Vegetable Kurma

I’m making the post a week late. Like I mentioned in my previous post this recipe was part of our New Year get- together. But last week was hectic…I had lot of small errands to do and that kept me outside the house the whole day. So my post suffered. I would come back home tired only to drop dead on the bed….snore snore.. I was already asleep.

Coming back to my mix vegetable kurma , it came out well .My mom had taken my son Aniket to the park. By the time they came back home the dish was ready. The flavours of cardamom and cinnamon and other ingredients wafted into the air and filled the house. Just then my mom entered the house and she exclaimed….mmmmmmmm nice……Aniket had a small twinkle in his eye. Hey what was his momma cooking?

It made a good combo paired with the ghee rice .We all love it. My mother’s friend even took down the recipe because she had made it in a different way earlier but loved my recipe too. I wanted my vegetable kurma to taste like the one in Vrindavan- an eatery near my house. I had tasted em with some pooris once ….So I browsed and browsed the net for the perfect recipe , combined a few till I thought I would be able to make its poor cousin. But to my surprise it tasted just the same…Vrindavan style……

Vegetable kurma is a lovely side dish- It is a stew which can be made with yogurt cream, nut and seed pastes or coconut milk and  has its roots traced to  Mughalai cuisine…Can be served with chapathis, naan, palappams or even mixed rice. Since it contains a mixture of many vegetables it is healthy too. No wonder it is a quick refuge many housewifes turn to. Why wouldn’t they? Isn’t it healthy, tasty and even easy to make.

Ingredients

Onions-11/2 medium

Green chilli-3-4

Ginger garlic paste- ½ tsp

Mixed vegetables-1-11/2 cup(carrots,beans,cauliflower,potatoes and peas)

Milk-1/4 cup

Yogurt-2 tbsp

Coriander powder-11/2-2 tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2-14 tsp

Fennel-1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Bay leaf-1

Black stone flower-1

Curry leaves- few

Oil-3 tsp

Ghee-1 tsp

Redchilli powder-1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder-a pinch

To Grind

Cloves – 2 nos

Cinnamon stick – 2 (small)

Cardamom – 1 no

Cashew – 2 nos or more

Poppy seeds – 2tsp

Roasted Channa dhal – 2 tsp

Green chili – 1 no

Coconut – 5 tbsp (grated )

Cumin seeds-a pinch  

Fennel seeds-a pinch

Method

Cook the vegetables.

Grind the ingredients listed under the heading grind.

In a pan, heat the oil and ghee together. When hot, add bay leaf, curry leaves, stone flower, and cumin and fennel seeds.

Add chopped onions and green chilli. Saute till onions become golden brown.

Add ginger garlic paste.Fry till raw smell leaves.

Add coriander powder, red chilli and turmeric powder. Fry.

Add vegetables. Pour water and let it bubble.

Add yogurt, ground paste and salt. Simmer and boil for 3 min.

Add milk and bring to boil. Give a good stir.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Notes:

You can add ½ tsp cumin and ¼ tsp fennel seeds to the items to be ground instead of frying it and then add it after the vegetables

Instead of cooking the vegetables separately, you can add it with a cup of water directly, simmer and boil it for some time with closed lid and then proceed with the rest of the process.

Usually we donot not add red chilli powder and turmeric to vegetable kurma .You can omit it if you prefer so.