SAAGU FOR POORI/MIXED VEGETABLE CURRY

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Poori a deep fried Indian Flat Bread is popular throughout the Indian sub continent. Poori is prepared for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, just any meal and is served with halwa/ bhaji/channa/chole/chutney etc. In Bangalore Mysore region poori always goes with saagu a mixed vegetable curry. Creamy coconut gravy with aromatic spices and herbs make saagu really special. Posted here is saagu recipe as my mother taught me and I still follow.

  • Ease - elaborate/moderate
  • Preparation time - 20 -30 minutes
  • Cooking time - 15 minutes.
  • Serves - 6 people

 Ingredients 


  • Carrots - 2 
  • Beans - 100 gms 
  • Chayote - 1 
  • Raddish - 1 
  • Potato - 1 
  • Capsicum - 1 big 
  • Knol Khol - 2 small 
  • Onion -1 
  • Fresh peas - handful 
  • Green chillies - 4 
  • Coriander - 2-3 sprigs 
  • Grated coconut - 1 cup 
  • Puffed gram- 1 table spoon 
  • Ginger - 1 1/2 inch 
  • Cinnamon - 2 inch stick 
  • Cloves - 4 
  • Cumin - 3/4 spoon 
  • Poppy seeds - 1 spoon 
  • Curry leaves - 2 sprigs 
  • Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon 
  • Salt - 1 spoon /to taste 
  • Oil/ghee - 1 spoon for seasoning 
Method
  • Cut the vegetable into small pieces as shown (1/2 inch cubes) 
  • Pressure cook/pan cook veggies till soft with as little water as possible, add salt. 
  • Roast cinnamon and cloves with little oil 
  • Grind roasted cinnamon, cloves, chillies, coriander, onion, ginger, coconut, poppy seeds, cumin, puffed gram into a smooth paste (masala paste) with as minimum water as possible 
  • Add masala paste to cooked vegetables, simmer for 1 minute - Add water to get desired consistency - bring to boil. 
  • Prepare seasoning - Heat ghee/oil in a wok, add mustard let it splutter, add curry leaves 
  • Season cooked saagu and serve with hot pooris/chapathi

Notes
  • Do not use soft vegetables such as pumpkin, egg plant, cucumber, ash gourd for this dish 
  • Radish will add extra flavour 
  • Make gravy creamier by adding a few cashew nuts while grinding 
  • If puffed gram dal is not available - use roasted channa dal (same quantity) 
  • You can follow this recipe for single vegetable saagu - chayote, bottle gourd, spinach are good candidates. 
  • Add few garlic cloves added to gravy as an option 
  • Greens such as spinach, amaranth, spring onions may be added, if you have them, without hesitation. 

Comments

  1. jyothi hulikunteOctober 9, 2014 at 8:00 PM

    As kids we loved to eat poori saagu. Infact my son and his cousins would vie with each other to consume maximum quantities of pooris with saagu. Try this veg curry with poori/chapathi and let me know your experience

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 27, 2014 at 7:10 PM

    Poori saagu is evergreen dish. Are vegetable koorma and sagu the same

    ReplyDelete

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