Vegetable Kohlapuri

Vegetable Kohlapuri

I first had this dish at my friend D’s house and remember being completely blown away by the flavors of this dish. Its spicy, hearty and delicious. It originates from a place called Kolapur in Maharashtra, India. They have a lot of unique flavors and actually this dish is made from Kohlapuri chillies.

Some versions of this recipe uses coconut and sesame seeds too in the gravy, but this is my take on it!

Ingredients

Veggies

Carrots	1-2 medium sized
Cauliflower florets	10
Beans	7-8
Potatoes	1 medium sized
Capsicum/Bell Pepper	1 medium sized
Onions	1 medium sized
Green Peas	1 cup

Gravy

Brown onion paste	1 cup ( 1 medium sized onion)
Tomatoes (pureed)	4
Ginger Garlic Paste	1 Tbsp
Green chilly Paste	1 Tbsp
Red chilly powder	1 tsp
Coriander Powder	1 tsp
Cumin powder	½ tsp
Salt	To Taste
Fenugreek Leaves	1 tsp, Crushed
Garam Masala Powder	½ tsp
Whole Garam Masala	1 inch cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf, 3 cloves, 3 cardamom pods
Oil	3 Tbsp
Butter	1 Tbsp (Skip if you want to make this vegan)
Cumin Seeds	1 tsp
Minced Ginger, Garlic and Green Chillies	1 tsp each
Oil	For deep frying
Kitchen King Masala	1 tsp

Method

Cut the carrots, potatoes and beans into long strips. Also cut one capsicum and onion into cube sized pieces. Now deep fry the carrots, beans, cauliflower and the potatoes. Drain them in a paper towel. Add the Kitchen King Masala and fenugreek leaves and let it sit for a while.

In a heated pan, add oil and whole spices. Now sautee onions in till they turn deep brown in color. Add and cook the ginger garlic paste. Let it cool and grind it with 2 Tbsp of yoghurt. Puree the tomatoes.

Now add the brown onion paste.  Add the tomato puree. Once the mix comes to a boil add salt, turmeric powder and red chilly powder. Add the green chilly paste and cumin/coriander powders. Add little water and let the mix cook. Once oil starts oozing from the sides the gravy is all cooked.

 In a separate pan, add some oil, and the minced ginger, garlic and green chillies. Now add the cubed capsicum and onions.

Saute for a minute and add the cooked gravy. Add all the vegetables and a cup of cooked green peas. I added frozen green peas so cooked in in the gravy for 5 minutes. Add a little water to combine all the ingredients and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Finally add some butter and serve piping hot.

There’s something about a red fiery piping hot gravy that is absolutely awesome! Enjoy as a side for chapatis, rotis naan kulcha or even pulao!

Tips

·      Once I wanted this gravy and had no patience to individually deep fry all the veggies. I sautéed them for 15 minutes until they were completely cooked and used them for the gravy, it tastes just fine.

·      Though the ingredient list looks long and intimidating, they all serve an individual purpose that comes together and makes awesome gravy.