Vegetable Kurma

About 12 years ago, I packed my bags and set out on this journey. I left the comfort and the protection that my parents' home offered and moved to a beach resort. Only, this beach resort had a slightly non-resort like name: Pondicherry University. Well, it was on the beach. You could see the Bay of Bengal from the hostel rooms and balconies. You could even see the beach from our classrooms. I think I hit the beach almost every evening for the two years that I was there. Maybe not the water everyday, but Puru's definitely.

Puru's is the name we gave this shack right opposite the University gate. The owner's name was Purushottam and hence we always called this place "Puru's". This place was famous for tea and parottas. At the time, you could get a cup of tea for Rs. 1.50 and a plate of parottas cost Rs. 6. That plate had not two, but four parottas. Quite a meal. And very easy on the pocket too. Puru's was a life saver. When the hostel seemed a little too far to trudge to for lunch (and one that wasn't exactly worth it) and the cafeteria was too crowded, we landed at Puru's for our meal.

This kurma isn't exactly how Puru made it. I wasn't into cooking all that much back then, even though we cooked big meals everyday for 2 weeks every semester until the mess opened. So, this is mostly from memory.

2 cups Mixed Vegetables, diced and cooked(I used potatoes, peas, carrots, beans and cauliflower)

2 Tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
Salt to taste

Grind to a paste:

1 Onion, chopped

2 Green Chillies

1" piece Ginger

3-4 pods Garlic

1 tsp Coriander Seeds

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

2-3 tbsp Coconut, scraped

Heat the oil in a pressure pan. Add the fennel seeds and the paste. Fry the paste for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped tomato along with the diced vegetables. Add the salt and about half a cup of water. Pressure cook for a whistle.

My favourite way to eat this vegetable kurma is with parottas. And before you ask, my parottas came from a bag of Sumeru's frozen Malabar Paratha. The other absolute favourite is kurma with idiyappam. I order this almost each time we go out for a meal when I visit Madras. It doesn't come close to food from a beloved shack called Puru's, but in a pinch, it will more than just do. I left the Pondicherry University exactly ten years ago and it has been a while since I last "chilled out" at Puru's. So when I want to take a trip down the memory lane, I make myself a plate of vegetable kurma and prepare to be magically transported to the sandy coconut groves of Pondicherry.

Coconut Chutney Gobhi Matar

This is yet another side dish that celebrates the wonderful combination of cauliflower and peas. These two vegetables are available in plenty during the winter months. I am usually anywhere between 2 and 6 months late in posting recipes. There are exceptions. On some days, I might make a dish and blog about it the same day, or within 24 hours. Sometimes the dishes take about a year to make it to the blog. Some dishes don't ever make it. So, although this dish was made in the peak of winter, I'm talking about it here right in the middle of summer.

1 cup Cauliflower florets, steamed

1 cup Peas, cooked

1 tsp Oil

Salt to taste

To be ground to a paste:

1/4 cup Coconut

1" piece Ginger

2-3 Green Chillies

1/4 cup Coriander Leaves

Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the paste and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the cauliflower, peas and salt. Add a little water. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.

This is very easy to make and is a great side for chapattis. We also enjoy it with hot rice and some dali-saar. One more of Amma's keeper recipes shared with all of you.

Tori Saar Upkari

There are cookbooks and there are cookbooks. And then there are mothers who are treasure troves of recipes. This time around when my parents visited us, I made it a point to specifically ask for some dishes and made note of the recipes. I found that Amma's style of amchi cooking isn't exactly the way Rasachandrika has it. There are minor tweaks here and there. This saar-upkari is a great example.

I've made two kinds of saar-upkari before. This one feels like a saar-upkari with a twist in the tale.

1 cup Pigeon Peas

1 tbsp Coriander Seeds

4 Red Chillies

1 tbsp Tamarind Paste

2 tbsp Coconut

1 tbsp Jaggery

Salt to taste

For the seasoning:

1 tsp Oil

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/4 tsp Asafoetida

7-8 Curry Leaves

For the Upkari:

Cooked Pigeon Peas(from recipe above)

1 tsp Oil

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds

4-5 Curry Leaves

Salt to taste

Pressure cook the pigeon peas with 4-5 cups of water. Drain the liquid into a vessel. Keep the pigeon peas for the upkari.

Grind together about 2 tbsp of cooked pigeon peas with the coconut, coriander seeds, tamarind paste, and red chillies. Add some of this paste to the liquid in the vessel. Add the salt and bring to a boil. In a frying ladle, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and the asafoetida. When the mustard splutters, add the curry leaves. Add this to the saar.

