Vegetable kuruma
Documenting yet another recipe of MILs – kuruma. Where we live, we don’t get poppy seeds and poppy seeds are very essential in a kuruma. Yet, the alternatives she uses hasn’t compromised on the taste. I can have this kuruma with any god damn thing – Chapathi, Parotta, Poori, Idiyappam, Appam and even rice. I never tried mixing Rice & Kuruma till the time I met Hari (through him, his lunch box :)). Hari used to get rice & kuruma for lunch at least 2 weeks once and I used to love it. That combo kinda stuck to me till date. The most famous combo though I guess is easily Parotta & Kuruma which is served in most south indian hotels. Both D & my bro Prak love this. Almost always, when we go to a south indian restaurant, they will have this paru/kuru combo. Anywho, genuinely happy I got to document this. Only problem I realise when I document MILs food is that, she somehow makes food for 8 people when there are only 4 adults in the house :). And on days when she makes delicacies like this (Yes, I would like to think of this as a delicacy), there are those 4 invisible people that do exist in my house :D. Anywho, the main part of this kuruma is the time it takes for cutting veggies. Having said that, I realise that is probably the biggest part of any cooking activity :). Try this and am sure you will fall in love with it, that is of course if you are a kuruma fan.
- 3 nos bay leaf
- 4 nos cloves
- 3 sticks cinnamon 1 inch each
- 2 nos slit green chillis slit them long
- few curry leaves
- 4 big onions
- 15 pods garlic
- 2 tbsp refined oil
- 2 nos bay leaf
- 4 nos cloves
- 2 nos cinnamon stick 1 inch each
- 1 no star anise optional
- 1 no black/ big cardamom
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds We used 10 cashew + 1 tbsp of raw rice instead
- 3 nos green chillis
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup beans
- 1 big carrot
- 4 nos potatoes
- 1 medium cauliflower
- 1.5 cups frozen peas
- 2 cups cabbage
-
In a pan/ kadai, heat some oil & add the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon - saute for a minute.
-
Add the garlic & green chillies. Saute till the garlic starts to brown.
-
Add the diced onion, some curry leaves at this point and saute till it becomes translucent. Turn off the heat.
-
In a small pan, add cloves, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, star anise & cardamom (mentioned under Masala - to dry roast & grind section).
-
Roast till they start to release their flavours (roughly about 3-4 minutes on low flame). Turn off the heat and set it aside to cool.
-
Transfer to a blender. To this add, poppy seeds (or raw rice & cashew nuts), green chillies, coconut & 1 tbsp of the sauteed onions.
-
Blend everything to a smooth puree by adding 1/4 cup water. Set it aside.
-
In a broad vessel, add the chopped cabbage, beans & peas, salt & a bit of water and let it cook for 7-10 minutes. Cover the vessel with a lid.
-
Meanwhile, par boil cubed potatoes & cauliflower in a microwave.
-
Once the veggies are cooked to about 60-70%, add the par boiled potatoes & cauliflower.
-
Let the whole mixture cook for another few minutes.
-
Throw in the sauteed onions (along with the spices) and the pureed masala. Combine well. Check for salt at this stage.
-
Turn off the heat after a few minutes. Serve this kuruma hot!
Alternate way
If you are looking to avoid a number of vessels and to make this kuruma process quicker, do the following -
- In a broad pan/ kadai, saute the Masalas & Onion (Onion & Masalas - To saute section).
- Once the onions are sauteed, add all the veggies (no par boiling required for potatoes & cauliflower). Add 1/4 cup water, some salt, cover the pan with a lid and let the mixture cook for 12-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile on the side, dry roast the ingredients under the 'Masalas - To dry roast & grind'.
- Once dry roasted, transfer to a blender (let it cool down a bit), add coconut, poppy seeds, some water and blitz to a smooth puree.
- By this time, check on the veggies. When they are done, add the ground puree and mix well. Check and adjust for salt.
- Turn off the heat after a few minutes. Serve hot :).
I am quite sure that this way the taste doesn't get compromised & I am going to save your time & no of vessels :). Sorry Amma, just don't know how you take all the pains to do what you do and the way you do :).
Stepwise pictures
In a pan/ kadai, add some oil and once heated, add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon stick and saute till they start to release their flavours.
Throw in the chopped green chillies & garlic at this point and saute.
Throw in the chopped onions & some curry leaves – saute till they become translucent. Turn off the heat. Take a tbsp of onion and reserve for grinding.
In a blender/ grinder, add the dry roasted masalas (dry roasting process not shown in pictures).
Also add the coconut, poppy seeds (or rice and cashew nuts), onions. Grind till smooth. Add some water during the grinding process. Set this masala aside.s
Bringing the kuruma together
The initial 3 pictures are just veggies pictures – couldn’t get them all in 1 frame. These are a mix of cabbage, beans & carrots – the cabbages are roughly chopped & the beans & carrots sliced thin and long.
This is 1 full head medium size cauliflower cut into florets and par boiled.
Onions – diced thin and long. Garlic pods – 15 of them. What’s missing are the green chillies (slit) & potatoes (cubed & par boiled).
In a broad vessel, steam the cabbage, beans & carrots with some salt and water. Cover the lid. This should take about 7-10 minutes.
Parboil cauliflower & potatoes. Add to this mixture once the other veggies are cooked to about 60-70%.
.
Now, add the fried onions (along with the spices) and the ground masala into the vessel containing the veggies. Cook for a few minutes. Turn off the heat.
Vegetable kuruma packed with flavours ready to served with parottas, idiyappam or even rice :). Enjoy it fresh & hot!
