Cucumber Kootu/Vellarikkai Kootu is a simple and easy dish to make. Kootu is basically a South Indian dish that is kind of similar to a stew, in which, the vegetables are cooked with lentils or coconut to form the base. It can be made with either an individual vegetable or mix of vegetables. Cucumber Kootu is a humble dish, that goes well even with just plain old Rasam.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams Cucumber
- 1/2 cup Coconut
- 2 Green chillies
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 4 tbsp Curd
- 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp Salt or as needed
- 2 tsp Oil
- 2 cups Water
Recipe:
Cut the ends and peel the skin off the cucumber. Slice them in half vertically, deseed them and chop them.
Transfer it to a pot with salt and water. Bring it to boil and cook the cucumber till it turns soft(*Refer notes).
In the meantime, take coconut, cumin , green chillies, and curd in a blender and grind it to a smooth paste.
Reduce the flame and add the ground paste to the pot. Mix them all together. Check for salt and add more if necessary. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and turn off the heat.
In a small pan, temper mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour it over the cucumber kootu.
Serve with rice, dal or any tamarind based curry.
Notes:
- 500 grams comprises of approximately 2 large or 3 medium sized cucumbers.
- You can deseed the cucumbers with the help of a spoon.
- While cooking the cucumber do not let all the water to evaporate. I had about 1/2 cup water remaining.
- Do not let the cucumber turn mushy either. Check in between, it should be just soft.
