How to make Poosanikai Kootu | White pumpkin kootu| Kootu Recipes

Poosanikkai kootu or Ash gourd kootu is yet another my favorite kootu. This version is my grandma's recipe. We can make Kootu, sambar, mor kuzhambu and halwa using this Ash gourd.

How to make Poosanikai kootu

Preparation time: 20 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Serves: 4
Recipe Category: Side dish | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

• Poosanikkai / White pumpkin - 300 gms
• Bengal gram / Kadalai paruppu - 4 tsp (1/2 cup)
• Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Green chillies - 2
• Cumin seeds / Jeera - 2 tsp
• Rice - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - as per taste

For seasoning

• Oil - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Red chilli - 1

Method:
1. Soak the rice for 30 min.
2. Cook the bengal gram separately till it becomes soft and keep aside.
3. Now remove the skin, seeds and middle white portion of the pumpkin or ash gourd. Cut into cubes and wash it.
4. In a wok or kadai or a vessel, add the ash gourd, turmeric powder, a pinch of salt and water just to cover the vegetables. Cover and cook it.
5. Meanwhile, take the soaked rice, cumin seeds, green chillies and coconut and grind to a smooth paste.

6. Check the vegetable is cooked to soft. Now add the ground coconut paste.

7. Add the cooked bengal gram and mix well. Allow to cook for another 5 min.

8. Meanwhile, prepare the tadka or thalippu. In a small pan, add oil, and when hot add in the mustard seeds, urud dhal, curry leaves, red chilli and fry for a min.

9. Transfer this content to the cooked vegetables, give a stir.
10. Yummy kootu is ready to be served with rice.

Notes:
1. You can reduce the quantity of Bengal gram to half and add the moong dal.
2. While doing the seasoning or thalippu, you can add the finely chopped small onion and fry and can be added to the vegetables.

You can also look at

Snake gourd Kootu

Pumpkin Halwa

Kaasi Halwa (White Pumpkin Halwa)

I wanted to try this for a long time and now only I had find time for it to try. First time trying and it really came very good. I took the recipe from kamala's corner, with very little changes. Original recipe goes with milk, sugar and pachchai karpooram, but i didnt use the pachchai karpooram and used condensed milk.

Ingredients
White Pumpkin - 1/2 kg
Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts, raisins, pista - 1 tsp each
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Saffron - a pinch (optional)
Any colour - i used green to make it different.

Method
Peel off the skin of pumpkin and Grate it.
Filter/squeeze out the water as much as you can.
Now in a big pan, add 1 tsp ghee and fry the nuts and keep aside.
In the same pan, add the grated pumpkin and start cooking it with its own water.
When its water is fully dry, add condensed milk and keep on stirring in medium flame.
Little by little add ghee to it.
Add the green colour.
Keep stirring well until the ghee, start coming out from halwa.
Now add in the nuts and raisins, mix well and switch off the stove.
Serve hot or cold (i like both)

This goes to my event Dish Name Starts with K