Navarathna kuruma

I am going to take rest. It is very much needed now, don't know when it is possible to visit you all. I have few recipes in draft. If my mom allows me, I will post them when I get time..
Like all moms she might say, it is the computer that makes all your problems..don't sit much in front of it... :)
A lovely reader of mine , Dhanya had asked the recipe for Navaratna kurma(I hope you will love this). Actually I don't know what is meant by this "nava rathna" or "nine gems" here. Some says it is nine ingredients or nine kinds of vegetables used for cooking.
Whatever it may be, we all loved this kurma very much.
My brother is a born vegetarian and he started cooking to survive among his carnivore friends.I heard he cooks kurumas very well, instead of using coconut he used much cashews to thicken the gravy. Once I tasted his chana preparation, which was really tasty, I took 3/4 of the dish even without a piece of roti.. :) I think he too got my mom's "kaippunyam"...



Ingredients
Potato 1
carrot 1
cauliflower florets 1 cup
green peas cooked 1 cup
onion 1
tomato 1
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
coriander powder 2 tsp
chilli powder 1/2 tsp
coriander leaves
salt
oil

Grind to a paste,
garlic cloves 5 small
ginger 1 " pieces
green chilly 1 or 2

Blend together,
coconut grated 1 cup
cashew nuts 6
black pepper corns 1/2 tsp
cardomam 2
cloves 2
cinnamon 1 " piece
cumin seeds 1/4 tsp



How to prepare,
Cook all the vegetables and keep aside.(Use vegetables you like).
Heat oil in a pan. Saute chopped onions as usual until transparent.
Saute chopped tomatoes and ground paste for few seconds until the raw smell disappears.
Add powders, cooked vegetables, peas, coriander leaves and stir well for few seconds. Add blended paste and enough salt.
Cook it on a low flame until oil floats on top.
You can use lime juice or curd instead of tomato.
Add ghee roasted paneer cubes and cashews and raisins to the dish. Some adds cream too.
You can make navrathna kurma with fruits like apple and pineapple etc. I don't have the recipe for that and haven't tried it yet. So please any one tried it let me know how it tastes.. :)

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Vegetable Samosa

Ingredients
Potato 1 boiled and peeled
green peas cooked 3/4 cup
cauliflower florets 1 cup cooked carrots chopped 1 Tbsp
onions 2 chopped
ginger 1/2 " piece chopped
green chillies chopped 2
curry leaves and coriander leaves few chopped
fennel seeds / perumjeerakam powder 2 pinches
cumin seeds / jeerakam powder 2 pinches optional
garam masala 1/2 tsp
pepper powder 1/4 tsp
chilli powder 1/2 tsp
coriander powder 1 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
salt
oil



Method
Heat oil saute chopped onions. When transparent add chopped ginger and green chillies. Saute for a while. Add chopped cauliflower , carrots and saute. Break potato (don't mash it like we do for cutlets) and add it to this along with green peas. Stir after adding all the powders and curry leaves and coriander leaves too. Add salt too.



For making dough,
Samosa dough is always prepared using maida and baking powder. I wouldn't use much of maida for cooking except for making cake. So I make dough using a mixture of atta and maida.You can take the equal amounts of maida and atta for this. Or use it as you desired. Add ghee or oil while kneading the dough. Fill the mixture in the samosa cones as you see in the above picture and deep fry them. Serve with hot chilly or garlic tomato ketchup or some green chutneys..!

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Puri and Mixed Vegetable Curry

Puri
wheat powder 2 cups
water 3/4 cup or enough to make dough
oil little
salt

Mix them together and make a dough. Make small balls and prepare circles using a chappathi press or roll on a wooden board. Deep fry them. If you do not know how to make puri, check the links here.



