Geetha's Kitchen

Gothsu or Gojju is an intense, spicy, sweet and sour saucy dish traditionally eaten with Pongal or VenPongal . It is great to eat with rice and vegetables, snacks such as Dosa, etc. Generally it is made with any type of sweet flavored winter squashes, eggplant, etc. Gothsu would be considered as a "kozhambu" or saucy curry category of food in the South Indian culinary repertoire. Here is one version of gothsu. Ingredients: 1/2 small Kabocha or Butternut squash 1 small Onion(Optional) 1 Jalapeño or Serrano chili (Optional) 2 tsp Tamarind concentrate 1/2 tsp Turmeric 2 tsp Sambar Powder 2 Tbsp Indian Jaggery or Brown sugar (Optional) 1 tsp Salt or to taste 2 to 4 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro Tadka/Thalippu: 1 Tbsp oil 1/2 tsp Brown Mustard Seeds 1/8 tsp whole Fenugreek seeds (Optional) 1 or 2 Dry Whole Red Chilies 1 big pinch Asafoetida (Hing) 1 sprig Fresh Curry Leaves Method: Wash the squash thoroughly and wipe dry. Cutting the Kabocha Squash is a little tricky. Place the squash...

Mung dal cooks up so luxuriously velvety, one has to experience it! Mung Dal used here is skinless and split, is a lovely yellow color, and cooks very quickly in about 20 minutes compared to regular split peas (they are good too) which can take as much as an hour or more to reach creaminess. I make this soup often for family and friends who just can't get enough of it! It is full of the goodness of squash and carrots and redolent with the fragrant spices. The only problem was that our family did not care for the veggies that become mushy when cooked. Pureed veggies were alright at first but kind of boring and pasty without the texture. So one day I had the grand inspiration to grate the veggies for the soup! It was absolutely amazing; the veggies cooked very fast and and enriched the soup beyond imagination:)! Although the grated veggies practically vanished, they still retained their texture and worked their flavor magic too. The soup was wonderfully creamy and fragrant ...