Lunch Box Series : LBS#48 ~ Dosakaya Kootu!

In my venture to try all the veggies that I find in the shop, my eyes fell on this rounded one. When I asked the shopkeeper, he said its the Dosa kaya, the one that's used in curries or gravies. Having heard so much about this veggie being quite a famed one in Andhra cuisine, I have always wanted to try this out. Not being one from the actual local, I miss most of these famed ones. If you ask me something from good old Madras I may be able to voice something. My knowledge to vegetables or ingredient usage depend so much on what my Amma knows or my Athamma does. Naturally it boils down to the fact that they make only those that they liked. I have never known Amma making any dish with Dosakaya or Athamma even uttering a word.

When I finally got a Dosakaya home, Athamma said her neighbors always cooked with this, but she never tried as her family weren't so keen on vegetables. Well there went my cents more of knowledge! And Amma has been so much influenced by her tamilian neighbors that she makes kolambu or kootu with back of her hands. Maybe I can say I am glad that I could learn both the cuisines a little better from their knowledge. So my experiments started with this Dosa kaya after seeing so many bloggers raving about the wonder of this veggie and after seeing couple videos. I planned on making a dal or pappu in Andhra style, I ended up making a kootu in a tamilian way. Whatever, the lunch was most enjoyed. Me along with my colleagues licking the bowl clean and Konda calling up to tell me that she loved it and Hubby dear nodding his head in approval, this made my day and a permanent member of my monthly menu!

You know what, while I was giving Peddu his bath last night, he suddenly caught my face with both his hands, put his cherubic face near my ears and told me "Amma neeni Girl ila, neeni Boy!" (Mom, you are not a girl, but a boy!) then his singsong Nani Boy, Daddy Boy, Chinnu Boy, Nanamma Gurl, Akka Gurl! Gosh how I loved his statement, but I was laughing for a long time, thinking his expression which said as if he discovered something new, to the bran of my mom, I always wanted to be a boy! Finally it took my lil one to thrill me that I am one...:)

Before checking this, please check out the guest post on Kids food by Mallugirl!


Today's Lunch Box had

Dosakaya Kootu
Sun Dried Fries/ Vadiyalu
Cumin pepper Rasam
Curd Rice




Dosakaya Kootu

Dosakaya/ Yellow Cucumber - 1 medium
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 1-2 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch

For the paste
Coconut - 2 -3 tsp
Green Chilies - 2 long
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

For seasoning

Onions - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds + Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Red Chilies - 2 -3





Method to prepare:

Pressure cook the toor dal till soft. Mash well if you like.

Peel the dosakaya and scoop the seeds inside. Cut into small chunks.

Grind the coconut, green chilies and Cumin seeds to a smooth paste by adding some water. Keep it aside.

Wash and heat the pressure cooker again with oil, add the mustard, red chilies, curry leaves and then onions. Sauté for a min.

Then add the ground paste, sauté well. Add the chopped cucumber. On high flame, sauté well for a min. Then simmer and cover with lid and leave it for 5 mins.

Once the paste gets cooked, add required quantity of water. Cover it with the lid and pressure cook for another whistle. The gravy you get is more of a thick but loose liquid, which goes excellent with steamed rice and vadams!

Note: This is no way an authentic way of making a kootu but then I never know one. Also I believe innovation leads to new dishes. But most important of all, Konda loved it, which should say a lot about this dish.

Adding red chilies was purely to satisfy hubby dear, you can omit it or increase the green chilies. And of course miss those onions too.