“Almond (Badami) Vegetable Kurma” … it’s been over 5 decades and vegetable kurma still runs strong in my home … its my favorite dish, from childhood and somehow I can never say no to it … to make it more nutritious, I tried adding almonds and I must say, it’s definitely a rich in taste curry … our Indian curries are scrumptious and loved worldwide by not only Indians settled all round the globe but others too who have picked them from their Indian friends … tastes delicious served with Naan, Paratha, Roti, Pulav, Ghee Rice, Poori, Kori Rotti, Panpolo, Appo, Dosa, the list is endless … however, I served with “Crispy Multi Millet Peanut Masala Poori” and it was a fantastic combination … Yummilicious ….
** It’s been over 5 decades since I first tasted kurma that Amma (Mom) prepared and fell instantly in love with this recipe after which I always used to insist she prepares it during holidays especially when Aanu (Dad) brought seemebadanekayi (chow chow) from market. If you have not tried adding this veggie to Kurma, do try it out, it tastes exotic. In my case I always thought that kurma meant addition of this veggie as those days we had not much knowledge of food combinations. There was neither TV nor did we purchase much of cookery books.
** Amma either learnt it from neighbors or aunts or from weekly kannada magazines which were also a part of our growing up years. Aanu purchased all magazines like femina, women’s era, taranga etc. and we always browsed through and read them. I was always fascinated with books and luckily had Dr. neighbor who always purchased children’s storybooks for their children, which they graciously shared, and I must say I have read all Amar Chitra Kathas, Tinkle, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Secret Seven, Enid Blyton books, Sigh, I really miss childhood.
** Coming to Kurma, this is best prepared with ground masala and this time I have also added on coconut milk along with ground almonds. Trying out new dishes has always been an inspiration for me and I love trying out those recipes that we love or that which we grew up relishing with some twists. I stick to old recipe method as they are delicious and really do not need much changes, however giving some small changes or taking a few short cuts adding on masala powders easily available make the preparation method faster, easier and less tedious.
** To all those who browse through my recipes, do leave in a comment if you try them out or if you have a query, it helps me in many ways and is always a blessing to know when appreciated. I thank all those of you who have helped me in this culinary journey which has completed 8 yrs and 2 months to date and hopefully will do so for a longtime to come. Do try out different types of kurma and enjoy with your family and friends, I am sharing a common link to them all at the end of this recipe for easy access, and do try out this one too, its awesome.
** Here is my own recipe for “Almond (Badami) Vegetable Kurma” … my style ….
** Ingredients :
** Vegetables Used for this Kurma :
Carrot/ Gajjar : 1 large sized
Seemedbadanekayi/ Chow Chow/ Chayote Squash : one small sized
Cauliflower : about 200 gms
Green Peas/ Vatana : 1 cup shelled
Capsicum/ Donne Mirsanga/ Simla Mirchi : 2-3 small sized
** Note : You can use any other veggies of your choice too.
** Preparing Almond Paste :
Almond/ Badam : ½ cup
Hot Water : 1 cup
Cashew Nuts/ Kajjubi/ Kaju : 10-12
Saffron/ Keshar/ Kesar : a large pinch
Milk/ Doodh : ¼ cup
** For the Ground Masala :
Cus Cus/ Poppy Seeds : 1 tsp
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : one large sized, peeled and finely chopped.
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbev : 5-6 fresh ones
Green Chillies/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 4-5 cut to pieces
Ginger/ Alle’/ Adrak : 1 inch cut to pieces
Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun : 6-8 peeled and cut to pieces
Goda Masala or Garam Masala Powder : 1 tbsp
Malwani Masala Powder : 2 tblsp
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Mirsange Pitti/ Mirchi Powder : 1 tblsp
Coriander/ Dhania/ Kothambari Powder : 1 tsp
Turmeric/ Haldi Powder : ½ tsp
Cumin/ Jeera Powder : ½ tsp
Fennel/ Saunf/ Badisep Powder : ¼ tsp
Desiccated Coconut/ Khobre/ Sukka Nariyal : half cup grated.
Tamarind/ Imly/ Chinchama : a small marble sized piece.
Oil/ Tel : 2-3 tblsp
** To prepare the Kurma :
Oil/ Tel : 3 tblsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbev : 8-10 fresh ones
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : One, peeled and finely chopped.
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Mirchi Tikkat/ Mirsange Pitti : ½ tsp
Coconut Milk/ Nariyal Ras/ Narlache Rosu : 1 cup
Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : ¼ cup finely chopped leaves only
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
Fresh Homemade Loni/ Butter : 2 tblsp
** Note : Both Malwani Masala Powder and Goda Masala Powder are store bought and they are easily available so you can purchase the same as they are very useful in preparation of many dishes. In case it is not available you can replace Garam Masala Powder for Goda Masala Powder and I think for Malwani Masala Powder you can use any curry masala powder of which I am really not sure, so do try purchasing the same, its available online too.
** Preparing Almond Paste : Soak almonds in hot water for 20-30 minutes and then peel off the skin. Now add them into a bowl along with cashew nuts, saffron and hot milk and mix well, cover and keep it aside to soak well for about 30-40 minutes. When cooled put all together into a mixer and grind all to a very smooth paste, remove and keep this aside ready.
** To prepare the ground masala paste: Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai, when hot lower the heat to medium, add cus cus and fry for a minute. Add in chopped onion and curry leaves and further fry for 2-3 minutes. Now add in green chillies, ginger, garlic and continue frying for a few more minutes on medium to low heat stirring well to avoid being burnt.
