Kootu is a Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 word means 'add' i.e. vegetable added with lentils which form the dish, made of vegetable and lentils and are semi-solid in consistency, i.e., less aqueous than sambhar, but more so than dry curries. Virundhu Sappadu (Typical Tamil feast) comes with the combo of boiled rice ('Choru' in Tamil), sambar

Sambar

Sambar may refer to:*Sambar , a kind of deer*Sambar , a lentil-based dish common in South India and Sri Lanka*Sambhar, Rajasthan, a city and a municipality in Rajasthan, India**Sambhar Salt Lake, a lake in Rajasthan...

, rasam

Rasam

Rasam is a South Indian soup. Traditional preparation involves tamarind juice as base in addition to tomato, chili pepper and other spices as seasonings. Steamed lentils are added by some along with any preferred vegetables. Nowadays all the seasonings required are combined and ground beforehand...

, curd

Curd

Curds are a dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then draining off the liquid portion. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins to tangle into solid masses, or curds. The remaining liquid, which contains only...

, poriyal

Poriyal

Poriyal is the Tamil word for fried or sometimes saute'd vegetable dish. The kannada word for the same dish is Palya. It is usually made by shallow frying shredded or diced vegetables along with spices...

, kootu, appalam, pickle and banana. All kootus by default have some vegetables and lentils, but many variations of kootu exist:

• Poricha Kootu: A kootu made with urid dhal and pepper is called poricha (means 'fried' in Tamil
  Tamil language
  Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
  
  ) kootu. Fried urid dhal, pepper and fresh coconut are ground together. The moong dhal and the cut vegetables are cooked separately. Then, the ground paste, cooked vegetable and moong dhal are mixed together and heated. Vegetables such as beans and snake gourd are common ingredients in this kootu.

• Araichivita Kootu: A kootu which has a ground (freshly powdered) masala in it; the word araichivita in Tamil
  Tamil language
  Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
  
  literally translates to 'the one which has been ground and poured.' The ground paste is a mixture of fried urid dhal, gram dhal, dhaniya (coriander seeds) and coconut. The chopped vegetables and the toor dhal are cooked separately. Then, the ground paste, cooked vegetable and dhal are heated together.

• Many other regional variations exist.