March 12, 2008

Mama's Vegetable Biryani and Aloo Kurma

*Vegetable Biryani, Aloo Kurma, Tofu Kurma*


"She is an innovator, an experimenter, a missionary in bringing the gospel of good, healthy cooking to the home table.."..

*She* is none other than my dearest Mom, who is an awesome cook, ..for her cooking is not a grueling task..She does that with such ease that amazes me everytime and mind you, all of her dishes turn out delectable and yummy .
She, as a cook has a great fan following - me, my dad, all my uncles n aunts, her office colleagues, my dad's office colleagues, my friends.. Phew, the list goes on and on and on...

One day, (...when I was missing my mom terribly,) I got reminded of her "Vegetable Biryani and Kurma" so badly, that I actually asked her to send me her recipe and also a photograph if possible....:DD

...U all know 'How sweet mothers are..!".. She made these and sent them the following day.. So, here I am presenting my mom's Vegetable Biryani and Aloo Kurma (drumroll please....)and this is my way to keep safe her recipe on my blog for ever. Love U Mom.. U Rock!

I still have to try this out in my kitchen, which I am planning to do this weekend.. (*fingers crossed*)...:)



Vegetable Biryani
-----------------------

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice 2 cups
Chopped Onion 1/2 cup
Mint leaves - few
Chopped Carrot, Beans, Green Peas 1 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Biryani Masala - 1 tbsp
Oil - 4/5 tbsp
Water - 3.5 cups

*Vegetable Biryani*


Preparation:

1. In a flat bottomed pressure pan, heat oil, add Onion, mint leaves, Ginger Garlic paste and fry these for 2 mins.
2. Now, add in biryani masala, vegetables; Cook these for 2 mins.
3. Season with salt, add rice and cook for a minute.
4. Finally add the water and cook until 3 whistles.
5. Serve hot with any spicy kurma and raita.

Now, coming to Kurma, my mum prepares a standard gravy for almost all Kurmas and adds in choice of vegetables like Potato (or) Brinjal (or) Cauliflower (or) Tofu.. etc etc.

Here is the recipe for the Gravy and then halved to make Aloo Kurma and Tofu Kurma as in the photograph!..:DD

Ingredients:

Fresh Coconut - 1 cup
Roasted Sesame seeds (Telugu: Nuvvulu) - 2 tbsp
Onions - 3 tbsp ( or 2 medium ones)
Peanuts - 1 tbsp
Roasted Yellow Bengal Gram (Telugu: Putnala Pappu) - 1 tbsp
Tamarind taste - 1 spoon
Oil - 2 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 3/4 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Red Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tbsp
Yogurt - 1 tbsp (optional)

Preparation:

1. Take a tbsp of oil in a pan, on a low flame add in sesame seeds, 3/4 of onions, peanuts, yellow bengal gram, ginger garlic paste and fry these for a 2 mins.
2. Then add tamarind water and finally coconut. cook for a minute.
3. Grind these to a fine paste and keep aside.
4. In a wok, take left over onion, add in the ground masala and cook for couple of minutes. When the oil starts to separate, season with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and garam masala.
5. Finally, add some yogurt and stir well.
6. You can in your choice of vegetable in Step 4.
7. Goes well with any biryani, naan or roti.

*Aloo (Potato) Kurma*



*Tofu Kurma*


Off this Aloo kurma goes to Sia's "Ode to Potato" event and also to Dhivi's "The Potato Fe(a)st" (Thanks to Dhivi for accepting my late entry way after deadline!...cho chweet of u!).

Hope you all enjoied my mom ka khaana as much as I did (.....cherished!.. Miss u Mom!)...:DD

[UPDATED 8/12/2010] - I am sending this as an entry to Alka's LYRO:Potato event. 

- Siri

28 comments :

  1. How sweet of your mom to do this for you girl! They both look authentic as they come. Thank you so much for giving it to us too. Hey, I have got plenty of time to make it after 20th!:D
    How are you? Any good news about jobs etc. Good luck to you, keep doing what you are doing. Hugs to you.

