Mixed Vegetable Kurma

I have tried mixed vegetable kurma only few times. I love the flavors loaded in it. It is a rich side dish which can be paired with roti, poori or any mild pulao variety. The no.of ingredients is more but the preparation is quite simple and the dish tastes delicious.

Mixed Vegetable Kurma Recipe

Serves  :  4 - 5 people

Ingredients

• Carrot  - 3 big
• Beans  -  12
• Peas(Fresh or frozen)  -  1/4 cup
• Onion  -  1 medium sized
• Cumin seeds  -  2 tsp
• Bay leaf  -  2
• Curry leaves  -  a sprig
• Turmeric powder  -  1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder  -  1 tsp
• Coriander leaves  -  little, for garnishing
• Salt  -  as required
• Water  -  as required
• Oil   -  3 tbsp

To grind

• Tomato  -  2 medium sized
• Ginger  -  a small piece
• Garlic  -  4 big pods or 8 small pods
• Coconut  -  4 tbsp
• Fried gram dal(pottu kadalai)  -  2 tbsp
• Khus Khus  -  1/2 tsp
• Cashew nuts  -  5
• Green chilly  -  3
• Fennel seeds  -  1 tsp
• Cloves  -  4

Method

• Wash and cut the vegetables into fine pieces. 
• Roughly chop the tomatoes. Roughly chop the garlic and ginger pieces too. Grind them along with the other items given under "To grind" to a fine paste using required water.
• In a pressure cooker, add oil and once heated add cumin seeds and bay leaf.
• Once cumin seeds crackle, add the onions and curry leaves. 
• Once onions turn transparent, add the ground masala paste and mix well. 
• Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt and saute till the raw smell leaves( roughly for 3 to 4 minutes). Ensure to continuously saute the masala paste in medium flame till the raw smell leaves, as otherwise it will be burnt at the bottom and the taste of the dish will be completely spoilt.
• Add the chopped vegetables and mix well.
• Add water as required(I added around 2.5 cups of water). Check for salt and add if required.
• Once the gravy starts to boil, add coriander leaves, close the cooker and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
• Once pressure is released, mix well and garnish with coriander leaves, if you prefer.
• Serve hot with any mild pulao or roti varieties.
• I served with poori and also with aapam and it tasted great with both.

Notes

• Other vegetables which can be used - cauliflower and potato.
• I have tried making kurma with and without khus khus. Tastes great both ways. So even if you do not have khus khus, you can still proceed with the other ingredients.
• You can grind tomato along with the other ingredients like how I did or even chop into fine pieces and saute while preparing the gravy after onions are fried.
• To get the correct consistency of the gravy, water should be just enough to cook the vegetables and the gravy. 
• Fried gram dal is used to thicken the gravy and cashew nuts serve both as a thickening agent and provides richness to the dish.
• You can even include other masala items like cardamom, cinnamon, garam masala powder.