A software Engineer by profession, now a home-maker by choice, I devote my time mostly to creative activities and learning new things. The result of which are my blogs Curries and Spices and Demystifying Beauty. Apart from this, I also learn Deutsch (German) to keep myself busy and integrated into this new culture.
As a child, food was something I never gave importance to. I ate so that I can live. But growing old teaches us a lot of things, doesn’t it? Now on any given day I have given a major part of my time to plan for what to cook. Now I live to eat (a little exaggerated, but true!)
Like every Indian family, my culinary skills are purely inherited from my mom and grandmom. After marriage, I have learnt a good deal of cooking from my MIL too. So to me, my mom, MIL and my grandmom are the greatest cooks in this world.
Today I have all the reasons to be excited, because this is my first guest post. I have been in Blog hibernation for sometime now due to health reasons. But I do hope I’ll be back to blogging soon, so this guest post might as well be the ice-breaker.
Coming to the recipe, being a Guest post, I knew that the recipe can’t be intimidatingly complex, at the time it should be something special. So this was the only recipe that came to my mind. This is one of my mom’s signature recipes with little changes that only enhance the taste and flavor. Over to our recipe!
Vegetable Kurma (For Rotis)
What we need:
2 cups of Mixed vegetables
(I normally use Cubed Potatoes, Peas, Diced Carrot, Cauliflower florets, Cut Beans. Don’t mind if one ore two of these are missing, you can increase the portion of other veggies)
1 cup of a special vegetable
(This vegetable can be Lauki (Bottle Gourd/Dhoodi/Sorakai) or Chayote (Chow chow) or Squash or Pumpkin) and it acts as the flavor enhancer. So please don’t omit this one. I read this tip in a blog, but can’t remember where 
Onion – 1, medium sized, sliced
Green chillies – 2 to 3, slit vertically
Garlic – 2 to 3 pods, slivered
Salt - to taste
Turmeric powder – a pinch (Optional)
Water – as needed
Oil – 3 tbsp
Curry leaves – a few
Coriander, chopped – a tbsp
To Grind:
Coconut (fresh/frozen) – 3 tbsp
Roasted gram/Dhalia – 2 tbsp
Cinnamom – 1 small piece
Cloves – 2 to 3
Cumin (Jeera) – 1 tbsp
How to do:
1. Make a smooth paste of the ingredients under ‘To Grind’ with little water.
2. Heat oil in a kadai, and add the sliced onions, garlic and green chillies. Add salt, (turmeric powder, if you are using) and fry.
3. When the onions start to turn pink, add all the vegetables along with a cup of water. Cover with a lid and let them cook on medium-high for 10 to 15 minutes or until done.
Alternatively, you can also cook them in a microwave before hand and add.
4. Once the vegetables are tender, add the ground coconut paste and give a good mix.
5. Let the gravy come to a boil, check the seasoning and remove from flame.
Garnish with curry leaves and coriander and Serve with Rotis.
