Vegetable Kurma

I wanted to recreate the vegetable kurma they serve in south indian restaurants with puri or parotta forever! I finally got to it last weekend after scouting the internet for recipes and here is the outcome. Some recipes called for cauliflower also but I stuck to the usual suspects of potato, carrot, beans and peas since that is all I had in my fridge. This is a great dish if you want to get rid of your aging staples.

Ingredients:

1. Khus khus - 2 tsps
2. Jeera - 2 tsps
3. Green cardamom - 2
4. Cloves - 3
5. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
6. Ginger - 1/2 inch pieces
7. Garlic cloves - 4
8. Green chillies - 2
9. Coconut - fresh or frozen, 1/2 cup
10. Cashews - 10
11. Oil
12. Bay leaf - 1
13. Salt
14. Onion - 1 big, chopped finely
15. Carrots - 1.5 cups, cubed
16. Potato - 1 cup, cubed
17. Beans - 1 cup, chopped
18. Peas - 1 cup
19. Milk - 1 cup or cream 1/4 th cup

Directions:

1. Roast ingredients 1 through 5 and grind together with ingredients from 6 to 10 to make a fine paste.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the bay leaf to it.
3. Once you smell the aroma of the bay leaf, add the onion and saute till golden brown.
4. Add the paste and saute till the rawness in the spices is gone.
5. Add the potato, peas, carrot, beans, salt and enough water to cover all the veggies and cook on medium heat until the water reduces to form a gravy and the veggies are thoroughly cooked.
6. Add the milk or cream and cook some more.
7. Serve hot with puri or parotta. This kurma tastes better as it ages.