In the South Indian version of Kurma, it is very common to use fresh coconut. It gives a nice nutty flavour to the gravy. A few versions, mostly the Kerala style has Coconut Milk in it.

How To:

Soak dried peas in water for 6 hours or overnight. Pressure cook with some salt. set side to let it cool.

Meanwhile, in a pan, heat half a teaspoon of oil. Add red chilies, coriander seeds, poppy seeds, cloves & cinnamon. roast on low flame for a couple of minutes & set aside. In the same pan, heat some more oil, Add roughly chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger garlic paste & saute till the onions & tomatoes turn soft. Allow it to cool

Grind together the cooked onions & tomatoes, roasted spices along with grated coconut & cashew nuts into a smooth paste. Add a bit of water if necessary.

In a heavy bottomed pan, Add a teaspoon of cooking oil, splutter mustard seeds. Add the ground paste & turmeric & saute for a couple of minutes. Add cooked peas, 1.5 cups of water & Garam Masala. Add the salt & mix well. Let it simmer for 5-6 minutes on medium flame. If you feel the gravy is too thick, add some more water to adjust the consistency

Turn off the heat & garnish with chopped Coriander leaves.

YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 cup Chana Dal - Split Bengal Gram
• 2 Tablespoon Rice Flour
• 1/4th Cup Grated Fresh Coconut
• A handful of Coriander Leaves
• A handful of Mint
• A handful of Dill Leaves
• 2 Sprigs of Curry Leaves
• 10 Green Chilies
• 5 Dry Red Chilies (Byadagi)
• A small piece of Ginger
• Salt as per Taste
• 2 chopped onions - optional
• Oil for Deep Frying - I used Sunflower Oil

NOTE:

There are tons of recipes & variations for Chalkis, Murukkus & the kind. I always thought that making Murukkus at home was a not so easy time consuming affair & is not my cup of tea,  until I ate theem at a friends house.

This easy Benne Murukku recipe is from my friend Ashwini's Mom (The one who shared the Veggie Pasta Salad Recipe) .. When I casually visited her place she offered me a big jar of these crunchy Murukkus & I was surprised when she told me that she & her mom made them under 30 minutes

As always, I took down the recipe immediately & since then, I have made these atleast a dozen times & each time it has turned out very well. So this one is almost a fail proof recipe if you ask me  

 

  You Will Need:

How To:

NOTE: 

 Adding more Butter makes the Murukkus brittle. So, do not be tempted to add more butter :)

You can also add Onion paste into the dough to make Onion flavoured Murukkus. They taste really good. 

As you are frying in batches, always keep the dough covered to prevent them from getting dry.

Always taste the Murukkus after frying the first batch & alter the taste if needed. As mentioned earlier, if the Murukkus break easily, there has been an over use of butter. You can add a bit of Rice flour & Gram flour to the dough 

It was quite a while since I made a good Biryani at home. There used to be a time when I made One pot meals quite frequently & a quick Pulao would be on our Lunch menu every other weekend. In fact, I used to make several versions of Biryani right from the layered version to a quick Pressure Cooker version, experimenting with different spice list each time

If you like all things Coconut, you are going to love this Coconut Milk Biryani as well. This is a very mildly spiced Biryani as compared to the ones that are heavy on spices. It goes well with a spicy Hyderabadi Salan, A Raita will also do but I highly recommend the Salan 

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You Will Need:

To Grind:

• 1 large Onion - Roughly Chopped
• 1 large Tomato - Roughly Chopped
• 10 Cashew Nuts
• 2 'inch piece of Ginger
• 5 cloves of Garlic
• 4 Green Chilies
• A small stick of Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
• 3 Green Cardamom
• 4-5 Cloves

Clean Basmati Rice under running water until the water runs clear. Soak in water & set aside for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Chop the vegetables 

In a mixer, add all the ingredients mentioned in the 'To Grind' list & grind into a smooth paste without adding any water.

In a Pressure cooker, Heat Ghee & Oil. Once hot enough, add sliced onions & saute for a couple of minutes. Add the carrots, Beans, Potatoes & mix well. cook for another couple of minutes. Next, add the ground paste & some salt. Give it a good mix & Let it cook on low flame for 3 - 4 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, Garam Masala & bring it to a gentle boil. Drain the soaked Basmati Rice & Add it into the Pressure cooker. Mix well. Add about a little more than half a cup of water. Check for salt & give it a final mix. Close the lid & cook for 1 whistle. I use a Hawkins Pressure Cooker so mine gets done in 1 whistle. It may wary for other brands.

Allow the pressure to release & allow it to cool for a while. Add chopped coriander & Mint along with toasted cashew nuts. Gently fluff with a fork to mix well

Serve with a Raita or Salan along with some sliced Onions

I didn't have any Green Peas on hand. So, I didn't add them. But they make a nice addition. So does Cauliflower

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On the Personal front, Guess who just turned THREE? Yes. Kedar is now a Three year old School going toddler. Wait, Wasn't it just yesterday that I wrote a post announcing that we now have a new member in the family? However cliched it sounds Time does fly 


 I don't write about Kedar very often in this space but I have to say that It's been an incredible journey so far. Kedar is a complete Daddy's boy & he doesn't mince his words when he says that ( which he does all the time ) He loves his Dada more :)

We had a little Birthday party for him over the weekend & he got to cut his Peppa Pig Cake. Peppa Pig is his current favourite show. He loves it so much that his cousin sister even made him a Peppa Pig Rakhi .. I am not kidding. His current obsession is Construction Vehicles & he wants to be a JCB driver when he grows up  .. Phew !!!