Aromatic and Creamy South Indian Style Mixed Vegetable Kurma…!! This mildly spiced curry is the Best Side Dish you can ask for with Poori / Appam / Naan.
So, I guess you might be wondering what’s so special about this Kurma? Well, all I can say is… just taste it and you will understand, it’s soooo yummy, the Best! It’s creamy, rich and flavorful… I bet you cannot ask for anything more from a Kurma!!!
Kurma is a popular South Indian side dish served along with Poori (fried flat bread), Chapati, and other mains during any meal of the day, although quite favored for breakfast and dinner. It’s a yellow colored, non-spicy dish, light on masala, yet creamy and totally delightful. You might have noticed that I highlighted this recipe as a South Indian classic, coz it is quite different in preparation from its North Indian variant – Korma. The North Indian Korma on the other side is more of an orange-red colored dish, high on masala flavors, rich, and elegant.
This recipe is inspired from the preparation by a chef at my hometown, whom we used to invite to cook and lend a helping hand to our family while organizing parties and large family gatherings. I distinctly remember how good our whole house used to smell, we peeping into the kitchen to get a glimpse of the dishes being prepared, and if possible a spoonful to taste. The green paste in this recipe is the star of the dish; it brings together the flavors and the unique aroma. The use of grated coconut along with cashews contribute to the kurma’s rich creaminess and fennel, ginger n garlic towards the beautiful aroma. While you try this recipe at home, do stop and take a second to smell the green paste before pouring it to the cooking pan; Awaken your Sensory Glands to the wonders of the Spices! This dish also has got a light tanginess from the Yogurt and can be substituted with tomatoes if you prefer so.
Vegetable Kurma is a simple and delicious curry which goes well with roti, naan, chapati, appam, idiyappam and many other main dishes, but for me it goes best with Poori. The creaminess of the Kurma vs the crispy-crunchy fried Poori… its Pure Bliss!!!
Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!
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Aromatic and Creamy South Indian Style Mixed Vegetable Kurma…!! This mildly spiced curry is the Best Side Dish you can ask for with Poori / Appam / Naan.
- ⅓ cup grated coconut
- 6-8 cashews
- ½ inch sized ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1-2 green chilies
- 3 pearl onions
- ½ tsp perumjeerakam / saunf / fennel seeds
- ¼ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 3-4 curry leaves
- 1 tbsp cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup water (or more)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamoms
- 1 medium sized onion (sliced)
- 2 medium carrots (cubed)
- ¾ cup green beans (chopped)
- 1 potato (cubed)
- ¾ cup cauliflower florets
- ½ cup frozen green peas
- 2 cups water
- 1-2 tbsp beaten curd
- Cilantro leaves (garnish)
- Oil (as required)
- Salt (as required)
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Make a fine paste of the ingredients listed above and keep aside.
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Heat little oil in a heavy bottomed pan and sauté spices in it until they are fragrant.
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Add onions and a pinch of salt, sauté for another 3-4 minutes on medium flame.
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Add the chopped veggies, water (just enough to cover the veggies), salt and cook until the vegetables are fully cooked. Mash the cooked veggies with the back of wooden spoon.
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Add the grinded paste (add a little water if the curry is too thick) and cook on low flame for 5 minutes. The kurma consistency should be thick.
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Add beaten curd and mix well, check for the seasoning and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Switch off the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
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Enjoy with Poori, Appam, Idiyappam, Roti or Naan.
- You can substitute curd with tomato, but curd tastes best for this kurma.
Thumbs up to the recipe… We also follow the same recipe… But I have a slight difference in your opinion about the green paste… In fact the taste of the paste is not only from the coconut and cashews, but from the saunf seeds… Even if we miss out on all the other ingredients or substitute cashew nut with chutney pottu kadala/fried grams the aroma and flavour does not change noticeably, where as if you skip out the saunf seeds, the taste takes a complete disappointing U-turn… But at the same time, addition of a little bit of extra saunf also can spoil the dish… that was a mistake I made but one that I have found – can be reversed by addition of yogurt… Altogether, i guess saunf is the team leader of the dish… 🙂
Thank You Devika for your valuable feedback. As you rightly said, Saunf / Fennel Seeds play a crucial role in this recipe’s success, and it’s balance of flavours!!
Until today, I hadn’t heard of kurma! Thanks for the recipe Akhila!
Its a popular recipe in India, You should try it sometime!!!
Love it n it comes out as a flavorful dish. Thanks for the easy way recipe.
Thank You so much Shirly for trying out my recipe…so glad you liked it 🙂
I tried it yesterday and it was delish! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
So glad to hear that! Thank You so much Shereen for trying it out and posting your feedback.
Thanks so much. I’m in Australia and I’ve never cooked an authentic Indian dish before (just popularised curries). You made it so simple to follow and my Kerelan friend enjoyed it!