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  2. U r making me drool girl and also making me feel homesick! I jus want to sit at home and let my mom make something for me! I had enough of my own cooking!

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  4. and hey I forgot! Thanks for sending me this entry :) Was waiting for ur entry..will post in a day or 2 along with 2 more entry :)

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  5. Moms are the best, aren't they? Wonderful pics and the recipes sound awesome! :)

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  6. Ohhh the pics are making me sooo hungry Siri dear, the combo is awesome!!

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  7. Ur mom is rocking, Veg biryani look awesome :)

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  8. Siri..the plate looks just awesome...moms are always great...thanks for sharing this wonderful dish..will try it next..

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  9. The colour of the kurma looks so good and tempting...enjoy girl

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  10. I could feel the smell of briyani and kurma...Great one's from ur mom.

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  11. so sweet of your mom, no matter how old you get, they always succumb to their kid's demands! love both dishes!

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  12. So sweet of your mom to send the biriyani to you.
    It looks delicious.

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  13. @ Asha: Thanks ashaji. I am so glad u liked my mom's delicacies..:D They are indeed as authentic as they cud me .. and they cum all the way from India..:))

    @ DK: Hahaha, that what I felt couple of days.. Moms are the best na and we will always crave for their food...:) and Thanks for accepting my late entry buddy!

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  14. @ Kalai: Thanks dear and "Moms Rock!"..:D

    @ Namratha: I am so glad u liked my mama's dishes Namratha..:)

    @ Cham: Thanks Cham.

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  15. @ Sandhya: Thanks dear.

    @ Srivalli: Do try this Srii, I am damn sure ur kids will love it, as much I do ..:DD.. hey I am a kid to my mom ok..:D Yup,I did change my template again.... remember the header was not loading properly.. now, planning to stick to this for couple of months and then change..:)

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  16. @ EC: Thanks EC..:)

    @ Lavi: Haha.. mee too Lavi.

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  17. @ Alpa: Thats so true alpa...Moms can never say a NO to their kids... she stretches herself to fulfill all the demands... :) Thanks for dropping by. Off I am to urs now!

    @ HC: Thanks HC.

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  18. Siri........Biryani and Kurma choosthuntene toooooo much unnayi....I am craving for them now.....Cheppu aunty ki.......nenu fan aipoyanu ani :-) Eee weekend ee recipes try cheyyabothuna nenu :-)

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  19. Siri biriyani and kurma chala baga kanipistundi. Drooling now.. and yeah you can participate in RCI(regional cuisine of India). It was started for Singapore Women's Club ladies, all are welcome to join if they are happy to participate. Thanks for droping by.

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  20. Hey,

    This looks yummy!! Before I try this recipe, could you tell me what exactly are the ingredients of "Biryani Masala"? Did your mom use a store bought Biryani powder or did she prepare it from scratch? Let me know.

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  22. Siri,,

    A million thanks to your mom and to you, for posting this recipe. Tried making this a number of times with other recipes, but was never satisfied. And today, with your recipe, OMG! I can't believe it's a home-cooked meal and not a to-go from a desi restaurant. My husband is going to go crazy over it!

    Few changes that I made were:
    1. Used coconut milk while grinding the kurma mixture
    2. Added kasuri methi to kurma
    3. Added a spoonful of whole garam masala(cloves, cinamon, cardamom) coz I love to see them while I eat my biryani :)

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  23. Hi Siri, What is the biryani masala u have used for biryani? I hav tried lot but didnt get the tatse.

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  24. Raj - MTR Garam masala. But, I have to correct one thing, for this recipe my mom used garam masala from scratch -

    Coriander seeds (lightly roast not more than 45 sec) + cinnamon stick + shahjeera + cloves+ elacihi ) --> cool down and then grind. Keep in an air tight container.

    Hope this helps.

    Siri

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  25. Thanks for u recipe..it tasted soooo gud with zeera rice..i tried soo many kurmas but all they say in common ,but ur moms recipe looked lil differnt .
    i added few things to tickle our taste buds..
    added whole gram masala spices n bay leaf in the oil,then added whole cashews,dhana pwd.

    it came soo tasty...

    HTH

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Siri

 
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