Kathirikai Palakottai Kootu | Brinjal & Jackfruit Seeds Gravy

Here is the recipe for simple and delicious brinjal and jackfruit seeds gravy, popularly known as kathirikai palakottai kootu in Tamil. You can serve this as a side dish or as a rice accompaniment.

You might all wonder if we can consume jackfruit seeds; they are edible, just like tender and fresh jackfruit. You can make various dishes with them, and I have already shared a dry curry recipe, chakkakuru thoran. Do check it out. 

Jump to:

• Ingredients required
• Dietary specifications & storing suggestions
• Prep-work
• How to make brinjal kootu
• Recipe Notes
• More brinjal recipes
• 📖 Recipe

My mom didn’t add onions to kootu growing up; hence, most of my kootu recipes are onion and garlic-free. But in my kitchen, I started exploring kootu recipes by adding onions and shared some on the blog, like my raw papaya kootu and cabbage kootu. For this jackfruit seed kootu, too, I have included onion. I adapted the base recipe from Rak’s kitchen but made some variations. I skipped the tamarind and pressure-cooked a shallot and moong dal for added flavor.

Let’s get straight into the ingredients and recipe details. 

Ingredients required

To pressure cook – Like every other kootu, we also use moong dal here. We pressure cook moong dal with a pinch of turmeric powder and shallot for flavor. 

We also pressure-cook jackfruit seeds. Wash them well, and pressure cook for three whistles. Peel the top layer and chop them into bite-sized pieces. 

Brinjals – I used small Indian brinjals. Preferably, tender ones are good. I highly recommend a small purple variety for this kootu. 

To grind/for the kootu masala – We need fresh or frozen coconut, sambar powder, shallot, and cumin seeds. 

To temper: We need mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, and curry leaves. As always, I prefer coconut oil, but you can use any oil you choose. 

Apart from these ingredients, we also need water and salt. 

Dietary specifications & storing suggestions

This brinjal kootu is naturally vegan, and you can either skip asafoetida or use gluten-free asafoetida for a gluten-free version.

You can serve this kathirikai kootu with plain rice or as a side dish for sambar or rasam rice.

This kootu stays good for 3 to 4 days when refrigerated. I always batch cook this kootu as a part of my weekend meal prep and refrigerate it. It stays good for 3 to 4 days very well. 

Prep-work

• Pressure cook the moong dal by adding 1.5 cups of water, one shallot, and turmeric powder for up to three whistles, and once cooled down, mash it well.
•  Similarly, pressure cook the jackfruit seeds, peel the white layers, and chop them into pieces. (Pressure cooker separators are life savers here)
•  Grind coconut, cumin seeds, one shallot, and sambar powder into a fine paste by adding ½ cup of water. 

•  Clean and chop the brinjals into small pieces. (Tip – Soaking the chopped brinjals in water helps prevent the brinjals from turning black)

How to make brinjal kootu

• Heat a pan or kadai and add the coconut oil. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, and chana dal when the oil is hot. Add the asafoetida and curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds when the mustard seeds splutter. 

• Now add the chopped brinjals and salt. Sauté for a couple of minutes.

• Add ½ cup of water and cook until brinjal turns soft. 

• Then, add the ground masala and jackfruit seeds.

• Mix well and cook for a couple of minutes.

• Now, finally, add the mashed moong dal and mix it well.

• Add more water for a thin kootu. Bring it to one boil and turn off the heat.

• Garnish it with cilantro and enjoy with rice. 

Recipe Notes

•  Instead of adding 1.5 tsp of sambar powder while grinding, use 2 to 3 chilies like in regular kootu.
•  Adjust the salt and spice according to your preference.
• I highly recommend shallots, but if you don’t have them, add 1 tbsp of chopped big onion for one shallot. 
• After tempering, you can saute ½ cup of finely chopped onions before adding the brinjals.
• Also, you can add 1 tsp of tamarind paste for more kootu-kuzhambu. 

PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this brinjal and jackfruits seed 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. 

More brinjal recipes

📖 Recipe

Update notes: Earlier posted on 2014. Now updated with new pictures, recipe card with nutritional information.