Vallarai Keerai Kootu

      Brain Brahma or Saraswati Leaves. This recipe is a Rice Paste Recipe which can be used as an additional rice-serving (ie in addition to sambar rice, rasam rice etc) in a multi course lunch on happy occasions.

 Ingredients:

Thuvar Dal / Thoor Dal	½ cup
Vallarai Keerai	2 handful
Small Onion	10
Red Chilly	1
Cummin Seeds / Seeragam	1 tesp
Asafoetida	¼ tesp
Salt	To taste
To Temper
Ghee	1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds	¼ tesp
Urad Dal	¼ tesp
Red Chilly	1
Curry Leaves	1 spring

Procedure:

1. Wash and pressure cook the thuvar dal with onion, red chilly, cumin seeds, asafoedita and little water.

2. After the pressure has gone, mash the dal with blender.

2. Boil ½ cup of water and put the vallarai keerai. Use the ladle and immerse the leaves into water. Switch off the flame after a minute.

3. Remove the leaves from the water and allow it to cool down.

4. Grind the leaves into fine paste using the water with cooked leaves.

5. Now mix the dal-paste and leaves-paste together. Add enough salt and mix them well.

6. Heat this mixture for a minute. Then heat the ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilly and curry leaves. Temper this with dal-leaves mixture.

                            Serve this with hot rice.