Keerai Milagootal | Spinach / Keerai Kootu
Keerai Molagootal or Keerai Kootu is an excellent side dish to accompany rice for a sumptuous meal. This version is more famous in Kerala. It takes about 30 minutes to make this spinach kootu and is an excellent recipe to make for quick dinner.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 93kcal
Equipment
- pan
- hand blender
- ladle
Ingredients
- 4 cups Spinach of firmly packed leaves
- ¼ cup Tuvaram paruppu/toor dal
- to taste Salt
To fry and grind together –
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- 3 teaspoon Ullutham paruppu /Urad dal
- 1 teaspoon Jeeragam/cumin seeds
- 3 Red chilies
- ¼ cup Coconut grated
To season –
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Ullutham paruppu/urad dal
- 1 or 2 Red chilies
Instructions
- Wash the dal and cook until mushy. Keep it aside.
- In a small pan, fry the ingredients mentioned above and once it cools grind it into a smooth paste.
- In a pan, cook the keerai with very little water (uncovered) until it reduces in volume and becomes soft (about 6-7 minutes).
- If you have a hand blender, grind the keerai until smooth or grind it in blender. If using a regular blender/mixer, make sure that the keerai cools down a bit before grinding.
- Add the ground mixture, salt and the cooked dal and mix well. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for few minutes (about 5-7) minutes.
- Season the Keerai Milagootal with mustard seeds, urad dal and red chilies and serve hot with rice.
Notes
Serving suggestion
Keerai molagootal tastes great with hot rice and dollop of ghee. I also like to make some dry poriyal or salad with the meal. My younger one likes the simple carrot kosumalli / salad with it and that is what I made today with Keerai molagootal.
Expert tips
- Always cook the spinach without the lid on the pan. Not sure of the reason, but my mother always said to cook it without covering.
- If you have chopped the spinach finely, we can get away without grinding it as well.
- Use coconut oil to fry the ingredients as well as to season the molagootal. Coconut oil enhances the flavor of the dish to the next level.
- Molagootal can be made with mixed vegetables as well. We use the same recipe except use mixed vegetables instead of spinach.
Nutrition
Calories: 93kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 34mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2985IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg