"Tomato Kurma~A Medium Spiced Curry" .... A Scrumptious Combo Meal of Ghee Rice with Tomato Kurma ... nothing tastes better than a delicious kurma with equally delicious ghee rice to me and I can relish it all day through making a mono diet of it ... here is a tasty kurma with only tomatoes added on ... Yummilicious …..
** Kurma is a dish/curry that is of medium spice level prepared mostly using assorted veggies. Vegetable Kurma has been a favorite of mine from childhood and I loved hogging on it through the day with mildly spiced pulav as accompaniment. Off course, I could relish it with panpolo, parathas, poori, dosa and even idly, such was my fascination for this curry. For a decade or so after my marriage, I prepared Kurma as my mother prepared and stuck to it as it was my favorite. It was only later on after a decade or so that my passion for cooking different dishes grew and I began purchasing cookery books and browsing through it. I tried out a few always disappointed that it never turned out how the pictures portrayed. I concluded that such dishes were difficult to prepare and that I was not good at it. It was much later I realized when my friend too mentioned the same that some never shared the recipe as prepared and printed them just about randomly without actually being precise about certain addition of ingredients. Well, the result was a dish that did not turn out what the picture exactly showed.
** After about two decades I got access to Google network and life once again turned topsy-turvy for me. I came across various blogs that showed beautiful pictures of curries and though it was similar to my cookery books, but here I could access the blogger by putting forward my doubts. I jotted the recipes down crazily hoping to prepare them all but sadly never could due to office work pressure. My collection of recipes must have crossed over 15 K, and to my dismay, I have hardly prepared a few out of them hoping against hope that I one day would definitely find the time to do them. But sadly they are all still lying in my PC untouched due to either lack of time or should I say laziness or for the fact that I have moved on. Access to face book changed a lot for me as I joined food groups and became active there. One thing led to another and before I knew, I had started my own Blog wherein I shared my recipes, short stories etc. Then I ventured into starting my own food group which is now crossed 23 K strong members and completed 2.5 years of Culinary Journey.
** Coming to Tomato Kurma, I came across this recipe about 15 years back and somehow was not convinced that a kurma could be prepared using only ripe tomatoes without addition of veggies. Off course, you can add in veggies if you desire, but it will not be the same, and will differ in taste as the aroma here is strongly of tomatoes. I tried a few variations picking a few tips here and there but it took me good 5-6 trials before I got the taste that was loved by my family. The concoction of ingredients here has to be right or else the sourness of the tomatoes will rule the curry and it will not be so tasteful. In the last few years, I have stuck to this recipe without making changes and In my home we can relish this curry just about with any dish like pulav, parathas, poories, dosas, Idly etc. as this is one curry that blends well with anything. Do try out this curry and enjoy with your family and friends and yes, prepare any dish of your desire as accompaniment and please do not go worrisome reading about the number of addition of tomatoes, it does adapt well and gets blended with the curry beautifully.
** Here is my scrumptious recipe for "Tomato Kurma~A Medium Spiced Curry"… Exclusively My Style …
** Ingredients :
Tomatoes (Ripe) : 3 large sized cut into 1 inch sized cubes.
Tomatoes (Ripe) : 3 large sized cut into small pieces.
Mustard Seeds/Sasam/Rai : 1 tsp
Urad Dal/Black Gram Dal : ½ tsp
Cumin Seeds/Jeera : 1 tsp
Tike Sal/Cinnamon/Dalchini : 1 inch piece
Curry Leaves/Kadipatta/Karbevu -10-12 fresh ones
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : ½ tsp
Coriander Leaves: 1 cup finely chopped.
Salt to taste/Namak (Meeta) swad anusar.
Oil/Tel : 1 tsp
Ghee/Toop : 1 tsp
Butter/Loni : ½ tsp (Optional)
** To be Ground into Masala :
Garlic/Losun/Lehsun : 2-4 cloves.
Ginger/Alle’/Adrak : ¼ inch piece
Coriander/Kothimbir/Dhania Seeds : 2 tblsp
Putani/Roasted Gram Dal : 2 tblsp
Cashew Nuts/Kajjubi : 10-12
Cus Cus/Khus Khus/Gasa Gase/Poppy Seeds : 1 tsp
Green Cardamom/Ellaichi/Yellu : 2-3
Black Peppercorns/Kali Miri : 8-10
Lavang/Cloves : 5-6
Cinnamon/Tike Saal : 2 inch piece 2 pieces
Fennel Seeds/Badisep/Saunf : ½ tsp
Curry Leaves/Kadipatta/Karbev : 6-8 fresh leaves
Onion/Kanda/Piyavu : 1 large sized.
