Sirukeerai Kootu Recipe
An Introduction To Sirukeerai Kootu Recipe
Sirukeerai a variant of green amaranth, is one of the best greens that has a lot of nutrients in it. Sirukeerai kootu is a super food which is not only delicious but also has magnificent properties that cure many diseases.
It is the main ingredient of sirukeerai kootu and it is typically a South Indian recipe. You can see it often in all south Indian homes in the day today lunch menu. Sirukeerai Kootu recipe is one of the grandmas recipes that has been passed on to generations for health and wellness of the family. It is prepared frequently during summers as it is the best body coolant.
Sirukeerai Kootu Nutritive Content :
Sirukeerai Kootu recipe is a power packed green, loaded with minerals and it has many health benefits. It is rich in calcium and iron which helps in building up of bones in the body. It helps in relieving the stomach and gall bladder problems. It also helps in removing the toxins from the kidney and the urinary tract. Sirukeerai Kootu promotes good eye vision and helps in relieving bile related diseases.It is the best food to cure piles and regular intake of sirukeerai gives glowing skin. Moreover, it excretes the unwanted elements from the body and used widely in siddha medicine. In villages, Sirukeerai is taken as a medicine for poisonous insect bites.
Sirukeerai Kootu Biological Factors
The botanical name of sirukeerai is `Amaranthus Gangeticus` and belongs to the Amaranthaceae family. They have oblong shape and the leaves are small and pointed when compared to other amaranth varieties. They have delicate, thin and light green stems .Generally it is called as tropical amaranth and also called as Amaranthus tricolor. It is an annual flowering plant and grows in any habitat.
Sirukeerai Kootu Special Benefits
Sirukeerai Kootu Recipe has a unique nature of healing wounds in the body. If people who undergo any kind of surgery or people who have external wounds take this sirukeerai regularly, they will be cured fast and it also prevents infection. It boosts the overall immunity of the body to a greater extent. Sirukeerai kootu is the best food used for eye problems in siddha medicine.
Its cultivation :
Sirukeerai is mostly cultivated in states like Tamil nadu, Andra pradhesh, Karnataka, kerala and Maharashtra in India. But it is consumed on a larger extent in North India too. It is a perennial crop which grows thorough out the year. It does not need much rain for growing. It is widely grown in areas of moderate climate and does not grow widely in extreme hot places. Therefore it prefers a mild climate for growing.
Varieties Of Recipes Made Of Sirukeerai
There are several dishes made from sirukeerai and some of the popular dishes are sirukeerai paruppukadayal, sirukeerai kuzhambu, siru keerai chutney, sirukeerai sambhar, sirukeerai masiyal and sirukeerai poriyal. One of the exclusive item is `sirukeeraikootu` which is made of sirukeerai mixed with tuvar dhal and other spices. Sirukeerai soup is becoming popular all over the country for its sublime taste and abundant nutrition. Sirukeeraivada and siru keerai oothappam are famous dishes in the restaurants of South India and it is also prepared widely at homes. Sirukeerai thuvaram is yet another interesting recipe from the Thirunelveli district of Tamil nadu.
Ingredients Required To Make Sirukeerai Kootu Recipe
How To Make Sirukeerai Kootu Recipe
To make sirukeerai kootu recipe, take a cup of tuvar dhal in a vessel and wash it once and add two cups of fresh water.
Keep it inside a pressure cooker and place it on the stove in high flame.
Let it cook until 4 whistles.
Switch of the stove and let it cool for 5 minutes.
After it is cooled, take out the cooked tuvar dhal from the cooker and mash it well with a masher and keep it aside.
Clean the sirukeerai and wash it 3, 4 times in running water and keep it in a bowl. Remove the leaves from the stalks.
Peel of the skin from the shallots and cut them into two, three pieces.
Finely chop the onion and tomatoes.
Peel off the skin from the garlic cloves too.
Place a `kadai` or a `man satti`{kadai made of mud` or an earthen pot} in the stove and switch it on. Let the flame be in medium mode.
Add the clean sirukeerai inside the kadai and add (only) a little water and a pinch of turmeric in it. Let it cook for 5 minutes.
After five minutes, add a portion from the chopped shallots and sprinkle the required amount of salt in it.
Now add the garlic cloves, tomatoes, pepper powder to it and close it for a few minutes with a transparent lid.
Let it cook for three to five minutes.
After a few minutes just ensure that the sirukeerai with the other ingredients are cooked well through the lid.
When it is cooked, take the kadai from the stove and keep it aside.
