Pudalangai Paal Kootu

Recipe for Pudalangai Paal Kootu made with snake gourd and toor dal. Easy everyday lentil recipe. The addition of milk gives a very nice creamy taste.

I am not a milk person. I do not like milk. I do not like yogurt too! Milk in coffee is fine. But plain milk and yogurt – no way!!!! Yeah – Please do not judge me. I come from a family that loves milk and yogurt. So, when someone tells my mom, how come Suguna turned out to be like that? She says Suguna is an Aurangzeb. Just ignore her. There is this “theory” that Aurangzeb put his father Shahjahan in jail for building Taj Mahal. He was mad at him for wasting money and resources. So, basically he could not appreciate the art and architecture and all the good things in Taj Mahal. A person who cannot see the good thing gets coined in my family as “Aurangzeb”. I am the Aurangzeb in the family. I never appreciate curries in which milk or yogurt is added. I am still the same but my husband loves loves the addition of dairy in curries. I have never had leftovers with this paal kootu. Do give it a try. Here is how to do pudalangai paal kootu.

Boil Vegetable Boil the snake gourd – pudalangai until tender but firm. Set aside. I boiled my snake gourd with 1/4 cup of water in a pressure cooker for exactly 2 whistles. I immediately released the pressure manually after the two whistles. Letting the steam settle on its own makes the gourd to a mush. Masala Paste Make a paste of coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds. Grind the ingredients with 1/4 cup of water to a smooth paste. Set aside. Simmer Curry Heat a pan and add in the cooked snake gourd, the ground coconut paste and cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add in the milk and boil for a minute more. Remove from heat and set aside. Tadka Heat coconut oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds and dried red chillies. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Immediately add it to the curry. Tip on adding tadka to curry: If you are going to serve the curry later, do the tadka just before serving. The curry will be so aromatic (or) After adding the tadka, do not mix the curry. Let the tadka just float on top. Mix it just before serving.

Serve with hot rice.

Main Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped snake gourd – pudalangai
• 1/2 cup cooked toor dal
• 1/2 cup boiled cow milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

For the Masala Paste

• 1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies

For the Tadka

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 - 4 dry red chillies (i used gundu chillies)

1. Boil the snake gourd – pudalangai until tender but firm. Set aside.
2. Make a paste of coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds. Grind the ingredients with 1/4 cup of water to a smooth paste. Set aside.
3. Heat a pan and add in the cooked snake gourd, the ground coconut paste and cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add in the milk and boil for a minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Heat coconut oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds and dried red chillies. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Immediately add it to the curry.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Curry
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Main Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped snake gourd – pudalangai
• 1/2 cup cooked toor dal
• 1/2 cup boiled cow milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

For the Masala Paste

• 1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies

For the Tadka

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 - 4 dry red chillies (i used gundu chillies)

1. Boil the snake gourd – pudalangai until tender but firm. Set aside.
2. Make a paste of coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds. Grind the ingredients with 1/4 cup of water to a smooth paste. Set aside.
3. Heat a pan and add in the cooked snake gourd, the ground coconut paste and cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add in the milk and boil for a minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Heat coconut oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds and dried red chillies. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Immediately add it to the curry.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Curry
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/pudalangai-paal-kootu-snake-gourd-milk-curry/

Here is the recipe for traditional Tamilnadu style Murungai Keerai Soup made with dal and spices. Moringa Leaves Soup recipe.

Murungai Ilai or Moringa Leaves is a staple in the South Indian kitchen. Its added to lentil dishes, made into a stir fry, added to omelettes, added while making ghee and later strained (it makes the ghee so aromatic). Its very nutrient dense and a good source of iron. This soup is very refreshing and usually served during lunch.

Prepping main ingredient

The Murungai Ilai or Moringa Leaves are naturally slightly bitter. Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of leaves in this recipe depending on how much bitterness you can handle. If you are trying this recipe for the first time, I advice you to start with just 1/2 cup of leaves.

Murungai Ilai or moringa leaves needs a little prep work. Pull the leaves from the stem and set aside in a bowl. There might be small tiny stems still attached to the leaves and that is perfectly fine. Do not bother too much.

Almost always, the moringa leaves have a lot of sand and fine dust in them. Wash and soak the leaves in water for 10 minutes. Gently remove the leaves from the top. While cleaning any greens, leaves, do not strain. The sand and the fine debris gets settled in the bottom of the vessel after soaking. Gently remove the greens from the top making sure not to disturb the sediment at the bottom.

Grind the leaves with a cup of water. Set aside. The ground leaves will become slightly slimy in minutes. That’s fine. It will not be very appetizing to watch the slime. Bear with me. Good things take time.

Making the stock

Take a pressure pan and add in the cleaned and washed yellow moong dal. Add in the spices – cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, maratti moggu (kapok buds) and kalpasi. Add in the roughly chopped onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Add in 2 cups of water and cook the dal in the cooker for 6 whistles. Remove from heat and allow the whistle to settle naturally.

Strain the liquid in a colander.

Do not use a fine mesh colander. You want the dal and the juices as this is a thick soup and the dal gives it the body. Use a wide mesh colander. Use a ladle to press and strain the dal mixture. Set aside.

Add in the ground moringa paste to the colander and strain that too.

Simmering the soup

Heat ghee in a pan and add in the strained liquid, water and salt. ( Add around 1 to 1.5 cups of water).

Add in freshly ground black pepper powder and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the tempering Heat ghee in a pan and add in the moringa leaves. Fry on a low flame until the leaves are crisp.

Add a teaspoon of crisped leaves along with ghee to the soup just before serving. Serve the soup hot.

Main Ingredient

• 1/2 cup cleaned murungai ilai – moringa leaves

For the stock

• 1/3 cup split yellow moong dal
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamom
• 1 maratti moggu (kapok bud)
• 1 inch kal pasi (phathar ke phool)
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped ( 1/4 cup )
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 2 green chillies
• 2 cups water

For simmering the soup

• 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups water

For the tempering

• 2 teaspoon ghee or coconut oil
• 2 tablespoon murungai ilai – moringa leaves

Prepping main ingredient

1. Grind the leaves with a cup of water. Set aside.

For the stock

1. Take a pressure pan and add in the cleaned and washed yellow moong dal. Add in the spices – cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, maratti moggu (kapok buds) and kalpasi. Add in the roughly chopped onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Add in 2 cups of water and cook the dal in the cooker for 6 whistles. Remove from heat and allow the whistle to settle naturally.
2. Strain the liquid in a colander.
3. Add in the ground moringa paste to the colander and strain that too. Set aside.

For simmering the soup

1. Heat ghee in a pan and add in the strained liquid, water and salt.
2. Add in freshly ground black pepper powder and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the tempering

1. Heat ghee in a pan and add in the moringa leaves. Fry on a low flame until the leaves are crisp.
2. Add it to the soup just before serving. Serve the soup hot.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Soup
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu