Vellai Kurma

Vellai Kurma – Restaurant Style South Indian White Vegetable Korma.

South Indian Tamilnadu Restaurant style white vegetable kurma called as vellai kuruma or parotta korma. With video and step by step pictures. Finger licking good!

I learnt this Vellai Kurma recipe after marriage from my mother in law. She is an awesome cook. My father in law is a foodie. This is his favorite curry to have with chapati. In my early years of marriage, whenever my in-laws used to visit us, I would just help around in the kitchen. The true cooking was done by my MIL. She used to make this as a side dish for chapati. Its a very easy recipe and comes out very well every single time.

Here is the video of Vellai Kurma – Restaurant Style South Indian White Vegetable Korma

Usually in Indian curries, the spices are dry roasted and then ground. But for this vegetable kurma, the spices are ground raw. Grind all the ingredients listed below with about 1 cup of water to a smooth paste.

Boil about 2 cups of mixed vegetables until al-dente and keep aside. Do not use a lot of vegetables. 4-5 different vegetables should do fine. Adding potato gives the gravy some body. So don’t miss the potato.

Here is how I boil the veggies. I cook the veggies with quarter cup of water in a pressure cooker (2 or 3 litres) for exactly 2 whistles. Immediately release pressure from the cooker by lifting the whistle weight carefully. Releasing the pressure manually is important to get the veggies with the right texture for kurma without the veggies turning mushy.

Refer to this post to know how to cook veggies in a pressure cooker.

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add in a teaspoon each of cumin seeds, fennel seeds and 2 sprigs of curry leaves. Let it splutter. Add in the chopped onions and salt. Saute till slightly brown. Add in the ground masala paste and a cup of water. Let it simmer on low flame for about 5 minutes. Since we have added cashews, it will foam up. So stir once in a while. Once the paste is cooked, add a cup of water to dilute.

Once the raw smell goes, after 5 minutes add the boiled vegetables.

Optional: If the gravy looks thin, here is what you can do. Take a small cup and add a teaspoon of cornstarch or maida (All purpose flour). Add 1/2 cup water to it and make a slurry. Add the slurry to the gravy. The slurry helps in thickening the gravy. Do not add the corn starch or maida directly as it may lump up. Simmer for couple of minutes more.

Finally, add in juice of a lime and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with roti or chapati.

For the raw ground paste

• 1 cup fresh shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 clove
• 2 cardamom
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 4 green chillies (adjust according to your taste)

Boiled Vegetables

• 1/2 cup carrots
• 1/2 cup beans
• 1/2 cup potatoes
• 1/2 cup peas

Other Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 sprigs coriander leaves
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional-use if necessary)

1. Raw ground paste: Grind all the ingredients with about 1 cup of water to a smooth paste.
2. Boil about 2 cups of mixed vegetables until al-dente and keep aside.
3. Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add in a teaspoon each of cumin seeds, fennel seeds and 2 sprigs of curry leaves. Let it splutter. Add in the chopped onions and salt. Saute till slightly brown. Add in the ground masala paste, a cup of water and let it simmer in low flame for about 5 minutes. Add a cup of water.
4. Once the raw smell goes, after 5 minutes add the boiled vegetables. Simmer for couple of minutes more. Add corn starch slurry if the gravy is thin. Else not necessary. Add in the lime juice and the coriander leaves.
5. Serve hot with roti or chapati.

• Author: Kannamma @kannammacooks.com
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Gravy
• Cuisine: South Indian

For the raw ground paste

• 1 cup fresh shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 clove
• 2 cardamom
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 4 green chillies (adjust according to your taste)

Boiled Vegetables

• 1/2 cup carrots
• 1/2 cup beans
• 1/2 cup potatoes
• 1/2 cup peas

Other Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 sprigs coriander leaves
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional-use if necessary)

1. Raw ground paste: Grind all the ingredients with about 1 cup of water to a smooth paste.
2. Boil about 2 cups of mixed vegetables until al-dente and keep aside.
3. Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add in a teaspoon each of cumin seeds, fennel seeds and 2 sprigs of curry leaves. Let it splutter. Add in the chopped onions and salt. Saute till slightly brown. Add in the ground masala paste, a cup of water and let it simmer in low flame for about 5 minutes. Add a cup of water.
4. Once the raw smell goes, after 5 minutes add the boiled vegetables. Simmer for couple of minutes more. Add corn starch slurry if the gravy is thin. Else not necessary. Add in the lime juice and the coriander leaves.
5. Serve hot with roti or chapati.

• Author: Kannamma @kannammacooks.com
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Gravy
• Cuisine: South Indian

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/vellai-kurma-restaurant-style-south-indian-white-vegetable-korma/

Kollu Rasam Recipe / Horsegram Soup. Kongunad style kollu rasam recipe from Tamilnadu which is so comforting during a cold or cough. Horse gram also aids in weight loss. With step by step pictures and video.

If you are down with severe cold, then this Kollu Rasam is what you need to be eating. It is so warm and comforting. It clears the throat and the sinus. Its really very refreshing. Horsegram also aids in weight loss. I have already shared the recipe for kollu pappu/horsegram lentil. You can know more about the amazing lentil there. This dish is a specialty of the kongunad region of Tamilnadu. I am from Coimbatore and I learnt this recipe from my aunt.

Click the link below to find the recipes on the site that uses the main ingredient as Horsegram Lentil. Horsegram lentil recipes

Here are some of the equipment, utensils and gadgets that will be useful for making this recipe. Click the link to buy them online. Buy Online

Here is the video of how to make Kollu paruppu masiyal and kollu rasam

Usually we make the rasam with the cooked water (broth) that’s left over after cooking the lentil when we make kollu pappu/dal. If you want to make this rasam alone, Boil 1/4 cup of horsegram with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes. Drain the water and set aside.

Soak half a lime size tamarind in a cup of water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind to extract the pulp. Discard the seeds and the pith. Set aside.

Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add pepper, cumin and garlic and saute till it starts to pop.

Add in one medium chopped tomato. Add in the salt. Cook the tomatoes for a few minutes. Add in quarter cup of cooked horse gram and remove off heat. Don’t add more lentils or else the rasam might become very thick.

Let this mixture cool and then grind to a smooth paste. Add little water while grinding (about 1/4 cup of water would suffice). Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek seeds and cumin. Let it pop. Add in the tamarind juice, the ground paste and the curry leaves. Let it simmer on low flame for 10 minutes.

Add in the kollu/horsegram cooked liquid / broth. Cook for a couple of minutes more. Add in a small piece of jaggery and coriander leaves. Remove off heat.

Serve hot with rice. If there is leftover rasam, strain it the next day in a mesh strainer and slightly heat it and serve as a nice warm broth. It tastes so yum the next day.

Broth Ingredients

• water leftover from cooked horse gram (about 1.5 cups)
• 1/2 lime size tamarind

For the paste

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 - 4 cloves garlic
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cooked horsegram

For tempering

• 1 teaspoon Indian sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon urad dal
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 sprig curry leaf

Finishing

• 1 teaspoon jaggery (optional)
• 1 tablespoon coriander leaves

1. Soak half a lime size tamarind in water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind to extract the pulp. Discard the seeds and the pith. Set aside.
2. Heat sesame oil in a pan and add pepper, cumin and garlic and saute till it starts to pop.
3. Add in one medium chopped tomato. Add in the salt. Cook the tomatoes till they start to become semi dry. Add in 3-4 tablespoons of cooked horsegram and remove off heat.
4. Let this mixture cool and then grind to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek seeds and cumin. Let it pop. Add in the tamarind extract, the ground paste and the curry leaves. Let it simmer on low flame for 10 minutes.
5. Add in the kollu/horsegram leftover lentil water. Cook for a couple of minutes more. Add in a small piece of jaggery and coriander leaves. Remove off heat.
6. Serve hot with rice. If there is leftover rasam, strain it next day in a mesh strainer and slightly heat it and serve as a nice warm broth.

• Author: Kannamma @kannammacooks.com
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Soup
• Cuisine: South Indian