Chakotha Masiyal | Keerai Masiyal Recipe

Vegan Chakotha Masiyal Recipe

Chakotha Masiyal is a mildly spiced, super nutritious mashed greens recipe from Tamil Nadu.

Whole Food Plant Based Chakotha Masiyal Recipe

Course: Course 2: Vegetable Dish / Side dish for Course 3 (Grain Dishes) at Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Satwik Tamil Recipe from South India
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 people

INGREDIENTS

1. 2 cups or 1 bunch Chakotha leaves

Kootu Masala

1. 1/4 cup Coconut Grated
2. 1 tsp Urad Dal / Black Gram Dal / Ulutham Paruppu / Uddina Bele
3. 1 tsp Pepper Powder
4. 1/2 tsp Tumeric Powder
5. 2 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Replacement. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)
6. 1 Lemon
7. 10 Curry Leaves
8. 1 tsp Mustard Seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Kootu Podi Masala

1. Dry roast urad dal until light brown. Do not allow to darken or burn. Remove from stove and keep aside.
2. Dry roast mustard until it begins sputtering. As soon as it starts sputtering, switch off stove and transfer to a cup.
3. Grind all masala ingredients (except mustard seeds) into a paste, then mix mustard seeds into it.

How to make Chakotha Masiyal

1. Separate chakotha leaves from stems. Chop chakotha leaves into long, thin slices. Cook in a thick bottomed vessel or kadai with a few tsp of water, with closed lid. Stir from time to time and add water if required. While this is cooking, you can prepare the kootu masala as outlined above.
2. Once chakotha greens are fully cooked, switch off stove and use a wooden or metal masher to mash the greens well.
3. Mix in kootu podi masala. Garnish with curry leaves. Serve fresh!

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Chakotha Masiyal Recipe

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why not tadka? Tadka, thaaLippu, oggaraNe. Tempering spices in oil is quintessential to Indian cuisine. This practice may have started as a compromise when whole nuts were unavailable, and indeed, is more common in inland, drier areas where nuts do not grow easily, all year round. You can enjoy the taste and fragrance, though, by just dry roasting the spices you require, without the oil, or even better, mixing spice powders directly into your dish!