Broccoli Kootu Recipe - easy Indian recipes with broccoli

How to make broccoli kootu - 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 pesto pasta or even veg biryani. To prepare broccoli for cooking, I usually immerse the entire thing in some salt water to remove any small bugs or works (usually there are none but just in case) and leave it there for about 30 minutes. Then I run it under clear water and gently cut off the large florets from the thick stem. The florets can then be chopped into smaller pieces as we desire. In this broccoli kootu recipe, I have also used the stems so the entire vegetable got used.

Last week I was on the phone with Amma and she mentioned how her aunt makes a kootu 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 kootu with just. What a lovely idea to minimise wastage of vegetables in the kitchen!

My mom makes kootu 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 kootu with it, stem and all. Easy decision. So let's check out how I prepared this broccoli kootu. You may also like this pudalangai kootu which is made with snake gourd and chana dal (Tamil style) or even this watercress moong dal recipe which goes great with rice too.

Broccoli Kootu Recipe

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 small broccoli
¼ cup dry-roasted moong dal / cherupayar
¼ cup grated coconut
4-5 shallots / ulli / chinna vengayam
3 green chillies (adjust to taste)
½ teaspoon cumin / jeera / jeerakam
A pinch of turmeric powder
To temper:
2 teaspoon oil (I used coconut oil)
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
4 shallots, chopped
A few curry leaves

Instructions:

1. Prepare the broccoli by immersing in salt water for some time and then running under cold water. Cut the florets into desired sizes and then lightly peal the stem before chopping it up too.

2. Grind the coconut coarsely with the shallots, cumin, green chillies and turmeric by adding some water.

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 paste and saute for a minute. To this, add the moong dal, ½ cup water and cook closed on a low fire for 10-12 mins or until the moong dal turns mushy when pressed between two fingers.

4. Add the broccoli and some salt to the above. Cook in the open pan until the broccoli is soft. We like it semi-soft so I cooked it for lesser time. Adjust according to your liking. You can also add more water at this stage if the kootu turns out too thick.