Veg Kolhapuri Recipe

Ingredients

For Kolhapuri Masala

• 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds (safed til)
• ½ teaspoon poppy seeds (khus khus)
• 2 tablespoon desiccated coconut
• 4 to 5 black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 2 single strands of mace (javitri)
• 4 to 5 fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
• 1 pinch grated nutmeg (jaiphal)
• 1 small stone flower (patthar phool or dagad phool) – optional
• 1 cobra saffron (nagkesar) – optional
• 1 green cardamom
• 1 black cardamom – seeds kept and husks discarded
• 3 dried red chilies byadgi/bedgi or Kashmiri red chilies, seeds removed
• 1 tej patta

Vegetables (To be cooked separately in a pan, steamer or pressure cooker)

• ½ cup potato – chopped in sticks or batons or 1 medium size potato
• ¼ cup French beans – chopped in batons, or 8 to 10 French beans
• ⅓ cup cauliflower – chopped, optional
• ⅓ cup carrot – chopped in sticks or batons, about 2 small carrots or 1 medium carrot
• ⅓ cup green peas – fresh or frozen
• 2 cups water – for steaming vegetables in a stovetop pressure cooker or a pan/pot.

More Ingredients

• 2 to 2.5 tablespoons oil – peanut or sunflower oil
• ½ cup onion finely chopped or 1 medium-sized
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste or 5 to 6 small to medium garlic cloves + 1 inch ginger crushed to paste in a mortar
• 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (cilantro), chopped
• ⅓ to ½ cup tomato – finely chopped or 1 medium-sized
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
• ⅓ cup bell pepper – sliced, about 1 medium green or red or yellow bell pepper, optional
• 1 to 1.25 cups water or add as required
• salt as required
• 1 to 2 tablespoon coriander leaves – for garnish

Steps

Preparation

1. Rinse and peel the vegetables, cut them into thick batons or strips, and put them in a steamer pan.
2. Steam the vegetables using an electric cooker, a steamer or a stovetop pressure cooker, with as much water as needed for steaming.
3. For the stovetop pressure-cooker method, put a trivet inside a 3 litre cooker.
4. Pour in 2 cups of water, then set the pan of chopped vegetables on the trivet inside the cooker.
5. Cook under pressure for 2 to 3 whistles, until the vegetables are well steamed and fork tender. Wait for the pressure to fall naturally before opening the lid. Drain any water in the vegetable pan and put the steamed vegetables aside.
6. Keep the vegetables' shape intact while ensuring they are cooked all the way through.
7. As the vegetables steam, assemble all the ingredients for the Kolhapuri masala.

Making kolhapuri masala

1. Set a pan over low heat. Dry roast the cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, stone flower, mace strands, a pinch of nutmeg powder, bay leaf, cobra saffron, red chilies, green cardamoms and black cardamom seeds over low heat.
2. Leave out the stone flower, cobra saffron and poppy seeds if they are unavailable.
3. Add the poppy seeds, sesame seeds and desiccated coconut once the spices smell fragrant and are lightly roasted.
4. Continue dry roasting, stirring all the time, until the desiccated coconut is golden; do not let any ingredient burn.
5. Switch off the heat and move the pan aside.
6. After moving the pan aside, stir the spices a few times to keep the residual heat from browning the coconut excessively. Alternatively, tip the roasted mixture onto a plate.
7. Allow the spices to cool, then place them in a dry grinder or a coffee grinder.
8. Process the mixture into a fine powder; a slightly semi-fine texture is acceptable too. Oil will be released by the coconut and sesame seeds as they grind.
9. Scrape down the grinder jar's sides as you continue grinding. If grinding is difficult, pour in some water and grind to a fine paste instead.

Making veg kolhapuri

1. Put a pan of oil on to heat, then add the chopped onions.
2. Stir the onions frequently as they sauté, stopping when they are light golden or golden.
3. Put the ginger-garlic paste in with the onions.
4. Give it a stir before adding the chopped coriander leaves. Stir and sauté for a few seconds, until the ginger-garlic loses its raw smell.
5. The chopped tomatoes go in next.
6. Keep sautéing until the tomatoes are soft and oil comes away from the sides of the pan.
7. Put in the turmeric powder, red chili powder and asafoetida.
8. Stir the mixture before adding the chopped bell pepper or capsicum. Leave the capsicum out if preferred.
9. Over low heat, stir and sauté the bell pepper for about 5 to 6 minutes, until half cooked with a little crunch remaining.
10. Put the ground Kolhapuri masala into the pan.
11. Give the mixture a stir and sauté it for a few seconds.
12. Pour in the water, then salt the curry to taste.
13. Let the curry come to a simmer.
14. Add the steamed vegetables once some oil is floating on the surface of the curry or gravy.
15. Stir the gravy and let it simmer for about 2 minutes.
16. Finally add chopped coriander leaves and stir once more. You can also garnish with coriander leaves.
17. Offer the spicy Veg Kolhapuri hot alongside soft chapati, phulka or paratha. Bread and steamed rice are further serving options.