South Indian Mixed Vegetable Kurma

South Indian Mixed Vegetable Kurma – My Dads Recipe.

My dads recipe for South Indian hotel style mixed vegetable kurma recipe with step by step photos. Mixed vegetable curry for chapati/ghee rice. Side dish.

My dad is a wonderful cook. He would cook once or twice a week for us whenever he was in town. He would make me and my brother stand near the kitchen counter and teach us how to do things in the kitchen. He was patient, never rushed anything and always willing to teach and learn. He would sit patiently for hours grinding and sharpening his knives. He does it for me even today whenever he visits me.

He believes that getting children into the kitchen at a very young age is the only way to get them interested in food. He is in his early seventies now as I write this post and he still cooks whenever he visits me. A very simple man who firmly believes that he belongs to a generation which still believes that it takes 100 Paise to make a single Rupee. I love you daddy. This recipe is a house favorite. We call it as Chapati kuruma. Its a perfect side dish for roti, poori, ghee rice or pulao. There is a lot of nostalgia going on in this recipe. Lets do my Dad’s Vegetable kurma before my eyes brings in the water works. Shall we? There is going to be some prep involved. Once done the recipe progresses quickly. Crank up the food processor/mixie as we need to make some puree/paste. We need ginger-garlic paste, cashew-khuskhus(poppy seed) paste , coconut paste and tomato puree.

Next contender – Vegetables. Just pick up whatever veggies you have in your fridge. I used the classic veggies like potatoes, peas, beans, carrot and cauliflower. A cup of each. Boil them until AL-dente and keep aside.

Now lets play with the fire. Heat oil in a wide skillet and when the oil is shimmering add the spices (cinnamon,cloves and cardamom), onions and saute until translucent. Add in the ginger garlic paste and salt and saute until you can see streaks of oil coming out of the mixture. That’s a sure sign that the garlic mixture is cooked.

Now add in the tomatoes and the spice masala. The spice masala includes turmeric, coriander powder, red chilli powder and black pepper. Reduce the flame to low and let it cook for 10 minutes. Now add the boiled veggies and cook for a couple of minutes. Now last add in the cashew-khuskhus paste and the coconut paste and cook for a mere minute or two. Don’t let it boil for long after adding these two pastes. Just a minute or two on simmer and take it off heat and garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves. Serve hot with roti or pulao.

For the Puree

• 4 Big Ripe Tomatoes
• 2 inch Ginger
• 10 Cloves Garlic
• 10 Whole Cashewnut
• 3 Tablespoon khus khus /white poppy seed
• 4 Tbs shredded coconut

Spice Masala

• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder

Veggies

• 1 cup Potatoes diced
• 1 cup Peas
• 1 cup Cauliflower florets
• 1 cup Carrots diced
• 1 cup Beans diced

Other Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoon Oil
• 2 inch bark Cinnamon
• 3 Cloves whole
• 3 Cardamom Whole
• 2 Red Onion Chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
• 500 ml water

1. The paste: Grind the ginger and garlic with a little water into a smooth paste and set aside. Grind the tomatoes to a smooth puree. No need to strain. Set aside. Grind the cashew and khus khus with a little water to a smooth paste and set aside. Grind the coconut with a little water to a smooth puree.
2. Boil the veggies until Al-dente. Reserve the water used for boiling.
3. In a wide saute pan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add in the cloves,cardamom and cinnamon.
4. Add in the onions and fry till translucent.
5. Add in the ginger garlic paste, salt and fry until little streaks of oil come out of the mixture.
6. Now add in the tomatoes and the spice masala mixture and let it simmer in low flame for 10 minutes.
7. Now add in the boiled veggies and the reserved water and boil for a couple of minutes.
8. Add the cashew-khus khus paste
9. Add the coconut paste
10. Boil for a mere minute after adding the above two pastes. Do not let it boil for long.
11. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves.
12. Serve hot with Chapati or Ghee rice.

• Author: kannamma @kannammacooks.com
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Category: Gravy
• Cuisine: South Indian

For the Puree

• 4 Big Ripe Tomatoes
• 2 inch Ginger
• 10 Cloves Garlic
• 10 Whole Cashewnut
• 3 Tablespoon khus khus /white poppy seed
• 4 Tbs shredded coconut

Spice Masala

• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder

Veggies

• 1 cup Potatoes diced
• 1 cup Peas
• 1 cup Cauliflower florets
• 1 cup Carrots diced
• 1 cup Beans diced

Other Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoon Oil
• 2 inch bark Cinnamon
• 3 Cloves whole
• 3 Cardamom Whole
• 2 Red Onion Chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
• 500 ml water