** Lower the heat to minimum and add goda masala, malwani masala, chilly- coriander- jeera- fennel- haldi powders, mix well and continue frying for a few minutes. Lastly add desiccated coconut and fry for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, add tamarind piece and mix well. Keep it aside to be slightly cooled and then grind to a very fine paste in mixer grinder with just little bit of water. Do not add water in excess or the masala will thin out, we need thick textured ground masala here.
** Wash and cut capsicum into lengthwise thin slices. Peel off the skin off carrot, chow chow (discard inner seed) and cut them also into lengthwise strips. Cut cauliflower into medium sized florets. Shell and collect the green peas. Peel off the skin of onion and cut it into fine pieces and keep it also ready aside. All veggies (in case you are using any other too) should be rinsed, drained and kept separately aside ready before we begin to cook the kurma.
** Note : I used fresh green peas, which are in season now. However you can use sun- dried ones too in which case soak it overnight and then pressure cooked to 2 whistles and keep it ready, while rest of the method is the same to be continued with.
** In a vessel add approximately 2 cups of water and bring to boil, add cauliflower florets, green peas and bring to a boil, cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add in the carrot pieces and further cook on medium heat till all are 50% done. Finally add in the capsicum and chow chow pieces and cook all together till they are 80% done. The veggies are added in intervals as the cooking times differs, if you add all together some may get overcooked, so be careful.
** Note : If using pressure cooked peas, add it when all the veggies are cooked and done ie towards the end, mix well, bring to boil, remove from fire and keep it aside ready. If using frozen fresh peas too follow the same method of adding it towards the end.
** To prepare the Kurma : Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai, when hot lower the heat to medium and add finely chopped onion, ½ tsp salt and fry till translucent, add curry leaves and fry for a minute. Now lower the heat to minimum and add kashmiri red chilly powder, mix well, immediately add in the ground masala and keep frying for another 2-3 minutes. If too dry or to avoid the masala getting burnt you can sprinkle some water in between while frying.
** Note : A little bit of salt is added while frying onions always as it releases the water within, cuts down on oil consumption and cooks faster. Also, I always add some kashmiri red chilly powder into hot oil and fry just a second as doing so imparts a lovely color to the curry. You can skip both these methods if you do not want to follow the same, its individual choice.
** Lower the heat, add cooked and kept vegetables along with the water in which it was cooked, salt to taste and mix well. Do not add water, but if too thick then you may add about ¼ cup, cover and let cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat, stirring in between to avoid getting burnt. When well simmered add in the almond paste and coconut milk and mix well. Now check consistency and add in more water if necessary, mix well and let cook for another 5 more minutes.
** Note : You can prepare Narlache Rosu/ Coconut Milk fresh at home or buy from stores as it is easily available. For those of you who want to prepare it at home, I am sharing a link at the bottom of this recipe which includes the method, do browse through.
** Do not raise the heat once the coconut and almond paste are added as it may curdle, you have to be careful and keep stirring to avoid any such issues. Also be careful when you add in salt as we have added some while frying the onions too. When the curry has been cooked evenly for 5 minutes remove from fire, top it with finely chopped coriander leaves, butter and keep it aside covered for at least 20- 30 minutes for the flavors to be infused into the curry. Before serving, mix well, check consistency, if too thick, you can add some hot water, mix well and serve.
** Note : You can use store bought butter too, however if using salted butter, be careful while adding on the salt to the curry as excess salt in dishes are always distasteful. Also the choice always remains, that you can add it just before serving or serve some separately as per individual taste too. Again if you can skip addition of butter and add ghee/ toop too, the same taste wonderful too, I do so at times when I run short on prepared butter at home.
** “Almond (Badami) Vegetable Kurma” is done and ready to be served with any dish of your choice. Definitely a rich in taste curry that tastes great served with Naan, Paratha, Roti, Chapati, Pulav, Ghee Rice, Poori, kori rotti or even our very own panpolo. I always prepare kurma in excess, as it tastes great next morning for breakfast with panpolo or appos or any dosas too, a tasty combination which I learned from my father. This time however, I served it with “Crispy Multi Millet Peanut Masala Poori” and it was truly a fantastic combination.
** Our Indian curries are simply awesome, something loved worldwide by not only Indians settled all round the globe but others too who have picked them from their Indian friends. They go very well in combination with several other dishes too and all you need to do is go ahead and try out various options. Do try out this delicious nutritious rich flavored almond kurma and enjoy with your family and friends, it can be a surprise item during parties and sure to be loved by your guests and family especially children as it is medium spiced and tastes great as they always love poories.
** “Crispy Multi Millet Peanut Masala Poori” is a deep fried poori, again my own recipe which I am sharing in blog right after this recipe. You can try out any poori or otherwise mentioned dishes above to be served along and if you need the recipes, just use the browse or label options to search the blog. The poori I served with was crispy and tasted awesome when dunked in hot kurma and if you want to try out that recipe, for sake of convenience, I am sharing the link below ….
** Sharing link to "Homemade Narlache Rosu/ Coconut Milk" below, please check out if you want to prepare the same at home ...
** Sharing a common link to all “Kurma” recipes shared in various combinations before. The recipes are almost same but with some difference in ingredients, so just browse through and try them out too, they are all tasty ….
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