Vegetable Kuruma - Kaikari Kuruma

Ingredients:

White Onion - Vellai Vengayam - 1 no. (Medium size)

Tomatoes - Thakkali - 2 nos. (Medium size)

Ginger - Inji - small quantity

Garlic - Poondu - small quantity

Grated coconut - Thengai - Small quantity

Green chillies - Pachai millagai - 3 nos

Red chilli powder - Milagai thul - 3/4 spoon

Poppy seeds - Kasakasa - small quantity

Turmeric - Manjal - small quantity

Carrot - carrot - 1 no.

Beans - beans - 1 no.

Potatoes - Urulai kizhangu - 1 no.

Cauli flower - kosapu - small size

Green Peas - Pachai pattani - 2 spoons

Mint leaves - Pudhina - small quantity

Corriander leaves - Kothamalli - small quantity

Salt - Uppu to taste

Oil - Ennai - 1 spoon

Cinnamon - Pattai - 1 piece

Cloves -Lavangam - 2 nos.

Cardamom - Yelakkai - 1 no.

Cashew nuts - Munthiri paruppu - 3 nos.

Bay leaf - Birinji ilai - 1 no.

Method:

1. Cut onion, tomatoe, carrot, beans, potatoe after washing and peeling off the skin and keep ready in a plate.
2. Put cauliflower and green peas in hot water (Water should be boiled for around 10 minutes).
3. Grind ginger and garlic and make it to a paste and transfer to a small cup.
4. Grind grated coconut, poppy seeds (this should be soaked in water for atleast 5 minutes), cashew nuts and green chillies and a little corriander leaves and transfer to a small cup.
5. Boil all the vegetables for around 15 minutes and keep ready (Add a little salt to vegetables while keeping in pressure cooker).
6. Heat oil in a pan till it becomes hot, then add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, ginger garlic paste, onion followed by tomatoes and then all the vegetables including mint leaves, boil it for some 10 minutes, add turmeric, red chilli powder, salt to taste and finally coconut and other ingredients that were grinded, boil for 2 minutes, add corriander leaves to decorate

Vegetable kuruma is delicious and ready to be served. It will be good with idlis, dosa, chappathi, paratha, poori and white rice. It can be served for 4 people. Requires some 25 minutes to cook.

Note: After adding coconut, kuruma shouldn't be boiled for more than 4 minutes. Beans requires more time to get cooked than other vegetables, hence it is preferable to boil beans separately, cauliflower and green peas separately, carrot and potatoes separately. Always wash the vegetables and then chop into pieces (except cauli flower) so that the strength in the vegetables is not lost.

Optional: Paneer can be added if required. Bay leaf can be added while heating oil, masala ingredients like cinamon, cloves and cardamom can be grinded to a paste instead of adding as a whole to kuruma.

Kissing don't last: cookery do.

George Meredith