Vegetable Kurma or Korma

Vegetable Korma is a traditional north Indian dish but Mahesh's family eats it a lot. This is Amma's south Indian version of it:

Ingredients:

Vegetables:
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1/4 cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1/3 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup green beans, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 big or 2 small potatoes, chopped

Spices:
- 1/2 inch stick cinnamon
- 2 whole dry red chilis
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp whole fennel seed
- 4 cashews, roughly broken

Tomato/Onion Mixture:
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 big tomato, chopped
- 1 large or 3 small onions, chopped small
- 1 inch knob of ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 Tablespoon shredded coconut (can used dried or if it's fresh fry first)

Instructions:

1. Vegetables: chop and boil carrots, cauliflower, peas, beans, and potatoes in a little water until just slightly tender -- this will cook more later so don't overdo it!

2. Spices: Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a pot, heat over medium heat, and one by one add in the cinnamon, chili, cloves, fennel seeds, and cashews. Fry a little bit and then take spices out of the pot and set aside.

3. Tomato/onion mixture: In the same pot, add a bit more oil if necessary and add in the garlic, ginger, onion, tomato and coconut. Cook until the onions are tender, then let cool.

4. In a grinder or Indian Mixee, grind the spices until they are a fine powder. Then add the Tomato/onion mixture and grind into a paste. Add this back into the cooking pot, mix in the boiled vegetables, and cook a little more until the vegetables are done to your liking.

5. Finally, taste the korma. Add salt to taste and if you want it to be a bit more sour (if the tomatoes are very sweet), add in a scoop of plain yogurt. Only add yogurt directly before serving, as it may separate if it sits.

Enjoy with rice, or with chapatis (can substitute whole-wheat tortillas for chapatis), or bread