Broccoli Koottu Recipe

TH and I both love Broccoli. I have no clue why its shown as the vegetable of nightmares in cartoons and comics and what not. Maybe because we didn't grow up on it.

I also love the fact that it cooks super fast. Usually, I make a stir fry with mushrooms and broccoli, or add it to noodles or even pulao.

Last week I was on the phone with amma and she mentioned how her bedhamma (amma's amma) makes a koottu with cauliflower stems. Usually we discard the thick stems but since theirs was a joint family and a big household, they would save up all the stems and make a koottu with just that later on. What a lovely idea!

My mom makes koottu with moong dal that's been roasted a golden brown. In fact, she recommends that I roast moong dal as soon as I buy it and store it that way so that no bugs or ants enter the jar and it lasts forever. 

I decided to take the lone broccoli I had in the fridge and make a koottu with it, stem and all. Easy decision there.

Here's how. 

Broccoli Koottu Recipe

What I Used:

1 broccoli
1/4 cup dry-roasted moong dal / cherupayar
1/4 cup grated coconut or to taste
1/4 cup shallots
3 green chillies
1/2 tsp jeera / jeerakam
A pinch of turmeric powder

To temper:

2 tsp oil (I used coconut oil)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
4 shallots, chopped
A few curry leaves

How I Made It:

1. Cut the broccoli florets out first. Peel off the thick skin on the stem and chop the rest into small pieces. Wash and set aside.

2. Grind the coconut coarsely with the shallots, jeera, green chillies and turmeric. Don't add any water to it.

3. Heat oil for tempering and add the rest of the ingredients. Once the mustard seeds pop and the shallots turn transparent, add the ground coconut and fry for a minute. To this, add the moong dal, 1/2 cup water and cook closed on a low fire for 10-12 mins.

4. Check the moong dal to see if its soft and add the broccoli with some salt. Cook on an open fire until the broccoli is soft. We like it semi-soft so I cooked it for lesser time. Adjust according to your liking.

Serve warm with rice and some curry.