Coriander Leaves/Kothambari Pallo/Dhania : handful
Tamarind/Chinchama/Imly : half marble sized piece
Haldi /Turmeric Powder : ½ tsp
Malvani Masala Powder : 1 tblsp (store bought)
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 2-3 tsp
Coconut/Soyi : ½ cup freshly grated.
Tomatoes (Ripe) : 2 large sized.
Oil : 4 tblsp
** For the Masala to be Ground : Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai/pan, when hot lower the heat to medium and add in the ginger and garlic piece and fry for a minute, then add in the coriander seeds, putani, cashew nuts, cus cus and further fry for another 2-3 minutes. Now add in the green cardamom, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds, curry leaves and continue frying for about 2 minutes.
** Add in onion peeled and cut into pieces and fry all for another 3-4 minutes or till the onion is softened and turned pinkish. Now add in the malvani masala powder, chilly powder haldi powder and continue frying for a minute. Add in the coconut and mix well and fry for 3-4 minutes. Lower the heat if you find the coconut getting burnt, it should just be warmed and not roasted or browned.
** Finally add in the tomatoes cut into small pieces and the tamarind and mix well, cover and cook for 5 minutes, mixing in between to avoid the masalas getting burnt at the bottom. The tomato should be slightly cooked, however do not add water as the water in tomatoes is enough for them to get cooked. If need be cook for another 2 minutes and then add in the coriander leaves, mix well and remove from fire and let cool a bit.
** Put the fried ingredients into a mixer grinder and grind to a very smooth paste with about 1 cup of water. If need be you can add in more water, but do not make the masala too thin by adding on excess water. Also remember to grind the paste into a very smooth texture. Remove the masala from mixer grinder and keep it ready aside.
** To prepare the Tomato Kurma : Heat oil + ghee in a thick bottomed kadai/pan, when hot, lower the heat to minimum and add in the urad dal and when the color changes slightly add in the mustard seeds and cumin seeds along with cinnamon, when the mustard splutters add in the curry leaves and chilly powder and then immediately add in the tomatoes chopped fine and mix well, ie 3 out of the 6 tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes turn slightly mushy, then add in the remaining 3 tomatoes cubed and mix well.
** Add in the ground masala, salt to taste and finely chopped coriander leaves leaving aside a handful for garnishing later along with about 2 cups of water and mix well. Cook on medium heat to boiling point. Now lower the heat, mix well, add water only if necessary, remember this is a thick textured curry, cover and simmer the curry for a good 10 minutes mixing in between to avoid the curry getting burnt or settling at bottom. When done remove from fire, add in the coriander leaves kept aside for garnishing and the butter and leave it aside covered for 30 minutes for the flavors to seep in and it is done.
** "Tomato Kurma~A Medium Spiced Curry" is done and ready to be served as an accompaniment to any dish of your choice. You can serve this semi thick tasty curry with mildly spiced rice, pulav, biryani, roit, naan, chapatti, parathas, poori, dosas, idly etc. This is one curry that tastes delicious and goes well with any curry. So, do try it out and enjoy with your family and friends, serving it with dishes of your choice. I am sure this tomato kurma will be loved by all in your family.
** Note : The spice level can be cut down or increased if desired, though the one specified in the recipe is of medium spice level. Again, addition of malvani masala is a matter of choice, but trust me it tastes great, so you can go ahead and purchase them from stores which is freely available and it will not turn a waste, as there are many dishes you can try out using them.
** Note : Preferably always use Kashmiri Red Chillies/Powder for curries that need to get a good color. You can also use byadgi or kumte mirsanga but the final color will not be the same. Again addition of a little bit of chilly powder in oil is exclusively my Idea which I learned form a masala store keeper decades back in Thane and have always followed it, it imparts a beautiful glow and color to dishes.
** Note : You may find that the tomatoes added are more, but the dish is actually balance with other ingredients. Addition of Imly ie tamarind can be left off if you do not want to, but we south Indian love the taste of tamarind to tomatoes and in my home too that is the case, so I always add in a pinch of the same, as it given not only a great taste but good color too.
** For the recipe of “Ghee Rice”, Please follow the link given below ….
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