A delicious cucumber kootu or vellarikka kootu made in a traditional soapstone vessel/kalchatti. Got tired of cucumber salads and raitas? Then try this kootu, and I’m sure you will love it. This vegan South Indian style kootu or gravy is a perfect side for any rice dishes.

As mentioned on my chow chow kootu post, here I am back with another kootu recipe, and this time, it is with cucumbers – the green ones. I have explained “what is kootu” in detail on both cabbage kootu and chow chow kootu post, so let me get straight into the kootu details. I love cooking in Instant Pot, and there is no doubt about it. But I love traditional pots and vessels too. You can find a few clay pot recipes on my blog. And from now on, you will find soapstone vessel or kalchatti recipes as well. :-)

Kalchatti

Disclosure: This is not a paid post. I received this product for review from Zishta, but the opinions and thoughts expressed here and on my social media platforms are my own.

I am yet to bring my grandma’s heirloom kalchatti to the US. The kalchatti that I used today is from Zishta. You can find about Zishta’s international packaging and my thoughts about the kalchatti on my Instagram.

So what’s kalchatti? It’s a Tamil word, actually two Tamil words Kal + Chatti. “Kal,” meaning stone (precisely soapstone) in this context and “chatti,” meaning pot/pan/vessel. Kalchatti is one of the traditional cookware used in Tamil kitchens. I am so glad to see the revival of this traditional cookware like soapstone vessels, clay pots, and cast-iron pots and pans.

People think that it is quite challenging to use and maintain these traditional vessels. Guess what, it’s not difficult at all. It’s very convenient. For example, take this kalchatti. It retains the heat for about 4 to 5 hours. Look at our kootu, and see how it has thickened. I did not transfer the kootu to another bowl, and the kootu was nice and warm even after three 3 hours. Isn’t kalchatti the traditional hot case?

The nature of the soapstone helps in even cooking and also in retaining the nutrients. It’s easy to prepare and serve from the same pot. Furthermore, cleaning is quite easy. As you can see, the sides of the soapstone look dry, but I spend less than 3 minutes to clean that.

I will talk about maintenance and seasoning and my experience in future posts as I try more recipes in the kalchatti.

Now coming to this cucumber kootu recipe.

What cucumber variety to Use?

You don’t need to pressure cook the cucumbers. We can cook them in the open-pot method, and it cooks pretty fast. I have tried making this kootu with a cocktail or the mini cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, and the English cucumber variety also. I haven’t tried it with the yellow ones, though.

There are 100 different cucumber varieties and chose any non-bitter variety for this kootu. The cucumber variety doesn’t affect the cooking time, but there is a subtle flavor change. We like all the cucumber varieties and no complaints here.

But make sure to check the bitterness of the cucumbers. Some cucumber varieties are bitter. Taste a small piece for bitterness while chopping. If the cucumbers are bitter, then you can’t use it for kootu. Try pickling those. I always peel the cucumbers and also remove big seeds.

How to make vellarika kootu in kalchatti-

Cook the moong dal-

In a pressure cooker or pan or add the moong dal, ¾ cup water, and ground turmeric. Pressure cook for two to three whistles. I went with the PIP method and cooked in my stove-top pressure cooker using stackable pans for three whistles.
Let the pressure subside and mash the dal and set aside.

Grind the kootu paste-

In a mixer jar, add the grated coconut, cumin seeds, and dried red chilies and grind into a paste by adding ¼ cup of water. Rinse the mixer jar using the remaining ¼ cup of water set it aside.

Prepare the cucumber kootu-

In the soapstone vessel, add the chopped cucumbers, ½ cup of water, and salt. It’s approx 2 cups cucumber. (1 cup – 240ml)

Mix and let it cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Cucumber cooks pretty fast.

At this stage, add the cooked moong dal.

Mix it thoroughly and then add the ground paste.

Mix it and check for consistency and, if required, add water. Once the kootu starts to boil, turn off the heat. Kalchatti retains the heat even after turning off the heat. So don’t let it simmer for long unless you are going to transfer it to another bowl. I added some chopped cilantro at this stage. But that’s optional.

Tempering the kootu-

In a separate tempering pan, heat the coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to sputter, turn off the heat and add it to the kootu.

Serve the kootu hot with any rice dishes.

Recipe Notes-

Instead of cucumber, you can use zucchini and follow the same method and the cooking time. But for other vegetables, the cooking time might vary. Add more water and let the veggies cook until they turn soft.
Make sure the cucumber is not bitter. Bitter cucumber completely ruins the taste of the kootu.
You can cook the moong dal in the soapstone, but I cooked it in the pressure cooker as part of meal preparation. If you want to cook the moong dal in the kalchatti, first add the moong dal, double the amount of moong dal, and ground turmeric. Cook until the dal is 90% done. Make sure to mix in between and also add water as required. When the dal is 90% done, add the chopped cucumber and follow the steps as mentioned in the recipe steps.
You can do the tempering in the kalchatti in the beginning, but I personally like to add tempering in the end if I am steaming the veggies in the open pot method. If I cook the vegetable and dal together like in my chow chow kootu, I will go with tempering in the beginning—just temper as per your convenience.
Last but not least, adjust the salt and spice according to your preference.

PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this cucumber kootu recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas!

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