APPALA KOOTU RECIPE

      Sometimes, even though we don't have any vegetables in stock, we have to cook. I make vengaya sambar, mocha kottai kuzhambu or mor kuzhambu with vadai or paruppu urundai kuzhambu. But for side dish?  Appala kootu will be a great idea as side. I did the same last week. I had no veggies in my fridge and made Sukku kuzhambu and appala kootu for our lunch. Sometimes I will feel like emptying the veggies fully and then buy the next batch. So this menu was perfect last week. Appala kootu is quite new to me until I heard it from Raji, have heard appala kuzhambu, but this was new to me. This can be perfect for spicy kuzhambu varieties. We loved it, as it had a different texture and flavour!

Appala Kootu Recipe    Cooking time : 25mins   Serves : 3   Ingredients Channa Dal 1/2 cup appalam/ papad (plain) 10 Sambar powder 1 tsp Turmeric few pinches Salt As needed Coconut, grated 2 tblsp To Temper Oil 1 tsp Mustard 3/4 tsp Urad dal 1 tsp Curry leaves 1 sprig   Method Soak Channa dal (kadala paruppu) for an hour or two (to ensure easy cooking) and pressure cook it along with sambar powder, turmeric and 1 cup water, for two whistles. Mean while break  each appalam into 4 as shown in picture and deep fry it and set aside. Once the dal is cooked, add the fried appalams to it, add a little bit of salt (remeber appalam has salt in it) and bring to boil. Add water if needed. The appalams should get soft, so stir in between to make sure all the appalams get dipped in water. Say for 2-3 mintues. Lastly add the grated coconut and boil for 2 minutes in medium flame. Make sure its not burnt in the bottom. Adjust water if its too thick. Temper the items given under ‘To temper’ table and mix well. Notes Dal should get cooked well, otherwise the kootu may not taste good. So make sure you soak the dal before cooking. Even over cooking the dal may kill the texture of the kootu. The dal should not get mashed. But it should be cooked until soft too. You can use ‘appala poo’ the small oblong ones we get too for this kootu recipe. No need to break the appalams if we use that. If you have the ‘vadagam’ that is meant for thaalipu, you can use it for tempering instead of mustard urad dal.

         Serve as a side for any spicy and tangy kuzhambu like kara kuzhambu, poondu kuzhambu or pepper kuzhambu. We had with Sukku kuzhambu.

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