One of my most favorite dishes from my mom’s kitchen is this yummy Thakkalikkai Kootu. Thakkalikkai is the raw tomato which is green in color. It has a slight sour taste to it, as opposed to the sweetness of a ripe one. Hence, this goes very well in the making of a kootu (tomato + dal) and absolutely goes well with rotis / phulkas, hot rice and pappad.
And this was the first dish which I cooked at my in-laws place, after getting married.
It was probably a month after my wedding. And my mother-in-law was totally in the mood to try out something new in the kitchen.
Being the new entry to the family, she asked me if I know any dish which was quite out of the ordinary everyday cooking. And I being a great fan of tomatoes answered instantly, that my mom used to make Thakkalikkai koottu (Green tomatoes in dal).
Now, my curious mother-in-law was all ears for the recipe. And she literally was watching me with keen eyes to see how I prepared it.
That was one of the proudest moments for me, to get a smiling approval from my mother-in-law, as she is a great cook herself.
It was a proud moment for me from another angle. All I had done at my home was observe my mom, while she cooked this dish. And when I tried making it in my in-laws house for the first time, it came out very well and it was like a big pat to my observation skills.
Ingredients:
Tomatoes – Green preferred – ½ kg (Cut each tomato into four quarters)
Moong Dal – ½ cup (Wash and Soak in water for 30 mins)
Onion – 2 (finely chopped)
Masala:
Red chillies – 6
Chana dal – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds (Dhaniya) – 2 tsp
Asafoetida – ½ tsp
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
- Cook the Moong dal in a Pressure Cooker with a little turmeric powder.
- Fry the ingredients mentioned under masala, except the coconut, in one tsp of oil. Allow it to cool. Then grind them all to a fine paste.
- In a heavy bottomed pan, add in a glass of water. When it comes to a boil, add in the cut green tomatoes. Let it cook and become soft. Add in the masala paste, the cooked moong dal and the right amount of salt. Let it all blend well and cook for 5 mins.
- In another pan, heat 2 tsp of oil, add 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of broken urid dal, a few curry leaves and the finely chopped onions. Let the onions become lightly golden in color. Add this on top of the kootu and mix well.
I can assure you of its yumminess….just trust me and go ahead and try it. You’ll love it.
Indha kootu-kku naan guarantee 😀 😀
UmaS Food Tales 