A Molagootal is a very typical preparation of the Palakkad Iyers cuisine. It a lentil and very mildly spiced gravy with usually one type of vegetable or a mix of two or sometimes three vegetables. Traditionally, amaranth leaves, raw banana, yam, pumpkin, elephant yam, ash gourd, jackfruit seeds, banana stem, moringa leaves or snake gourd are common vegetables sed. Thes days, Molagootal is also made with beans, cabbage, carrots, chayote squash, peas and even potatoes. Today I’m sharing a recipe for Chakkakuru Molagootal (chakkakuru = jackfruit seeds).
For Molagootal, the vegetables are typically cooked with either moong lentils or red gram lentils (tuvar dal). I prefer to use a mix of the two lentils. This is a very minimally spiced and almost bland dish and eaten with rice and a spicier vegetable side dish is the accompaniment. Red chilli powder or fresh green chillies (my preference), cumin seeds and fresh coconut are ground to a fine paste and added to the end of the cooking process. This a dish which comes together easily.
Today’s Chakkakuru Molagootal is cooked usually in summer when jackfruit and it’ seeds are aplenty. Jackfruit seeds are allowed to dry out at room temperature for a couple of days. Then they’re lightly crushed using a stone or brass pestle or a coconut. This allows the outer loose seed coat to be peeled easily. This is discarded and the inner brown coloured crushed seed is cooked. Crushing the seed also allows it to cook well. It is advisable to cook the crushed seeds with a little turmeric powder and water, but no salt, in a pressure cooker first.
Chakkakuru or Jackfruit Seeds also make for a delicious South Indian style stir fry called Mezhukkupuratti. For the Molagootal, jackfruit seeds are typically cooked with ash gourd (ash melon or winter melon). Jackfruit seeds take a little time to cook so pressure cook them first till soft. Then cook them again along with the ash gourd o winter melon for an almost soft and melting texture. The lentils for this dish should be cooked really soft, then be mashed with a spoon so they’re not separate to form a smooth gravy. Do not cook/ boil the Molagootal for more than a minute or two after adding the coconut for a fresher taste.
Some popular vegetable combinations for Molagootal are raw banana and yard long beans,
Since a Molagootal is bland, it is served with a spicy and tangy preparation like a Thogayal, a tangy Pachadi, or Pulikaatchal . If you don’t want to cook anything else, serve it with a spicy pickle or a podi.
Please Note : This post has since been updated with photographs and text and may show discrepancies with the comments.
Beans Molakootal/ Molagootal - Green Beans Cooked With Lentils And Coconut
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed jackfruit seeds cooked soft
- 1 cup peeled and diced ash gourd or winter melon about 1" cubes
- 1 cup red gram and moong lentils cooked very soft (tuvar and moong dal)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- to taste salt
- 1 sprig curry leaves
For the coconut paste:
- 3/4 cup fresh grated coconut
- 1 1/2 tsps cumin seeds
- 1 green chili (optional)
For the Tempering:
- 1 1/2 tsps coconut oil (or sunflower oil)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp black gram lentils (urad dal)
Instructions
- Grind together the cumin seeds with the coconut and green chilli, adding just enough water to obtain a smooth paste. Keep aside.
- In a largish pan, put the ash gourd cubes and the cooked jackfruit seeds, turmeric powder and salt along with 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer till the ash gourd is well cooked.
- Mash the cooked lentils so they break down and come together. Add this to the cooked vegetable, with the the curry leaves. Mix well and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the coconut paste and allow to come to a rolling boil. After about 2 or 3 minutes turn off the heat and transfer to a serving bowl.
- In a small pan, heat the coconut oil for tempering. Put the mustard seeds in and when they splutter, add the black gram dal and stir till it becomes golden in colour. Pour this into the mulagootal and stir before serving.
