// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Koottukari say to its date? Curry us away.
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| Type | Curry |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | India |
| Region or state | Kerala |
Koottukari, also spelled kootu curry or koottu kari, is a dish from the cuisine of Kerala, in southern India. It is a thick curry of vegetables and pulses in a base of roasted coconut, and is one of the standard dishes of the sadhya, the vegetarian feast served during Onam and other Kerala celebrations.[1][2][3] Like other South Indian koottu preparations, it is made by cooking vegetables together with pulses.[2]
Preparation
[edit]Koottukari is built on a mixture of one or more vegetables and a pulse. The vegetables commonly include yam (chena), raw plantain, ash gourd, pumpkin, carrot and snake gourd, while the pulse is usually black chickpeas (kadala) or Bengal gram.[1][2] The vegetables and the soaked chickpeas are boiled with turmeric until soft.[4]
The taste of the dish comes mainly from coconut. Grated coconut is roasted with cumin and dried red chillies until it turns brown, then ground to a paste and stirred into the cooked vegetables.[2][1] The curry is finished with a tempering of coconut oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves, and some cooks add a little jaggery for a mild sweetness.[1][5] This results in thick and mildly spiced, with a nutty flavour from the browned coconut.[2]
Regional versions differ mostly in how dark the coconut is roasted and how much pepper goes in. A lighter, sattvic style linked to temple and Brahmin cooking leaves out onion and garlic, whereas the version made around Kannur in the Malabar area uses coconut roasted to a deep brown and a good amount of black pepper.[2]
Sadhya
[edit]Koottukari is one of the curries of the sadhya, the vegetarian meal that Malayalis serve on a banana leaf. A full sadhya can run to more than twenty dishes arranged on the leaf in a set order, and koottukari sits among the standard ones.[3][2] The feast is served at weddings and temple functions and, most prominently, at Onam.[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]
- 1 2 3 4 Sanghvi, Dassana Amit. "Kootu Curry (Koottukari Recipe)". Dassana's Veg Recipes. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kootu Curry Recipe: Traditional Kerala-Style Curry for Your Festive Menu". Restaurant India. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "What is Kerala Sadya and what is special about it?". Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Kootu Curry - Sadya Special". Kothiyavunu.com. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
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