Kurma / Veg Saalna for Parotta


If you want to taste the best PAROTTA in the world, IMHO Chennai is the most recommended place. There is this lovely Kaiyendhi Bhavan or the road-side eatery near Naidu Hall in Pondy Bazaar, where you get out-of-the-world Parottas and Podi dosais. But if you are going on a weekend evening, make sure you reach there by 7, because the place starts flooding with people coming in Cars, scooters, bikes and you'll literally find yourself land-locked with people!! Now I guess you'd have got an idea of the reputation of this wonderful Joint. They serve only vegeterian food, that being the first reason of me frequenting there; despite being a road-side eatery, they prepare the food and serve it in the most hygenic way, which makes my DH too like the place! They serve their Parottas with a Kurma, piping hot that your fingers burn before you finish the plate. That's how it tastes best too.

Now that I have raved enough about one of my fav food joints.. I tasted this wonderful Kurma in one of my friend's place during the Diwali party and liked it very much. Last week I bought some frozen Parottas and wanted to make this Kurma. Since I didn't get a look-alike recipe anywhere else, I decided to venture myself and the result was utterly yummy! (though I shouldn't say that myself!!)

I really don't know if this qualifies for Saalna,that's why the question mark in the title, as I have never tasted an authentic one. So please free to drive the ignorance out of me if I am wrong! :)

Kurma / Saalna for Parotta
Gravy for Parotta/ Indian Layered Bread

What we need:
Onion, big - 1, thinly sliced
Tomato, big - 1, finely chopped
Green Chillies - 2 or 3, sliced
Mint - 15 to 20 leaves
Coriander - a handful, finely chopped
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
Chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
Cumin powder - 1 tsp.
Garam Masala - 1 tsp.
Salt - as needed
Water - 1 cup

For tempering:
Cinnamom stick - 1" inch
Cloves - 3 or 4
Bay leaf - 1 or 2
Oil - 2 tbsp.

To grind:
Coconut - 3 tbsp.
Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp.

How to do:
1. Grind the coconut and fennel seeds with little water.
2. Heat oil and add the Cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cloves.
3. When they are done, add the thinly sliced onions, green chillies, half of the mint leaves, and half of the coriander.
4. When the onions turn soft, add the tomatoes. Throw in the dry powders, salt and mix well.
5. When the tomatoes start to pulp, add a cup of water and the ground coconut mix. Mix well.
6. When the gravy comes to a boil or when the raw smell of coconut and fennel is leaving, switch off and garnish with the remaining coriander and mint leaves.

Note:
This gravy is meant to be a little watery than the usual ones, so don't worry if it flows out of your plate like a flooded river! ;)
The main flavoring agent is the mint leaves. So please don't omit them!

Serve hot with Parottas, Rotis or even rice!

Now it is time of acknowledge all the awards passed on to me by my lovely buddies. So sorry to post it so late!!!

Asha has showered me with





Asha and Sree has passed on to me



Asha and SE(Denu Food) has passed on




SE(Denu Food) (Oops, What's your real name dear?) also gave me


Thank you so much dearies, I am honored. I would like to pass these on to all the buddies who are yet to receive them. Please feel free to post them in your blogs!

Happy cooking and happy blogging!

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

luks creamy&rich...hope it tastes gr88..will def try it out...tnx for sharing Rohini

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Lovely and delicious kurma. Looks tempting

Pari Vasisht said...

Hi Dear.I am not going to comment about ur kurma today, that is looking nice as usual, but u have mentioned about Parottas which is making me feel very hungry. They have been my all time favorites in Chennai and I surely miss them a lot. There were these small joints near our place who used to make fresh parottas during lunch and serve it with kurma, whenever I had no inclination to cook I would be after S to get this combo, these parottas taste nice with egg curry too.......:-)not fair dear, I am going on and on...

