MOLAGOOSHIAM

A very light and wholesome koottaan, it is prepared for a light dinner. It is also a part of the diet for the new mother. A tablespoon of 'moong dal' can be added to the vegetables while cooking to make it more nutritious.

As it is not sour, 'Molagooshiam' goes well with a sour side-dish - thogial / pulikaachal / arachukalakki / 'vendakka thayir pachadi' / 'maanga porukku' / 'maanga pachadi' or the more modern 'carrot thuruval'. Usually rasam is also a part of the menu when such non-sour koottaans are prepared.

Ingredients

Ash gourd/ bottle gourd – 1cm. cubes – 1 cup

Raw banana – 1 – cubed

Yam –cubed – ½ cup

Carrot – 1 – cubed

Potato - 1 small – cubed

Peas – 1 tbsp

Green chilli – 2 (slit)

Eggplant – ½ - cubed (optional)

Small bean lentils – ¼ cup (soaked for a couple of hours) (optional)

Yellow moong dal – 1 tbsp (optional)

Haldi – ½ tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Black pepper powder – 1 tsp

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Curry leaves

Method

Wash all the cubed vegetables. Add water to cover it. Add haldi, red chilli powder, pepper powder and salt and the slit green chillies. If adding the optional ingredients, wash and add them to it. Pressure-cook it for 2 whistles. Cool. Mix well. Add water to get the right consistency (like dal). If it is too watery, dissolve a tsp of rice flour/wheat flour in a tbsp of water and to the gravy and boil. Add a tsp of coconut oil. Garnish with curry leaves.

Tips –

Instead of the above mentioned vegetables, it can also be prepared with 1 green plantain (Kerala ‘nendrakkai’) and 250 gms yam ( cubed)
.© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.