Last week I was on the phone with Amma and she mentioned how her aunt makes a kootu with cauliflower stems. Usually we discard the thick stems but since theirs was a joint family and a big household, they would save up all the stems and make a kootu with just. What a lovely idea to minimise wastage of vegetables in the kitchen! My mom makes kootu with moong dal that’s been roasted a golden brown. In fact, she recommends that I roast moong dal as soon as I buy it and store it that way so that no bugs or ants enter the jar and it lasts forever.  I decided to take the lone broccoli I had in the fridge and make a kootu with it, stem and all. Easy decision. So let’s check out how I prepared this broccoli kootu. You may also like this pudalangai kootu which is made with snake gourd and chana dal (Tamil style) or even this watercress moong dal recipe which goes great with rice too.

Broccoli Kootu Recipe

Serves 2-3 Ingredients: 1 small broccoli 1/4 cup dry-roasted moong dal / cherupayar 1/4 cup grated coconut 4-5 shallots / ulli / chinna vengayam 3 green chillies (adjust to taste) 1/2 tsp cumin / jeera / jeerakam A pinch of turmeric powder To temper: 2 tsp oil (I used coconut oil) 1/4 tsp mustard seeds 4 shallots, chopped A few curry leaves Instructions:

  1. Prepare the broccoli by immersing in salt water for some time and then running under cold water. Cut the florets into desired sizes and then lightly peal the stem before chopping it up too.
  2. Grind the coconut coarsely with the shallots, cumin, green chillies and turmeric by adding some water.
  3. Heat oil for tempering and add the rest of the ingredients. Once the mustard seeds pop and the shallots turn transparent, add the ground coconut paste and saute for a minute. To this, add the moong dal, 1/2 cup water and cook closed on a low fire for 10-12 mins or until the moong dal turns mushy when pressed between two fingers.
  4. Add the broccoli and some salt to the above. Cook in the open pan until the broccoli is soft. We like it semi-soft so I cooked it for lesser time. Adjust according to your liking. You can also add more water at this stage if the kootu turns out too thick.