Poosanikai Kootu is a comforting South Indian ash gourd curry where tender cubes of ash gourd are simmered with turmeric and salt, then combined with soft-cooked Bengal gram dal. A fragrant coconut paste—ground with green chillies, jeera, and a touch of rice—gets stirred in and gently boiled to bring everything together into a creamy, mildly spiced gravy. It’s finished with a classic tempering of mustard seeds, finely chopped small onions, and curry leaves for a warm, aromatic finish.
Ashgourd, also known as White Pumpkin is “Poosanikai” in Tamil. We can make kootu, sambar, mor kuzhambu and halwa from this vegetable.
Poosanikai Kootu Recipe
Poosanikai Kootu
Ashgourd, also known as White Pumpkin is “Poosanikai” in Tamil. This kootu is made with ashgourd or poosanikai.
5
servings10
minutes20
minutesIngredients
Ash Gourd – a medium size piece
Bengal Gram Dhal – 1/2 cup
C oconut gratings – 1/4 cup
G reen chillies – 2
Jeera – 1 teaspoon
Rice – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric Power – a pinch
Salt – 1 Teaspoon Or As Per Taste
- For seasoning
Oil – 1 Teaspoon
Mustard – ½ Teaspoon
Small onion – 2 Nos
C Curry Leaves – Few
Directions
- Remove skin, seeds and white portion from the ash gourd. Cut it into small cubes.
- Cook the bengal gram dhal till soft.
- Grind coconut, green chillies, jeera and rice to a fine paste.
- Put the ash gourd pieces in a vessel, add turmeric powder and salt and add just enough water to cover the vegetable. Cook on medium flame till the vegetable is soft. Add cooked bengal gram dhal and mix well. Then add the ground coconut paste and stir well. Allow to boil for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Season it with mustard, small onion (chopped finely) and curry leaves.
Dear kamala,
I prepared this recipe with Bengal gram dal and added moong dhal along with it. It was very nice.
Thanks
Regards
Arthy
Hi Arthy,
Thank you for your feedback. Adding moong dhal is a good option.
bengal gram in tamil ? paasi paruppu ?
google says all which i dont want.
i was in a thinking both moong dhal and bengal gram are same. is that so ?
Hi Muthu,
Bengal gram dhal is “Kadalai Paruppu” in Tamil. Moog dhal is “Paasi paruppu” also known as “Payatham paruppu”.
You wrote “Season it with mustard, small onion (chopped finely) and curry leaves.”
Here did you mean raw uncooked chopped onions?
Thanks
Hi Sharma,
Seasoning is put the ingredients in a teaspoon of hot oil and fry for few seconds and then add it to the dish. In a small kadai put a teaspoon of oil and when it is hot add mustard. When it pops up add chopped onion and curry leaves and fry for few seconds. Then add this to the Kootu.
Madam, Can I cook both the dal & the vegetable together?
Hi Hema,
You can cook both. However, I prefer to cook dhal and vegetable separately since the cooking time varies for both. If you cook alongwith dhal, vegetable get overcooked and the taste will differ.
Thanks a lot for this one and all your other recipes. I love our south indian food especially kootus. Got to know the exact way to prepare and cant wait to try them all one by one. From the recipes, i know they will turn out to be yummy.
Hello Kamala,
Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge and talents with all of us. I learnt some cooking tips and kolams from you. God bless you.
Regards,
Priya Ram
Thank you Priya Ram for your kind words.
hello kamala,
Thank u for sharing …this recepie s very good…happie cooking 🙂
Is rice Raw or cooked one?
Raw Rice.
Thanks for this recipe..simple and very tasty.
Under which heading is rasavangi?
Trying to do it. Needed receipe
I will post the Rasavangi recipe shortly
Hi Kamala,
Just wanted to know, can i use only moong dhal for this recipe?
Yes. You can use only moong dhal.
Hi,
I made this yesterday but my kootu is kinda dry. Yours looks semi gravy. I dunno what went wrong. Please brief me. Btw, i made keerai kootu using your recipe all the time. My husband loves it. Thank you.