Harve Kele- Ambade Kootu (Raw Banana- Hogplum Curry).

“Harve Kele- Ambade Kootu (Raw Banana- Hogplum Curry)” … Kootu is a delicious curry from the southern parts of India prepared with veggies along with addition of pulses and served hot with rice … Yummilicious …

** Kootu is a delicious curry from the southern parts of India that can be prepared with a variety of veggies with or without the addition of pulses. Served with rice it is somewhat a complete meal without the need for any other dish to be served along with. Close to most of amchi dishes but different in preparation method, I was fascinated when I came across many types of Kootu recipes on net. We amchies prepare Koota which is different from kootu and I was very eager to prepare the same, but somehow could not do so till date.

** The most famous of all is the one prepared with raw bananas, suran (yam), pulses like chana dal or whole chana. Well, I did not have yam, so prepared with raw bananas with along with ambado (hogplums) in place of tamarind and it turned out very tasty and was a scrumptious meal with rice. Sure to prepare more options in near future, so do keep a keen eye on my blog for more delicious recipes. Do try them out in your home and enjoy with your family and friends. Stay safe and take care good care of yourself and your family.

** Here is my version of simple recipe for “Harve Kele- Ambade Kootu (Raw Banana- Hogplum Curry)” … my style … do give it a try and serve it with rice for best taste ….

** Ingredients :

Raw Banana/ Kacha Kela/ Harve Kele : 2 medium sized

Ambado/ Hogplums : 2-3

Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram Dal : ½ cup

Haldi/ Turmeri Powder : a pinch

Chilly Powder/ Mirsange Pitti/ Mirchi Powder : ½ tsp

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

** For Masala to be ground :

Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ¼ cup freshly grated

Cumin Seeds/ Jeera : 1 tsp

Kashmiri Red Chilly/ Byadgi Mirchi/ Kumte Mirsanga : 6-8

Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2 tsp

** For Tempering/ Seasoning :

Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2 tsp

Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp

Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : ½ tsp

Red Chilly : 2 cut into pieces

Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh ones.

** Wash chana dal well, put it in pressure cooker along with one cup of water and pressure cook to 3-4 whistles and keep it aside for the pressure to drop on its own.

** Wash and peel bananas outer skin as thinly as possible and then cut them into cubes of about one inch in size. Put it immediately in water to avoid getting blackened. Keep aside.

** Wash, wipe dry the hogplums, slice off the edge of stem portion and then cut them into 4 pieces if tender or slice the sides retaining the inner seed and keep them ready aside.

** Add both banana and hogplum pieces into a vessel with some water and bring to a boil. Add in haldi and chilly powder along with salt, mix well, lower the heat and cook till 80% done.

** For Masala to be ground : Heat oil in a pan, when hot lower the heat and add in the cumin seeds and fry for a minute then add in the chilly followed by coconut and fry till the color changes slightly, remove and grind to a smooth paste with just a little bit of water.

** Add the ground masala to the cooked veggies and add in the cooked chana dal after churning it a little bit. Mix well and add in the required amount of water to bring to a thick gravy consistency along with salt as much as needed only and bring to boil on medium heat.

** When the curry comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes and then remove from fire and keep it aside while you prepare for the seasoning.

** For Tempering/ Seasoning : Heat oil in a small pan, when hot add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter add jeera, red chillies cut into pieces and curry leaves, fry for a minute of two and then pour it over the curry prepared and kept aside.

** Cover the seasoned kootu with a tight lid and keep it aside for 20 minutes for the flavors to seep in. The Kootu curry may get thickened in which case you can add in a little bit of hot boiling water and mix well to bring to required consistency before serving.

** “Harve Kele- Ambade Kootu (Raw Banana- Hogplum Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served with rice or mildly spiced rice dishes. In case you want to serve it with roti/ chapatti, then keep the texture of the kootu curry thick.

** This is a wonderful curry close in resemblance to kolumbo/ sambar and is definitely to be liked by those who love to relish rice and curry especially south Indians who are used to rice as their staple meal. You can try out with Yam, brinjal, or any veggies of your choice too.