1. The paste: Grind the ginger and garlic with a little water into a smooth paste and set aside. Grind the tomatoes to a smooth puree. No need to strain. Set aside. Grind the cashew and khus khus with a little water to a smooth paste and set aside. Grind the coconut with a little water to a smooth puree.
2. Boil the veggies until Al-dente. Reserve the water used for boiling.
3. In a wide saute pan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add in the cloves,cardamom and cinnamon.
4. Add in the onions and fry till translucent.
5. Add in the ginger garlic paste, salt and fry until little streaks of oil come out of the mixture.
6. Now add in the tomatoes and the spice masala mixture and let it simmer in low flame for 10 minutes.
7. Now add in the boiled veggies and the reserved water and boil for a couple of minutes.
8. Add the cashew-khus khus paste
9. Add the coconut paste
10. Boil for a mere minute after adding the above two pastes. Do not let it boil for long.
11. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves.
12. Serve hot with Chapati or Ghee rice.

• Author: kannamma @kannammacooks.com
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Category: Gravy
• Cuisine: South Indian

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/vegetable-kurma-chapati-kurma-recipe/

Sweet and soft Japanese milk Bread, Tangzhong milk bread

Extremely soft and pillowy Japanese hokkaido style milk Bread recipe using tangzhong technique popularly known as 65°C recipe water roux method by Yvonne Chen , bread doctor.

Baking bread is therapeutic. These are the simple pleasures of life to be grateful for. It was a revelation when I found about tangzhong or the water roux technique for making soft and pillowy bread. I first read about this a few years ago in the fresh loaf forum and I was thrilled. A lady by name Yvonne Chen wrote about this technique in her “65°C – Bread Doctor” book referring to tangzhong (water roux) as her secret ingredient. The forum went crazy for tangzhong and so did I. So what is tangzhong? A simple water flour roux is made by heating water and flour where the starch in the flour gelatinizes. Adding this flour-water roux to the dough results in an unbelievably moist fluffy bread. Tangzhong adds structure to the inside crumb of the bread.

Lets go make Japanese style Hokkaido Bread AKA Ultimate soft and sweet bread. Its bread time y’all!

First lets make tangzhong. Mix the water and flour until its lump free. Make sure that the flour is completely mixed before heating up. Heat it on medium flame until it starts to become a watery custard/pudding like the picture below. Remove from heat immediately once its like a pudding consistency.

Second lets get the yeast working. Indian yeast is temperamental. so do not skip this step if you are in India. Add quarter cup of warm water plus a pinch of sugar to the yeast and leave it aside for 5 minutes so it becomes foamy. If it doesn’t foam, discard and start again with a fresh batch of yeast.

Mix the dry ingredients and whisk till combined – flour, sugar, milk powder, salt, lemon zest and orange zest. In a separate bowl mix together Milk, eggs, vanilla, all of the tangzhong, butter, and all of the yeast mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and start kneading. Knead for 5 minutes on medium speed on a stand mixer. If kneading by hand, knead for a good 10 minutes. The trick in kneading by hand is to avoid the temptation of adding flour. Too much flour alters the moisture content which results in dry dense dough. Once the dough becomes cohesive, form into a ball and let it rise in a draft free place until doubled. About 60 to 90 minutes.

Once doubled, Shape the dough. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. each piece, roll the dough out into an oval. Fold the oval,crimp and then flatten. Roll the dough up lengthwise, then place into the loaf pan seam side down. Do the same for remaining 3 dough pieces. Cover it and let it double again. About 60 to 90 minutes.

Coat the dough with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for 40 minutes. When it’s done, the bread will sound hollow when tapped. Let it cool briefly, then slice and enjoy!

For the tangzhong – water roux

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

For the Yeast mixture

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoon yeast
• pinch of sugar

For the dough

• 400grams (around 2.5 - 3 cups) all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 25g ( 1/4 cup ) milk powder
• 6 tablespoon milk
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
• 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
• 1 more egg, beaten with a splash of water, for eggwash

1. Mix the water and flour and heat it on medium flame until it starts to become a watery custard or tangzhong.
2. Add warm water plus a pinch of sugar to the yeast and leave it aside for 5 minutes so it becomes foamy.
3. Mix the dry ingredients and whisk till combined – flour, sugar, milk powder, salt, lemon zest and orange zest.
4. In a separate bowl mix together Milk, eggs, vanilla, all of the tangzhong, butter, and all of the yeast mixture.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and start kneading. Knead for 5 minutes on medium speed on a stand mixer. If kneading by hand, knead for a good 10 minutes. Let it rise in a draft free place until doubled. About 60 to 90 minutes.
6. Once doubled, Shape the dough. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. each piece, roll the dough out into an oval. Fold the oval, crimp and then flatten. Roll the dough up lengthwise, then place into the loaf pan. Do the same for remaining 3 dough pieces. Cover it and let it double again.
7. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
8. Coat the dough with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for 40 minutes. When it’s done, the bread will sound hollow when tapped.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 3 hours
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Category: Bread
• Cuisine: Japanese