88) VEGETABLE KURMA

VEGETABLE KURMA

A MILD TASTY CURRY WHICH GOES

 WELL WITH POROTTAS, CHAPPATIS,

 VELLAPPAMS & BATURAS

Ingredients:

1)    Small fresh coconut – 1

2)    Medium hot green chilies – 3

3)    Tender ginger – 1 inch piece

4)    Garlic – 5 cloves

5)    Cumin seeds – ¼ teaspoon

6)    Garam masala powder – ¼ teaspoon

7)    Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

8)    Potato – 200 gm.

9)    Carrot – 100 gm.

10)                      Onion – 100 gm.

11)                      Tomato – 100 gm.

12)                      Beans – 100 gm.

13)                      Salt – 1¼ teaspoons

14)                      Coriander leaves of 1 small plant

15)                      Tender curry leaves – 2 sprigs

16)                      Coconut oil – 2 teaspoons

17)                      Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

To Cook:

Grate the coconut. Peel the ginger, the garlic, the potato, the carrot and the onion. Remove the tips and the fibrous strings of the beans. Dice all the vegetables but keep the tomatoes separately.

Put the diced potato, the carrot, the onion and the beans in a pressure cooker. Pour enough water to cover the pieces. Put on the lid and set on the stove. As soon as you hear the first whistle, turn down the heat to minimum and cook for 3 minutes. Switch off the heat and allow to cool naturally so that the cooking process continues until all the steam is gone.

Put the grated coconut, the green chilies, the tender ginger, the garlic cloves and the cumin seeds into a food processor. Pour in 150 ml. of water and grind to very fine paste.

Set a vessel on the stove to make the curry. Tip in the cooked vegetables. Add the salt and the turmeric powder. When it comes to a boil, put in the curry paste. Add a little water if necessary. Chuck in the diced tomatoes. As soon as it boils nicely again, put in the garam masala powder and the coriander leaves. Stir once, switch off the heat and cover with a lid.

Set a small pan on low heat. Pour in the coconut oil. Throw in the mustard seeds. When they are about to finish crackling, pull out the curry leaves from their sprigs and put them in the pan. Switch off the heat and garnish the curry with the contents of the pan.

Note:

You can prepare kurma in different colours and tastes. If you omit the turmeric powder, you get white kurma. If you include 100 gm. of beetroot, you get beautiful pink kurma. If you omit the green chilies from the curry paste and substitute them with 5 to 6 dry red chilies, you will get orange kurma. You can also change the vegetables by omitting a few and including cauliflower, green peas, cow peas, rajma (red beans seeds), etc. Each vegetable will give you a different flavor.

Moreover, you can make meat kurma, fish kurma, mushroom kurma, paneer (Indian cottage cheese) kurma or boiled egg kurma using the same curry paste.

This wonderful kurma recipe gives you not just one curry, but tens of different curries. Do cook and enjoy!!!