Tag Archives: south indian cuisine

Vegetable Kurma

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Vegetable Kurma

Vegetable Kurma is a very popular south Indian curry. Assorted vegetables are cooked in gravy made with coconut, tomato, onions, and spices. This versatile curry can be served with poori as breakfast, with paratha or rice as lunch/dinner.  I don’t know if the place still exists, but there used to be a small south Indian restaurant called Rau’s near my dad’s shop; I have tasted one of the best kurmas there apart from in my mom’s kitchen ofcourse. There are different variations of this curry. This recipe is my mom’s version of the kurma.

The spices for kurma gravy differ from region to region. I like the flavor of poppy seeds in this curry but unfortunately, poppy seeds are not available in Singapore. Another change you can make is to replace fresh coconut with thick coconut milk to make the gravy creamier. If you want thicker gravy, reduce the amount of water from 2/3 cups to ½ cup. I keep the gravy little runny as I like to eat this curry with plain rice too.

I don’t know the reason but most of the restaurants have the veggies cut in diamond shape for kurma. I usually avoid cauliflower in this curry but if you like cauliflower, do add it. It adds to the flavor of the curry. Some restaurants add mushrooms too. I stick to the veggies I like.

Vegetable Kurma tastes best with hot puris and rava dosa. You can also have it with plain rice, biryani, parathas, or naan.

Vegetable Kurma

Ingredients

Serves 3-4

  • 1 carrot diced
  • 5-6 green beans chopped
  • 1 potato cubed
  • ¼ cup green peas
  • ¼ cup cauliflower florets
  • ¼ cup thick yogurt
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 2/3 cup water
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tp garam masala
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste

For Gravy (To be ground to fine paste)

  • 1 tomato
  • 1 onion
  • 2 green chillies
  • 2 red chillies
  • 5-6 cardamoms
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 1 small piece ginger
  • 2-3 pieces (appx 2 tbsp) coconut
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
  • 2 tsp poppy seeds (khus khus) (optional)

Recipe

Grind all the ingredients for gravy to a smooth paste. If required, you can even pass the paste through a sieve to get a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add curry leaves. Once the leaves pop, add the gravy paste and cook for 2-3 minutes or till the fat separates. Keep mixing every few seconds. Add the turmeric, garam masala, vegetables, salt, and water. Mix well. Close the lid and cook for 2 whistles. Once the pressure is released, open the cooker and let the curry cool down for few minutes. Add the thick yogurt and mix well. Serve hot with puri or rice.

Pesarattu (South Indian Savory Crepes)

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Pesarattu (South Indian Savory Crepes)

What Childaa or Chilva is to Rajasthan and North Indian, Pesarattu is to Andhra Pradesh and South India. It is a crepe or dosa like snack made with split green grams (called Pesar Pappu in Telugu; thus the name Pesarattu).  It is a very filling and healthy breakfast.  It also has a variation called MLA Pesarattu which is made by filling the pesarattu with a layer of upma.

You can make the pesarattus thin and crispy or slightly thicker. To make the pesarattu thicker, keep the batter coarse. The consistency of batter should be like dosa batter. You can add asafetida, garlic, fresh coriander to the batter while grinding it but it is optional.

In North India, it is filled with grated paneer and in south its eaten plain or filled with a layer of upma or chopped onions. You can also add grated carrots to the filling if you like. This tastes best with coconut chutney or garlic chutney.

Pesarattu (South Indian Savory Crepes)

Ingredients

Makes 12-15

  • 1 cup split green gram (moong dal) soaked for 6-8 hours
  • 2 inch piece of ginger
  • 2 green chillies
  • ¼ cup chopped onions
  • ¼ cup grated paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil/ghee/butter for cooking

Recipe

Wash the moong dal and soak in water for 6-8 hours. Drain the water and grind the moong dal, chillies, ginger, and salt to a smooth paste.  Add little water if required. The consistency of the batter should be like of a dosa batter.

Heat a flat griddle (tava). Spray or smear some ghee/oil and wipe it. Pour a ladle full of batter and spread it thin on the griddle. Top it with grated paneer and onions. Spray or drizzle oil/ghee/butter around the pesarattu. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Turnover and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato chutney.

Quick Bisi Bele Bath

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Quick Bisi Bele Bath

Bisibele bath is a dish from Karnataka but also popular in Hyderabad. It’s a spicy and sour mix of rice and lentils.  My mom uses left over rice and dal to make excellent instant bisi bele bath. It’s a quick makeover to the left over dal rice. Just add some mixed vegetables, spices and you have an interesting and delicious breakfast/lunch dish ready.

Hyderabad has numerous restaurants which serve a dish called sambar rice with veggies. This recipe of my mom comes closest to it. My mom uses the khatti dal that we prepare at home. You can use any toor (split pigeon pea) based dal. I haven’t tried this dish with other lentils yet. If you are using a dal which is not sour, add tamarind water while cooking.

