10 min OPOS Vegetable Kurma (Hotel Saravana Bhavan Style)

10 min OPOS Vegetable Kurma (Hotel Saravana Bhavan Style) by DK on Mar 7, 2017

Easy Vegetable Kurma Recipe | Hotel Style Veg Kuruma Recipe

Some of the most delicious dishes I have found to be the simplest to make. Vegetable Kurma is one such - an Indian dish that's loved all over the country, with each region adding its own twist. This version is from the Southern region namely Tamil Nadu. This especially is a copycat recipe of the popular Hotel Saravana Bhavan. Every time I walk into the restaurant, I pick up their aroma of Kuruma followed closely with Ghee roasting somewhere (guess that's their Ghee Roast Dosa!). Ah, the bliss. That aroma is enough to induce hunger for anyone.

Talking of aroma, I have to talk about Indian Pressure cookers. Indians have been using their pressure cooker almost all their lives for their day to day cooking. But I realised its effectiveness when I started making dishes using OPOS® method. The minimal usage of water (or none) and that layering of ingredients makes the resultant dish extremely flavorful and aromatic. The High Heat - Less Time Cooking seals all the nutrition and flavors within the dish itself and provides a different dimension to your regular day to day dishes. And like anything new that takes practice, so does OPOS® cooking. There are some do's and don't's to this method and hence it is essential that you follow the steps given below exactly the way I lay it out.

Alternate (Stove Top) Method
If you do not have a pressure cooker, simple follow steps 1 and 2. Steam/boil the mixed vegetables. Set aside.Then heat up a pan, add the oil. Once hot, add the spices. Saute until aromatic. Then goes in the onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Then comes in tomatoes. Cook for 1-2 minutes until soft. Add the ground paste along with water if needed and cook until the raw smell goes away. Then add the mixed vegetables and boil until the kuruma comes together into a semi thick gravy. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot.

Cook time: Under 15 min
Prep time: Under 15 min
Serves: 3-4 people
Yields: Around 3-1/2 cups

Ingredients

To Be Ground Into Paste

1 tbsp Whole Cashewnuts
1 tsp Khus Khus (White Poppy Seeds)
1/4 cup fresh grated Coconut (frozen works as well)
5-6 cloves Garlic
2 inch piece Ginger
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder (or to taste)
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Sea Salt (or to taste)
2 tsp Coriander Powder (Dhaniya)
1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1/4 cup Homemade Yogurt

Vegetables

1/2 cup chopped Potato
1/2 cup chopped Green Beans
1/2 cup chopped Carrots
1/2 cup Green Peas
1/2 cup Cauliflower florets

For Spices

1 Bay leaf
2 Cardamom
3 Cloves
1 small piece Cinnamon
1-2 Green chillies, chopped (as per taste)

Other Ingredients

2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tsp Homemade Ghee
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 Cup Warm Milk
Few sprigs of Cilantro, chopped

Method

1. Add all the ingredients listed under "To be ground into paste" into a blender/food processor. I used whole milk Greek Yogurt on this day of photoshoot and it works great as well.

2. Blend until smooth paste. You can add little water if needed. Just make sure the water does not exceed 1/2 cup. Set aside.

3. Use ONLY either a 2 litre or a 3 litre pressure cooker for the recipe. Otherwise the timing listed here will differ and might lead to mistakes especially if this is your first time using OPOS®. Once you get the hang of "no water cooking" you can vary the equipment and experiment. Add in the oil, ghee and all the spices.

4. Top it with chopped onions. Spread it evenly,

5. followed by tomatoes. Spread evenly.

6. Then the vegetables. Spread evenly. I used the Green Beans that I froze from our Garden harvest last year.

7. Finally, add in the ground paste as a top layer.

8. Cover the cooker and cook for around 5 minutes on high flame. About 3 whistles. Make sure all your whistles are in within 6-7 minutes.

9. Ensure your pressure is built around 4 min mark (the safety valve will stop jiggling and protrude) after which the whistles will follow soon after. . If it's not and/or it is but whistles are not coming, remove and check to see if the pressure is not leaking on the sides. Need to check your casket in that case. Switch off immediately if you smell burning and open the pressure cooker. Usually the smell starts a little before the food is really burnt and you might be able to save your dish. Hence it's important to make sure your equipment is in good working condition. Switch off the heat after 3 whistles

10. and let it rest for 10 minutes.

11. Open the cooker. This is how it looks upon opening. Don't worry about the paste looking dry :)

12. Add in the milk and coriander leaves.

13. Mix well to combine and the delicious immensely aromatic Vegetable Kurma is all ready.

Serve this with Roti, Poori or its quintessential pair - Parotta!

