Veggies on Curry leaves

I’m a curry leaves freak. I luv their yummy smell. Especially when ground with little coconut and other spices. I tend to add more of them in all my chicken dishes. They give a very unique and a perfect authentic taste to the food. Ever since I had curry leaves chicken at Ponnuswamy’s (Chennai), I had always wished to prepare a vegetarian version of that. This quickie is an attempt towards that.

Half cook any vegetables of your choice. I had potatoes, beans, carrots, peas, broad beans (avaraikkaai), etc., waiting to be emptied from my fridge. I kept the cut veggies along with the rice in the rice cooker (not pressure cooker; you don’t want them to be smashed completely). While this is going on, heat oil on a kadai and roast the following: mustard, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, toor dhaal, gram dhaal, urad dhaal, red chilies and little fenugreek seeds. While the dhaals become half red, add curry leaves as much as it pleases you. I added more than 3 handfuls. When it is time to remove the ingredients from the stove, add coconut and roast for about a minute or two. Leave them to cool down and grid to a paste. Now, heat oil in the kadai and sauté onions. Add little turmeric powder and wait till the onions are translucent. Then add the ground mixture, cut tomatoes and salt. Keep mixing till the oil separates out. I added red chilies to the ground mixture only. If you feel like you need more spices, go ahead and add powders at this stage. Once oil separates out , add very little water and add the cooked vegetables. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the vegetables are nice and tender. Again, don’t smash them all together. Finally garnish with coriander and curry leaves and remove from the stove.

Try the recipe and let me know your reactions.