Upkari

In a kadhai, heat the oil. Add the mustard, red chillies and the curry leaves. When the mustard splutters, add the cooked pigeon peas, salt and jaggery and the ground paste. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.

This is my idea of a super sunday!

Mushroom Peas Masala

When mushrooms are in "season", you can always find a packet in my fridge. By season, I mean when a packet costs between Rs. 15 and Rs. 25 for 200g. During the summer months, the price shoots up to Rs. 250 a kilo and I miraculously manage to do without them. Somehow, even when my fridge is full of mushrooms, I rarely think beyond my tried and tested recipes. Soup or pasta is usually where the mushrooms land up. On rare occasions, I make breakfast or a snack using mushrooms. I do have a few Indian recipes that we both enjoy, but somehow I don't always look at a bag of mushrooms and go "Indian".

1 cup Mushrooms, diced

1/2 cup Peas, cooked

1 Onion, chopped finely
1 Tomato, chopped finely
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the onions and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the ginger paste along with the turmeric, coriander and chilli powders. Add the Kitchen King Masala, salt and the tomato and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the peas with about 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.

This dish is ready in very short while and tastes great with chapattis. I am not so sure about rice, but you could give it a shot. With the tang of tomatoes and the sweetness of peas, I'm sending this loaded dish to this month's FIC: Red and Green.

Milk Vegetable Soup

This soup is one of the staples at my parents' place. Since we had soup for dinner almost every night, Amma had to ensure that there was enough variety. What I love about this particular soup is that Amma always put in alphabet pasta. I made this soup minus the pasta as I don't even know where to look for alphabet or soup pasta here. But I've figured that this soup tastes divine even without the pasta. Since I have chopped vegetables in the freezer, this soup comes together in a jiffy.

1 cup Mixed Vegetables, finely chopped (I used carrot, beans and peas)

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 tsp Garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp Chilli flakes

1 tsp Basil

1 tsp Parsley

2 tbsp Alphabet Pasta (optional)

2 tbsp Cheese, grated

1 cup Milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tsp Oil

Heat the oil in a pressure pan. Add the garlic and the onions. Fry for a minute or two. Add the chopped vegetables and pasta, if using, along with the chilli flakes, basil and parsley. Add the salt and fry for a minute. Add about 1 cup of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles (approx. ten minutes).

Add the milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the cheese, season with salt and pepper and enjoy your meal. This soup tastes great with some garlic bread or mushroom melts. I like to have it as it is.

Mixed Fruit Bran Pancakes

I love pancakes, but I'm not sure I could eat them everyday. Not for breakfast at least. 9 out of 10 times, I'd vote for a savoury breakfast. I eat salted oats porridge with a sprinkle of molaga podi, much to the surprise of my colleagues who cannot imagine eating a porridge that isn't sweet. But I like jam on toast and pancakes with syrup as a sweet variation.

1/2 cup Flour

1/2 cup Wheat Flour

1/4 cup Wheat Bran
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 cup Milk
1/4 cup Mixed Dry Fruits
½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Butter
A pinch of Salt
½ tsp Butter for frying

To Serve:
Maple Syrup/Fruit Cocoktail/Fresh Fruit

Beat the egg and then add milk. Gradually add the flour, wheat flour, wheat bran and the baking powder while continuing to blend. Add the sugar, salt, and butter and mix well. Blend in the dry fruit.

Heat the pan and add the butter. Coat the entire pan with the melted butter. Pour a ladleful of the batter onto the pan. Do not spread it with the ladle. Allow the batter to flow and form a circle. Cook for a minute and turn over. Cook on the other side for about half a minute and then transfer to a plate.

Repeat with the remaining batter. Stack the pancakes on a plate and serve hot with maple syrup or fruit cocktail. I had a can of fruit fiesta cocktail that my friend brought for me. The combination of these pancakes and the fruit cocktail was very nice. S had his stack with maple syrup and I'm certain he enjoyed every bite.

Zucchini Tomato Soup

This may not look like the most appetizing of soups. Especially, given the lovely colour of most soups I've made this winter. But since I tried it out and since it was a nice nourishing soup which we really liked, I had to share it with all of you. This is a nice way to use up zucchini after making all those lasagne and stir fries.

2 Zucchinis, diced

4 Tomatoes, chopped

2 Onions, chopped

1 tsp Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Oil

1 tbsp Mixed Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Oregano)

1/4 tsp Nutmeg Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a pressure pan. Add the onions and garlic and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and zucchini and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the herbs and the nutmeg powder. Add 2-3 cups of water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles.

Blend in a liquidizer and pour the contents into a pan. Bring the soup to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Close your eyes and enjoy the soup while it is still hot.