- Serve with Rice and Parippu Thogayal on the side.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
I have started making mulagootal-spinach mulagootal- after coming across a recipe for one on a blog. It is really good. I tend to spice it up a bit, especially since I make it with the otherwise bland spinach. I think I’m going to try this with plantain the next time.Do u have a recipe for the puli pachadi or the pulikyatchal? Is pulikyatchal the same as puliinji? I would like to try that.
That was quick, TBC.:)Yes, I do have recipes for both. Pulikyatchal is the same thing as puliinji.I shall post the recipe for puli patchadi soon.
I agree with TBC.I make spinach one only,this version is new to me.I make thogayal a bit differently add chana dal instead of toor and also add green chilli.I love it with idlis especially and hot rice.I love your mouthwatering pic.:P
YUMMY!! Great to see these traditional dishes, A! 🙂
I didn’t know what a mulagootal is, even though I’ve had it many times. I am loving this combo! BTW, isn’t funny that mulagootal doesn’t have any “mulaku” (chili) in it? Or did the name come from somewhere else?
I just love molagootal made with anything, and thogayal too! Both are my favourites, and they look good here!
i love anything with coconut. nice recipe
molagootal and thogayal is one of my comfort foods. But with beans, I hvn’t tried yet. Your pic is tempting enough to give a try.
i’ve hd cabbage molagootal – i think its a cousin of the malayali mulagoshyam- are u familiar with that? there are two versions one with ground coconut jeeragam and another with just velichenna. and yet another version from palakkad a varathu arachcha mulagoshyam! anyway curry looks lovely and will addit on my menu – and so too the thovayal.
I’ve had this earlier – I would probably add a bit of packaged coconut milk for the taste, though it mayn’t give the texture 😉
Wish i had this Mulagootal with plain rice.Look so yumm.I have never had them.
Sig,Frankly I have no idea where the name comes from though it does suggest the presence of chillies. I shall check this out when I go back home for the summer!Rajani,Yes, we do make mulagushyam too, the type without the coconut. Its on my blog.But I’m hearing of a varatharatcha mulagushyam for the first time. Is it a Namboodiri preparation?Sra,Coconut milk does have its pluses, but it wouldn’t do anything for this dish, unfortunately. 🙂
i dont think its a namboodri preparation cos my achchamma comes from a nair tharavadu. i need to ask my mum cos she makes this specially for my dad on occassion. we kids call it thiruvilwamala mulagoshyam (my dad’sfrom there)
This is so much like the tam-bram Koot, and Kannada Maggige Huli sans the butter milk. The best part, they all taste absolutely yummy
Looks Yum and very traditional..
Rajani,I’ll check back with the elders at home, they probably know of the varatharacha version.I’ll be happy to hear from you about this whenever you get the info. Thanks.Smita,I know this is like the TamBram kootu, but is not as thick as that version. At least the version I had at my sister’s SIL’s place. We also make Kootu which is quite different from mulagootal.True, whatever the version, they tatse very good.
Mollakutal sounds like Kootu and we accompanied with tamarind base gravy too in Tamilian cuisine. Thogayal can be part of Chettinad cuisine so u can send (if u wish to RCI-Chettina)
Pramadhum Aparna. I love molagootal. My sister used to make very good keerai molagootal. Your recipe reminds me of hers. Good job
Aparnathese are completely new things to me.. never heard of or eaten before. thanks for sharing.
Aparna, Mulagootal is new to me, but reading about it had my mouth watering. I will be sure to try it.
They look absolutely mouth watering! I love lentils so thankyou for all of your lentil recipes, they’re great! 🙂
i plan to make this molagootal soon – with some other veggie – ‘cos it looks so yum.
we make this molagootal too, we call is thovve, I love it with ridge gourd, this is what Iam gonna have for lunch today
one of my new years resolution is to make more indian food. you may just be the website that shows me the way. The Parippu Thogayal looks unbelievable.
Welcome to my kitche.I certainly hope I can help you keep to this particular New Year’s resolution.:)