“Arai Keerai” (அரை கீரை) refers to the amaranth leaves during their middle stages of growth. This kootu can be prepared with any variety of spinach. Here is a compilation of various types of spinach (keerai).
Arai Keerai Kootu is a South Indian vegetarian dish made with arai keerai (greens), lentils, and coconut. It is a healthy and nutritious dish that is easy to prepare and goes well with rice or chapatis.
Arai Keerai Kootu
Course: KootuCuisine: Indian, TamilDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes15
minutesArai Keerai (அரை கீரை) Kootu is a South Indian vegetarian dish made with arai keerai (greens), lentils, and coconut. It is a healthy and nutritious dish that is easy to prepare and goes well with rice or chapatis.
Ingredients
Arai Keerai (greens) – 1 bunch
Green Gram dal – ½ cup
Bengal Gram Dal – 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
Urad Dal – 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder – 2 pinches
Onion chopped finely – 1 tablespoon
Sambar powder- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder- ½ teaspoon
Coconut gratings – 1 tablespoon
Jeera (Cumin) – 1 teaspoon
Black Pepper – 1/4 teaspoon
Oil- 2 teaspoon
Salt – ½ teaspoon or as per taste
Directions
- Begin by soaking the Green Gram Dal and Bengal Gram Dal for half an hour. Afterward, thoroughly wash them and place them in a cooking vessel. Add turmeric powder and enough water, then cook until they become soft.
- While the dals are cooking, pluck the leaves from the stems and wash the keerai (greens) thoroughly. Finely chop the keerai and place it in a thick-bottomed vessel. Add salt, sambar powder, and turmeric powder to the chopped keerai. Sprinkle a handful of water and cook the keerai over low heat.
- Once the keerai is cooked, add the cooked and mashed dals to it.
- Additionally, grind coconut, jeera (cumin), and pepper into a paste and incorporate it into the keerai mixture. If necessary, add a small amount of water to achieve a semi-liquid consistency. Allow the mixture to boil.
- Finally, season the dish with mustard, urad dal, asafoetida powder, and chopped onion.
vaalga tamil,valarga un pugal
Tried it; very tasty, even without the fried onion.
Hi,
Thank you for visiting my site. Nice to hear that you tried this recipe.
i think you should fry it with few chillies
Thank you for visiting my site. Since we are adding sambar powder, no need to add chillies. However, if you require this kootu little spicy, then you can add chillies in the seasoning and add to the kootu.
Thank you Ms Kamala, your recipe was very useful to me (living alone for some time abroad while wife is in Chennai). I slightly modified to include one tomato, and overall, was very satisfied. Will be using your website extensively over the next couple of months! 🙂
Thanks, Ms Kamala, this recipe was very useful to me (living alone abroad for a short period while wife and kids are in Chennai). I slightly modified this to include one tomato, and was highly satisfied with the results. Am planning to use your website extensively over the next couple of months to improve my culinary skills! 🙂
Hi Raghu,
Thank you for visiting my site and your comments.
This is an incredible dish, I make this dish at least once a week at home..Really Yuummmmyyyyyy
Hi Kamala,
My suggestion was to put jeera and mashed garlic to the greens while cooking which will enhance the aroma.am i right………..
thank u
Hi Lavanya,
Nice suggestion. However, for Kootu, normally we do not add garlic. Only for Masiyal, we add garlic and jeera to the greens while cooking.
i like this receipies as it mke e remember my mummy. thanks ma
latha
Hi Kamalaji,
Nice receipe. I do not use onions or garlic in my cooking, so I modified the receipe by using a pinch of asafoetida anf ginger and it tasted very well.
Thanks.
Madhavan
Good it came well with less inputs.
i tried it with toor dhall and seeragam, salt, and kulambu milakapodi but i missed perungayam
excellent receipt. New way to try it.
thanks kamala.
very Good recepie……..
is it split or whole green gram dhall?
Hi Naren,
It is split one and it is called in Tamil as “Payatham Paruppu” or “Paasi Paruppu”.
Simple to prepare, short time in kitchen, awesome to taste..! Thank you so much
Thank you Muthu.
Thank you a lot. It helped me when I tried to cook for the first time 🙂
Hi Sankar,
Nice to hear that my recipe helped you to cook.
Dear Kamala Madam,
I am a great fan of your receipes. I learnt cooking by following your receipes, now i have become a decent cook. Your description is very simple and easy to follow. Thanks for your help. – Vijay
Thank you Vijay for your kind words.
Hi Kamala,
Not sure why you don’t use fresh garlic for this recipe. I am aware there are some people who don’d use garlic nor onions for their recipe.
For long storage purpose only, we buy the dried garlic. Moreover, we are not getting fresh garlic in shops.