea spoons full of salt along with required amount of water based on consistency of your choice and cook for five minutes under medium flame until raw smell disappears. Keep on stirring often to ensure that the Kootu does not stick to the bottom of cooker and get burnt.

Check for the taste of salt. If required, add more water and boil.

Heat 2 table spoons of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida and ground nut. Fry ground nut till it becomes light brown in colour. Add curry leaves. Add the final seasoning to the Kootu. Garnish with chopped coriander. Mix the seasoning just before serving so that ground nut will be crunchy.