SE said...

hey rohini..congrats on all your awards..im little partial to coconut, so curries with coconut are yummy...hey and I would email you my real name :-)

Namitha said...

Yummy kurma....Thanks for all those info about the places where you get best parottas in Chennai. Will keep this in mind :-)

prasu said...

Congrats on all ur awards dear..........lovely info. about paratas, vegitable salan looks very delicious...

Sanjana said...

Yummy recipe, Rohini! Great job! This would also be yummy with bhatura :D NomNomNom I want!

Latha said...

Lovely and yummy kurma...

Congrats on all ur awards.

Ash said...

Hmmmm.... Good looking kurma, ought to try.... I'm sure it would taste really good with rotis too...'cuz when I c the pic all I can imagine is a piece of roti, along with kurma into my mouth....


Ash....
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Sushma Mallya said...

Looks delicious and really must be very tasty with parathas

Parita said...

Wow curry looks simply delicious!

Vrinda said...

I lov kuruma..nice thick gravy...yummm

Priya Suresh said...

Salna looks prefect and gorgeous..

Sanghi said...

delicious kuruma for parottas.. yummmy!

Nandinis food said...

Wow, man! I love this kurma! It's creamy, rich, thick and yummy!

Unknown said...

Looks so delicious & yummy.

Tina said...

Perfect side dish for hot parotta....

ST said...

Mouthwatering kurma dear:)

Padhu Sankar said...

Thanks for your information .I visit Naidu hall often but never know of the Kaiyendhi Bhavan. Congrats on your awards

Sreelekha Sumesh said...

Yummy Kurma..Perfect for chapati and parotta.

Unknown said...

yummy kurma..and the way you have described about the parota joint..am surely going to visit it next time I visit chennai

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Hi Rohini....
Thanks for sharing.. Kurma recipe... It sounds nice n easy...
Do u have a recipe for Layered Paratha ( Ceylon Paratha) . My hubby has been asking me to make one for him...
Hope u had a good weekend!

Ms.Chitchat said...

Thanks for the info about the Kaiyendhi Bhavan near Naidu Hall. A frequent visitor to that place when I am in Chennai. Kurma looks yummy and rich. Will certainly try. Thanks for enjoying the blog about ads.

Chitchat
http://chitchatcrossroads.blogspot.com/

creativemani said...

Hi Rohini..
Kuruma looks yummy...
And regarding the Awards:
Its No Wonder.. I will be surprised only if you didnt get any..
Congrats!!!
:)

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

hey never know about that kaiyendhi bhavan.nannum 8yrsa chennaila irrundhen.Will try this time when i go there.
kurma looks yummy.i love to have with parrota.
will try this soon.

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

Looking very rich and tasty..maybe I should prepare them for lunch and have it with prata..I have some store brought ones :D

San!!! said...

Nothing can beat this up to hog around in winter.Small eatery places are big hits at chennai.Good idea to prepare them at home ,nice click.

Anupama said...

This is one wonderful kurma! I know exactly which joint you are talking about... sometimes I wonder how these road side vendor food taste 100 times better than proper restaurant food...

Anonymous said...

is there anything heavenly than the kaiyendhi bhavans?You got me all nostalgic abt pondy bazaar and t nagar.sigh..I miss it.with a rcipe like this, the saalna cant go rong

Unknown said...

salna looks very delicious rohini

Rohini said...

Thanks buddies..!!

Kanchan said...

Whenever I am planning 2 visit chennai and I need info on food joints I sure know whom to contact :)

Kurma looks appetizing !

my kitchen said...

Perfect ,atch with paratha,congrats

kitchen queen said...

Nice and mouth watering kurma with parota.

Unknown said...

Congrats dear and wishing many more to come...
Very creamy and tempting kurma! Looks ready for my rotis:D
Keep rocking!!

Pawsitive said...

Hi... I'm glad I found this recipe.. I tried this today and was so simple to make and turned out as a perfect side for parotta... Thank you