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Minimally adapted from Kannama Cook's Recipe

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15 Comments

By Sumathi Mohan on Aug 19, 2020

My apologies as I had been cooking this now I dont know how long lost count of times... This has been my family and friends and colleagues all time favourite... my daughter named it as phatapat, chatachat kurma... in a jiffy and everyone just loves it aroma, taste just like restaurant. Thanks so much. am a big follower of your recipes... God bless you

Thank you so much Sumathi for leaving me a feedback. I am so glad its come so handy for you :) --DK

By Ancy on Aug 17, 2020

How much water to be added if i need to double the quantity of veggies

By Arthi Senthilnathan on Oct 16, 2019

Hi. I made this yesterday. It was amazing. Ditto restaurant style. Only glitch was that while other veggies were cooked properly the potato was uncooked. What could b the reason.can I also reduce veggie quantity? If so will I have to supplement with water. Thank you

Most probably cos the potato pieces were bigger than the other vegetables. Chop them smaller and it will get cooked. You can reduce, dont add water. Will reduce the flavor. --DK

By Diana on Aug 28, 2018

This was my first Opos recipe.. Came out really well.. Quick and tasty.. Thanks a lot!!

So glad to hear that Diana. Hope OPOS helps you as much as it does for my family :) --DK

By Anu on Jun 9, 2018

Tried. Came out really well. Thanks for the recipe.

Thank you so much for the feedback Anu :) --DK

By Sheila on Apr 8, 2018

I tried this recipe today on stovetop. I followed recipe exactly except used only 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Everyone at home liked the dish with puris. Thanks for the recipe.

I am so glad it worked great for you. Thank you for leaving me a feedback Sheila :) --DK

By Teja on Nov 16, 2017

Hi, lovely opos recipe, will try it for sure. Your ground paste looks super fine, may I know which blender/grinder you use for the same? I am having a hard time getting the right consistency for all my pastes(including coconut) and yours looked just perfect.

Thank you Teja. I use Blendtec :) --DK

By Roopa on Oct 25, 2017

Hi Is milk not required for the "Stove Top" Alternate method?

You can if you like. Might need some to adjust the consistency. --DK

By Buvana on Sep 1, 2017

Hello The recipe came out very well. It is a very quick dish indeed after you have chopped the vegetables. Thanks for the recipe

That's wonderful. I am so glad for this feedback. Thank you --DK

By Xaviour on Jun 28, 2017

They say vegetarianism is the God wanted us to be. You just made this one look and sound better. I will try

By Padhma on Apr 17, 2017

I did try the recipe. But with the exact amount mentioned in your recipe, it did burn. My pressure valve didn't rise until like 7 mins and I got the burn smell a min later so, I turned it off. After I opened it, the bottom layer was a little burned but the vegetables weren't cooked properly. So, I had to use the milk and put it on pressure again. After this step, it turned out fine. So, it looks like it may require some fine tuning for me. I used prestige baby handi ( it says 2 L on the bottom). Any other tips you think might help? Anyway, the dish itself turned out to be finger licking good! I want to try out your Bhapa Doi recipe next but am not sure the handi would work well for that....

In that case simply add 2 tsp of water next time and try it again. Start with water and oil layer and then proceed as given. Adding water solves the issue but you don't want to add too much. I usually add 2 tsp of a 2L and 1 tbsp for 3L PC. Will add in a OPOS pressure cooker manual soon. --DK

By Ramya Arun on Mar 25, 2017

Tried this today. Had it with idiappam. Was finger licking good. Thanks for your awesome recipe!

Thank you so much for the feedback Ramya. I am glad you liked it. How was your OPOS experience? Did you find it easy? Do let me know if the details are clear or if you require more explanation. Thank you :) --DK

By Saranya on Mar 24, 2017

Hi DK, Nice recipe as always that too an OPOS one - I will definitely try. I read your ingredients list twice and there is no saunf (sombu) in it. I always thought that the magical smell of kuruma was due to the combination of coconut, saunf, kus just. Will definitely try your version Thanks, Saranya

Yes, I thought so too. But this version doesnt. Try it. You can always add it for your version if you like :) --DK

By Padhma on Mar 8, 2017

This is wonderful! I usually use my cooker for most recipes but this is a science in itself. I will definitely try this recipe and post my comment here.

Would love to hear your feedback. Thank you Padhma :) --DK

By Divya on Mar 7, 2017

Hello, I have a 2 litre cooker, but it actually doesn't hold 2 ltrs of water in it. Does it count as a 2 litre cooker?

It should work. Mine is the same way - the upper recession is also counted towards the 2 litres I think! :) --DK