You can use any vegetables you like for this dish but I prefer carrots, beans and peas. The main ingredients for this dish are sambar powder and the karampodi. They take this simple dal rice mix to another level. You can add or reduce the karampodi as per your preference of spice in food.  Bisibele bath can be served a breakfast or lunch. It tastes best when it is hot.

Quick Bisi Bele Bath

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds
  • 4-5 dry red chillies
  • ¼ tsp asafetida
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • ¼ cup mixed vegetables chopped (carrot, beans, peas)
  • 1 small tomato chopped
  • ½ tbsp sambar powder
  • 1 tbsp karam podi (gun powder served with idlis or south Indian meals)
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ¼ tsp garam masala
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 1 cup dal (I used the khatti dal my mom prepares at home)
  • 1 tbsp tamarind water (optional)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp coriander
  • Salt to taste

Recipe

Heat oil in a pressure cooker.  Add mustard and cumin seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add dry red chillies, asafetida, and curry leaves.

Add onions and vegetables and sauté for 1-2 mins. Add tomatoes and cook for 30-40 seconds. Add sambar powder, karam podi, red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and salt. Mix well. Add dal and 1 cup water.  Close the cooker and cook till the pressure is released once (one whistle). Switch off the gas after one whistle. Once the cooker is cooled, open and add rice and mix well. Close the cooker again and cook on slow flame till you get two more whistles. Open the cooker once it is cooled completely. Add chopped coriander and serve hot with papad and lime pickle.

Tomato Garlic Chutney

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Tomato Garlic Chutney

Chutneys are an important part of south Indian cuisine. There are different varieties of chutneys in a typical south Indian meal. This tomato chutney is instant side dish made of tomatoes, garlic, onions with a dominating flavor of coriander seeds. I learnt this recipe in Bangalore and this is a true savior when you want to add that extra zing to your boring dal rice meals.

This chutney tastes well with the sour Indian tomatoes. If the tomatoes you are using are not too sour, you can add lime juice as per taste. Cook this chutney of slow flame throughout and keep mixing in between. Coriander powder tends to burn soon so it’s important to keep the flame low. This chutney tastes well with hot rice and a generous dollop of ghee. This goes well with hot puris too.

Tomato Garlic Chutney

 Ingredients

  • 4 red tomatoes
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 tbsp coriander powder
  • 1tbsp red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 10-12 curry leaves

Recipes

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add curry leaves and dry red chillies. Add garlic and let it brown. Add onions and fry for 1-2 mins till they are translucent. Add the coriander powder and sauté for 1-2 mins till there is aroma of coriander. Add tomatoes, salt, turmeric and red chilli powder.

Cook on slow flame stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes till the tomatoes are pulpy. Use back of a flat cooking spoon to mash tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes become mushy and oil separates. Serve with hot rice and ghee.

 

 

Hyderabadi Baghare Baigan (Brinjal Curry)

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Hyderabadi Baghare Baigan (Brinjal Curry)

Brinjal curry or Baghare Baigan as known in Hyderabad is a local delicacy. Brinjals are cooked in sour and spicy gravy made of sesame seeds, groundnut seeds, tamarind paste and coconut. There are lot of variants of this recipe but this particular one is my mom’s recipe. Though I don’t like brinjals but this is one of my favourite gravies. This tastes best when eaten with hot rice.

Choose brinjals that are small and round. Make two slits in the brinjals for them to absorb the gravy well. Since I do not like brinjals, I have substituted brinjals with tomatoes or capsicum on many occasions and I loved those variants too. You can also try using fresh green chillies (non-spicy ones) instead of brinjals.

The gravy is the key to this recipe. Groundnut and sesame seeds are used a lot in Hyderabadi cuisine. It is important to roast the ingredients separately and on low flame. You can substitute the jaggery with sugar if jaggery is not available. People also add poppy seeds to this gravy. I love the combination of sambhar, rice, and this gravy. This curry tastes best with hot rice. You can also serve this with parathas.

Hyderabadi Baghare Baigan (Brinjal Curry)

Ingredients

  • 5 brinjals (small ones work best)
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 inch piece of ginger grated
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic grated
  • 2 tbsp red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • Salt to taste

For the Masala

  • 2 tbsp grated coconut (I used the dry desiccated coconut)
  • ½ tbsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 ½ tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp peanuts
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 ½ tsp jaggery
  • 4 tbsp tamarind pulp
  • Little oil to fry the onions

Recipe For the Masala Dry roast the coconut, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, sesame seeds and peanuts separately on low flame. Fry the onions till brownish using little oil. Combine all the ingredients for masala and grind them to a smooth paste. Add little water if required. Keep the masala aside. For the Curry Make two slits in the Brinjals. Do not cut them completely but just a deep cut like a plus sign. Heat oil in a kadhai or non-stick pan. Add mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutter add ginger and garlic. Sauté for 10-15 seconds. Add the Brinjals and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the masala paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and one cup water. Mix well and cook on slow flame till the Brinjals are cooked and oil floats on top. Keep mixing in between. Serve with hot rice and sambhar or with plain parathas.