Using a masher, just mash up the keerai well for two to three minutes.
If you have a keerai satti (clay spinach pot) use it for mashing the sirukeerai.
Now transfer the mixture from the kadai to a vessel.
Keep the kadai again in the stove for tempering. Let it be in medium flame.
Add a table spoon of cooking oil and once it is heated, just drop a spoon of mustard seeds in it.
Once it splutters, add a tea spoon of jeera seeds, a roughly torn red chili and a pinch of asafoetida.
Now the tempering is over.
At this stage, add the remaining shallots to it and fry till translucent. You will get a nice flavor out of it.
Simmer the flame and add the keerai mixure in the kadai and the mashed tuvar dhal again and give it a boil.
After two minutes it will be completely cooked up.
Just smear a tea spoon of ghee over the Keerai and mix it well and switch off the stove.
Now the sirukeerai kootu is ready to eat.
Serve it hot with raw rice or boiled rice along with `pepper rasam` and potato fry with a little ghee.
Some Tips To Follow To Make Sirukeerai Kootu Recipe
• Choose fresh tender and lush green sirukeerai to make this kootu as it will enhance the taste of it.
• Wash it twice or thrice in running water to get rid of dirt or impurities.
• Always cook the greens in medium or low flame to get the best result.
• Never overcook the keerai as it may lose all the nutrients.
• Similarly, do not use more water than required in order to retain the taste and the nutrients as well.
• Eat it on the same day it is cooked before night, as it may cause indigestion if taken for dinner or the day after.
• We add shallots for health benefits and for a little sweet taste. In case, if you do not get shallots you can use regular onion.
• Apart from potato fry it goes well with bindi fry, yam fry (senai kizhangu) and colocasia (sepankizhangu) fry.
Advantages Of Using Clay Pot To Cook Sirukeerai kootu Recipe
• As it is made of clay it allows the heat and moisture to circulate evenly.
• It is user friendly and hundred percent safe to cook in gas stove.
• It retains the nutrition for a longer time and also enhances the taste of the dish.
• Apart from keerai, you can also make any kuzhambu, kootu, rasam and poriyal in the clay spinach pot.
• It keeps us close to nature which we all love and cherish. Just try it once to savor the sensation of mansatti dish.
Ingredients
Directions
To make sirukeerai kootu recipe, take a cup of tuvar dhal in a vessel and wash it once and add two cups of fresh water.
Keep it inside a pressure cooker and place it on the stove in high flame.
Let it cook until 4 whistles.
Switch of the stove and let it cool for 5 minutes.
After it is cooled, take out the cooked tuvar dhal from the cooker and mash it well with a masher and keep it aside.
Clean the sirukeerai and wash it 3, 4 times in running water and keep it in a bowl. Remove the leaves from the stalks.
Peel of the skin from the shallots and cut them into two, three pieces.
Finely chop the onion and tomatoes.
Peel off the skin from the garlic cloves too.
Place a `kadai` or a `man satti`{kadai made of mud` or an earthen pot} in the stove and switch it on. Let the flame be in medium mode.
Add the clean sirukeerai inside the kadai and add (only) a little water and a pinch of turmeric in it. Let it cook for 5 minutes.
After five minutes, add a portion from the chopped shallots and sprinkle the required amount of salt in it.
Now add the garlic cloves, tomatoes, pepper powder to it and close it for a few minutes with a transparent lid.
Let it cook for three to five minutes.
After a few minutes just ensure that the sirukeerai with the other ingredients are cooked well through the lid.
When it is cooked, take the kadai from the stove and keep it aside.
Using a masher, just mash up the keerai well for two to three minutes.
If you have a keerai satti (clay spinach pot) use it for mashing the sirukeerai.
Now transfer the mixture from the kadai to a vessel.
Keep the kadai again in the stove for tempering. Let it be in medium flame.
Add a table spoon of cooking oil and once it is heated, just drop a spoon of mustard seeds in it.
Once it splutters, add a tea spoon of jeera seeds, a roughly torn red chili and a pinch of asafoetida.
Now the tempering is over.
At this stage, add the remaining shallots to it and fry till translucent. You will get a nice flavor out of it.
Simmer the flame and add the keerai mixure in the kadai and the mashed tuvar dhal again and give it a boil.
After two minutes it will be completely cooked up.
Just smear a tea spoon of ghee over the Keerai and mix it well and switch off the stove.
Now the sirukeerai kootu is ready to eat.
Serve it hot with raw rice or boiled rice along with `pepper rasam` and potato fry with a little ghee.