Kerala Kootu Curry is a mixed vegetable dry curry made with grated coconut that’s a staple in Kerala cooking. This traditional recipe combines different vegetables with coconut in two ways (ground and fried) and is commonly served with rice or as part of a sadhya feast such as Onam sadhya.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the disclosure.
➡ If you’re new to Kerala cooking, start with my Kerala Cooking Basics guide for ingredient tips, shopping advice, and more authentic recipes.
Kootu curry is one of those practical Kerala dishes that uses whatever vegetables you have on hand. Kootu means “mix” in Malayalam, and this recipe is a mix of different vegetables and chickpeas simmered in a coconut-cumin mixture, and later topped with fried coconut.
The “mix” typically includes black chickpeas, and vegetables like yam and plantain. It can also include ash gourd (kumbalanga), snake gourd (padavalanga), and pumpkin.
But because some of these veggies aren’t easily available to me, I’ve substituted with other veggies. If you have access to elephant yam and raw plantain, feel free to use those.
I like making this when I have leftover vegetables that need to be used up. It’s also a good way to get a variety of vegetables in one dish with lots of flavor.
This recipe is part of the traditional Onam sadhya spread, where it’s served alongside other Kerala dishes on a banana leaf (image below).
➡ If you’re looking for more Onam recipes, try Kerala parippu, mango pachadi, cucumber pachadi (kichadi), vegetable stew, potato stew (ishtu), carrot beans thoran, inji curry, sambar, and semiya payasam.
Kootu Curry Recipe Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients
💡 Tips for Mixed Vegetable Coconut Curry
🥥 Fresh Coconut: Freshly grated coconut is best, but frozen works well too. Some brands of frozen coconut can be more coarsely ground. If this is the case, pulse it for a few seconds in a food processor to make it finer. One of the key flavors of this recipe is the fried grated coconut. Take your time to make sure the coconut becomes a deep color without burning it, lowering the heat as needed.
🥕 Vegetables: Kootu curry is normally made with elephant yam (chena) and raw plantain (vazhakka). Vegetables that are abundant in Kerala but harder to find in the West, so I have taken the liberty of substituting vegetables that are easily available where I live. Feel free to use vegetables of your choice!
🫘 Chickpeas: Kala chana or black chickpeas are traditionally used in this recipe. They are easily available at Indian grocery stores. You can substitute canned garbanzo beans, but I recommend getting the black chickpeas.
🌿 Curry Leaves: Curry leaves are essential to Kerala cooking. There is no substitute. They are available in Indian grocery stores and keep well in the freezer.
🍬 Jaggery: Kootu curry is supposed to have a touch of sweetness. If you can’t find jaggery, use brown sugar.
🍶 Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is traditionally used in most Kerala dishes and adds a special flavor. You may substitute vegetable oil, though.
❓ FAQS
I use potatoes, eggplant, and cucumber, but you can also use butternut squash, pumpkin, green beans, and carrots. Cut the vegetables into evenly-sized pieces.
The coconut should be deep golden brown and fragrant. Once the coconut begins browning, it progresses pretty quickly, so stir constantly and keep an eye on it to prevent burning. The color of peanut butter or darker, with hardly any white remaining, is perfect.
Yes, you can make it ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator and reheat gently before serving.
🥕 How to Make Kootu Curry
- Combine grated coconut and cumin seeds with enough water to make a smooth paste with the consistency of thick pesto.
- Add some curry leaves and blend just enough to break up the curry leaves. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, stir together potatoes, eggplant, chili powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper with water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer till barely tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add cooked black chickpeas and cucumber, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, if it starts sticking to the bottom.
- Add the jaggery and coconut mixture and simmer for 3 minutes. The mixture should be fairly dry with very little liquid.
- In a frying pan, heat coconut oil. Add mustard seeds and cover. Once they finish popping, add dry chillies and curry leaves. Add grated coconut.
- Sauté on medium-high heat until deep brown but not burned. Keep a close eye on it and stir constantly. I find it easier to use a nonstick pan!
- Add the fried coconut to the vegetables and heat through briefly. Adjust seasonings.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Traditional Kerala Kootu Curry Recipe (Black Chickpeas & Mixed Vegetables)
Ingredients
- 1 cup kala chana (black chickpeas)
- 2 cups water
- ¾ cup grated coconut [See Note 1]
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ⅓ cup water
- 8 curry leaves
- 2 cups potatoes cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½ cup eggplant cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ¾ cup water
- 1 cup cucumber peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon jaggery or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 2 whole Kashmiri chilies
- 8 curry leaves
- ½ cup grated coconut
Instructions
- Soak the 1 cup kala chana for 6 hours or overnight. Pressure cook in the Instant Pot with 2 cups water for 25 minutes. Do a natural release of pressure. Drain and set aside.
- Blend ¾ cup grated coconut and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds with ⅓ cup water to form a thick paste. Add more water as needed. Add the 8 curry leaves and blend briefly or until the leaves break up. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups potatoes, ½ cup eggplant, ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper powder, and ¾ cup water to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer till the potatoes are just tender, 7 to 10 minutes. [See Note 2]
- Add cooked kala chana and 1 cup cucumber and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes. Add more water as needed.
- Add 1 tablespoon jaggery and reserved coconut paste. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes and add more water as needed. The mixture should be thick and not too watery.
- In a nonstick frying pan, heat 2 tablespoon coconut oil and add ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds. Cover and when the mustard seeds stop popping, add 2 whole Kashmiri chilies and 8 curry leaves.
- Add ½ cup grated coconut and fry on medium-high heat till deep brown, but not burned. Keep a close eye on the coconut and stir constantly. Lower the temperature if it's cooking too fast.
- Add the fried coconut mixture to the vegetables and heat through briefly.
Notes
Nutrition
Thank you for visiting Paint the Kitchen Red. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please don’t use any content without prior written permission. If you’ve made this recipe and would like to share it with your friends, please link back to this recipe. Thank you!
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
Did you know that the best way to support your favorite bloggers is to comment and rate recipes, and share on social media? If you loved this recipe, please comment and give it a five ⭐ rating in the comment section below. If you’re a pinner, pin this post using the Pin buttons at the top and bottom of this post and in the recipe card above. Thank you for your support!
Navin says
Kootu curry is one of my favorite Onasadya items. Thank you for giving easy directions for making it. Very nice recipe that reminds me of home.
Neena Panicker says
Hi Navin, thank you for taking the time to comment on the kootu curry recipe. I’m so happy that you tried it! And you’re welcome!