Keerai Molagootal Recipe, Keerai Molagootal, Spinach Molagootal Recipe.
Easy and traditional recipe for South Indian Keerai molagootal / Keerai Kootu. Recipe for spinach and lentil stew. Vegan and gluten free recipe. Usually served with rice.
I had this dish for the first time during my college days from a friends lunch box. It was during my post graduation and my class mate Krishnan offered me a bite from his lunch box. It looked like spinach rice. It was nutty, coconut-ty, comforting bite. I asked him what it was and he told me it was Molagootal. That was the first time I heard that word. I loved that dish. I kind of finished half of his lunch box that day. It was a fantastic meal. Simple, comforting everyday meal. He took me to his home that day evening and I thanked his mother for the Molagootal. I got the recipe too. Here is the recipe for Krishnan’s Molagootal.
Here is the video of how to make keerai molagootal at home.
Click the link below to find the recipes on the site that uses the main ingredient as Spinach and lentils.
Spinach Recipes / Greens Recipes
Toor Dal Recipes
Here are some of the equipment, utensils and gadgets that will be useful for making this recipe. Click the link to buy them online.
Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker
Triply Stainless Steel Kadai
Tri-ply Stainless Steel Frying Pan
Pro Mixer Grinder 1000 Watt
Pyrex mixing bowls set
Swiss Classic KITCHEN KNIFE
Prep Cutting Board
Here is the step by step pics / procedure for how to make keerai molagootal at home.
Boil about 2 cups of spinach in 1 cup of water for 2-3 minutes in medium flame. Remove off heat. No need to cook the greens for long. Just cook until wilted. That’s enough. Grind the cooked spinach to a coarse puree. Set aside.
Note: Save the spinach water / the cooking liquid. We shall use that later.
Boil half a cup of toor-dal with 2 cups of water and a little turmeric powder in a pressure cooker for 7-8 minutes or 4 whistles. Remove off heat. Let the pressure release naturally from the cooker. Slightly mash the lentils. Set aside.
Take a pan / kadai and heat 2 teaspoons of coconut oil in it. Add in the whole white urad dal, cumin seeds and black pepper. Roast in a very low flame until the urad dal is nice and brown. Getting the urad dal nice and brown is the key. It should smell nutty when the dal turns brown. Add in half a cup of shredded coconut. Briefly saute everything to combine. Remove off heat. Add enough water (use the saved spinach cooking water / liquid) to the mixture and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
The Final Tempering of the keerai molagootal:
Take a deep pan and add a teaspoon of coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and the turmeric. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the spinach paste, coconut mixture paste and the cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes on a low flame. Remove off heat.
Serve hot with rice.
Keerai Molagootal / Keerai Kootu
Keerai Molagootal Recipe, Keerai Molagootal, Spinach Molagootal Recipe.
Easy and traditional recipe for South Indian Keerai molagootal / Keerai Kootu. Recipe for spinach and lentil stew. Vegan and gluten free recipe. Usually served with rice.
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Prep Ingredients for keerai molagootal
- 2 Cups Spinach
- 1/2 cup Toor dal
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
For the coconut mixture for keerai molagootal
- 2 teaspoon Coconut Oil
- 2 tablespoon Urad dal
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon Peppercorn
- 1/2 cup fresh shredded Coconut
For the tempering
- 1 teaspoon Coconut Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Asafoetida
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
Here is how to make keerai molagootal
- Boil about 2 cups of spinach in 1 cup of water for 2-3 minutes in medium flame. Remove off heat. Grind the cooked spinach to a coarse paste. Set aside.
- Boil half a cup of toor-dal with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes or 4 whistles. Remove off heat. Let the pressure release naturally from the cooker. Mash the lentils. Set aside.
- Take a pan / kadai and heat 2 teaspoons of oil in it. Add in the urad dal, cumin seeds and pepper. Saute in very low flame until the urad dal is nice and brown. Getting the urad dal nice and brown is the key. It should smell nutty when the dal turns brown. Add in half a cup of shredded coconut. Briefly saute everything to combine. Remove off heat. Add enough water to the mixture and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
- The Final Tempering: Take a deep pan and add a teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and the turmeric. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
- Add in the spinach paste, coconut mixture paste and the cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove off heat.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dal / Lentil recipes
- Cuisine: South Indian
Keywords: keerai molagootal
Wonderful recipe. Have bookmarked it!
Lovely recipe and a hit with my family and friends. Love the nutritional value it brings and the kids love eating it with ghee and rice.
Thank you!
Thank you for your recipe, Kannamma. What do you think of substituting Spinach with greens such as Chard, Kale, Purslane and others? Of course, I understand the taste will vary with the type of greens used. Thanks, Dido.
Hi Dido, Never tried with these greens so unable to tell how the dish might taste.
Tried this with green chard sometime back. It was absolutely delicious!
Thank you.
Absolutely love all your dishes- it’s my go to for indian cooking.
Would it be alright to make the coconut paste aan freeze it and then just put it with the dhal in the pressure cooker? I guess it maynot taste as good as fresh, but just wondering how to make this quicker for a regular weekday dish?
Hi Gaia, Sure you can freeze the paste. But make sure to completely thaw and use else the fat will look kind of separated.
Hi, all the recipes I have tried from this site are consistently good. This one too was no exception. Thanks so much for sharing your talent with the whole world. Surely this is one of the reasons the world is a better place. Nothing speaks like well cooked food.
Thank you so much.
Tried the recipe today and it tasted awesome.Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much Alagumeenal. Glad that you liked the recipe!
This is by far the BEST keerai recipe I’ve tried and tasted. Thank you so much! And a big thank you to Krishnan and his mother too! 🙂
Thank you!
Dear ,
I have tried a lot of your recipes. Almost all them came out awesome. My children Akkumma and Unnikuttan admire your dishes.Every day they ask me what is today’s special Kannamama dish…Hats off to you for all the amazing recipes that you have put up.Thank you once again.
Thank you so much! You made my day. It means a lot. My hi5 to Akkumma and Unnikuttan !
Hi Suguna,
From a person who makes keerai molagootal regularly, here is a tip – Use only Coconut oil for this dish. Tastes authentic! Another change that some people do is to use dry red chillies instead of peppercorns. But that’s totally optional. The coconut oil is not 😉
sure. Thank you.
Made this keerai molagootal and its been a hit in our home. So refreshing and a change from the regular tomato palak dal. Everyone liked it. Thank you Kannamma
Thank you so much!
Spinach in lentils curry. Palakkad Style
Thr r only few foods I love smelling repeatedly..and this is one of that..made this yesterday n Wat a refreshing dish..it looks at its best smells so fresh n tastes yummy..everyone loved this. N guess Wat this doesn’t need any side dish..it’s a whole filling dish with rice all by itself.I dint want to eat d side dish I made since it spoiled d taste of this dish..A big hug n thanks kannama 🙂
Thank you so much Maria.
🙂