Pumpkin cowpea (thattaipayiru) koottu
This is a tasty and nutritious curry/koottu. Eating two or more ingredients together provides a bigger health benefit than if you eat each food separately. Thus you have the inevitable combination of turmeric and pepper, coconut and cumin seeds, spinach and paneer/paruppu etc. This koottu is heavy on the coconut and this is invariably accompanied by cumin seeds.
Ingredients
Yellow pumpkin – 2 cups (cut into Avial like pieces)
Cowpea (தட்டப்பயிரு) – 1 cup
Coconut, grated – 1 cup
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Dried red chillies – 3-4
Curry leaves – 10
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
For the garnish
Onion – 1 (cut into thin slices)
Coconut oil – 2 tbsp
Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 10
Red chillies – 2
Salt – to taste
Cut pumpkin into aviyal like pieces and set aside. Cook 1 cup cowpea with adequate water in the pressure cooker. Put the cooked cowpea in a large pot and turn the stove on. Once it comes to a boil, add the pumpkin, turmeric,curry leaves and salt and cook covered with a lid till the pumpkin is well cooked. Grind red chillies, 1 cup coconut and cumin seeds into a thick paste and add to the cooked pumpkin and cowpeas.
In a separate kadai pop mustard in coconut oil and then add red chillies and sliced onions When nicely browned add the remaining the grated coconut and fry till brown.
Add curry leaves and then add to the pumpkin and bring to a boil. Serve with rice. Serves 6.