Mixed vegetable curry
carrot 1 chopped
cauliflower florets 1/2 cup
cooked green peas 1 cup
beans chopped 1/2 cup
potato 1 chopped
green chilly 2 chopped
onion 1 chopped
tomato 1 chopped
garlic and ginger paste 2 tea spoons
garam masala 1/2 tea spoon
Meat masala powder(I use Eastern) 2 teaspoons
turmeric powder 1/2 tea spoon
red chilly powder or pepper powder 1 tea spoon
coriander powder 2 tea spoons
curry leaves few
coriander leaves chopped few
cumin seeds 1 pinch
mustard seeds
oil
salt

Cook all the vegetables with enough water, turmeric powder and salt.

Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Saute onion. When transparent, add ginger garlic paste and saute for few moments. Add tomato,all the powders and salt. Then add curry leaves, coriander leaves and all the cooked vegetables. Sprinkle garam masala and meat masala and mix well. Cook on a low flame until the curry gets enough thickness.

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Vegetable Biryani Kerala Style

Ingredients
Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cups
Carrot - 1 no
Cauliflower - 1/2 of one
Green peas - 1/2 cup
Beans - 1/2 cup(finely choppped)
Onion(medium) - 4 nos(finely chopped)
Tomato(medium) - 3 nos(finely chopped)
Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Ginger paste - 1 tbspGreen chillies - 2 nos
Garam masala - 1/2 tbsp
Yoghurt - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves - 1 cup
Mint leaves(Pudhina) - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Lime juice - 2 tsp
Salt - As reqd.

How to prepare
1)Steam the vegetables and cook green peas.
2)Fry onion in the ghee.
3)When it turns golden brown, put garlic-ginger-green chilly paste and fry for 2 mins.
4)Add tomato, garam masala, salt, coriander leaves and mint leaves.
5)Cook for a few minutes.
6)Add yoghurt.
7)Put cooked veg in this masala.

For rice
8)Boil water in another vessel.
9)Add enough salt, a pinch of turmeric powder, 1 cardamom crushed, 2 small pieces of clove, 2 cinnamons, and 1 spoon ghee in this.
10)Cook rice until it is done and drain. :- Take care the rice not to be sticky.
11)Heat a little ghee in a pan or a kadai.
12)Put a little of cooked rice and spread 1 tsp limejuice over it.
13)Put one layer of the veg masala above that and repeat the process till the rice and masala are over.
14)Close the lid tightly and heat on a low flame for about 10 mins.
15)Mix before serve. :- Serve with yoghurt mixed with chopped onion and tomato, and pudina chammanthi or pickle.

This biriyani is easy to prepare. There are many other ways to cook biriyani. Will explain them later.

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Green Peas Masala

This curry goes well with chapathi,puttu,dosa, porotta etc.
Ingredients
Green peas - 1 cup(cooked or one tin)
Garlic-ginger paste - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 no Tomato - 1 no
Curry leaves - A few
Coriander leaves - A few
Green chillies - 2 nos
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
Thick coconut milk - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - As reqd
Oil

Method

1)Heat oil in a pan or a kadai.

2)Splutter mustard seeds.

3)Saute chopped onion till transparent.

4)Add ginger-garlic paste, tomato and green chillies.

5)Add all the powders and stir well.

6)Add green peas, curry leaves, coconut milk and salt. Let it boil.

7)When oil separates, remove from fire.
8)Garnish with coriander leaves.:- Serve with chappathis.

Green peas curry another method
Green peas soaked in water -2 cups

Tomato – 1

Onion – 1

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Chilli powder – ¾ tsp or as desired

Coriander powder – 2 tsp

Garam masala powder – ¼ tsp

Garlic and ginger paste – 1 tsp

Coconut oil – 1 tabsp

Coconut milk thick – 1 cup

Green chilly - 1

Mustard seeds

Salt

Curryleaves

How to cook
Mix all the powders ,salt, garlic and ginger paste, chopped onion, tomato with peas.

Cook till done.

Add thick coconut milk and boil .

Heat oil splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves green chilly and pour into the curry.
See Chana / Chole Masala here.

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