Amaranth Kootu / Keerai Kootu

Amaranth leaves, which are called as "Mulai Keerai" in Tamil seem to be rarely available here. I really miss all the green leafy vegetables like Siru Keerai, Manathakkali Keerai, Ponnanganni Keerai, etc., So, whenever I see these nutritious greens in the Indian stores, I grab atleast two bunches. Eating greens at least twice a week keeps us healthy and young and they fight against various diseases. In my childhood, my mom used to make two vegetables in a meal in the middle of her hectic schedule too. Out of that, Mulai Keerai Masiyal or Murungai Keerai curry or any other green varieties would definitely be there. I was fortunate to taste all these healthy greens frequently when  I was young whereas I could not get those right now except few varieties..

Amaranth / Mulai Keerai gives a wonderful flavour while cooking and its highly nutritious. We can do Masiyal, simple dal, curry or any other variety out of these tasty, healthy leaves. This time, I tried Keerai Kootu for a change and i added few cooked dal in my process. You can avoid the cooked dal while making this kootu and its optional. Generally while making this kootu, they don't add cooked dal but i added some to make it more healthy for my kids. Without dal too, it tastes excellent with the grounded paste.

Ingredients

Amaranth Leaves / Mulai Keerai / Thandu Keerai - 1 Big Bunch

Cooked Toor Dal Paste - 2 tbsp

Hing - 1 Dash

Salt - As Required

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 pinch

For the Grounded Paste :

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1/2 cup

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2 Medium or 1 Big

Ginger - 1 tiny square

For Tempering / Tadka :

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tsp

Kadalai Paruppu / Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 1 big

Procedure :

• Wash the Amaranth Leaves / Mulai Keerai and chop them. Meantime, grind the ingredients for the grounded paste and keep it ready.
• In a vessel, add all the chopped green leaves, turmeric powder, hing, pinch of sugar and some water and allow them to cook thoroughly on medium heat.
• Cook the toor dal / kandhi pappu / Thuvaram paruppu in a separate cooker and keep it ready too...
• When the amaranth leaves / toor dal is completely cooked, add the toor dal into the Keerai. Add some salt and the grounded paste into the vessel and allow them to cook for another 4-5 minutes/
• Finally add tadka into the keerai kootu and serve this healthy side dish in your thali or meals.