Preparations:

Take bengal gram in a bowl and wash it. Cook the bengal gram by adding some water to it. Do not overcook the gram. In this recipe we do not peel the vegetables. So wash the vegetables thoroughly. Wash and slice the potatoes, bottle gourd and pumpkin. Take the cut vegetables in a microwave safe bowl and add some water. Place this bowl in a microwave oven and cook on high power for 5 minutes. Stir once the vegetables and again microwave on 30% power for 10 minutes. After giving 5 minutes standing time remove the vegetables from the oven. Peel the onions and cut them into thin slices.

Paste:

Peel one medium sized onion and cut it into slices. Break red chillies into pieces and keep them aside. Peel the garlic. Wash & clean the ginger piece. Take the sliced onions, red chilli pieces, peeled garlic and ginger in a mixie jar and add turmeric powder, cardamom, cinnamon, poppy seeds, fresh seeds of bottle gourd and pumpkin and add some water. Grind the ingredients to a fine and smooth paste. Take the paste into a bowl and keep it aside.

Method:

Take all the seasoning ingredients in a plate and keep it near. Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add the seasoning ingredients and fry well. Then add the sliced onions and fry them till they look transparent. Add the ground paste and fry well for nearly 1 or 2 minutes. Add the cooked vegetables and mix well. Add some water and mix well. Now add salt and boiled bengal gram and mix well. Add water if required and cook covered on low flame for 7 minutes. Remove the bay leaves from the curry and transfer it to a serving bowl. Sprinkle vepudukaram on the curry and serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Points to Notice:

In this curry we are not removing the peels of the vegetables. The vegetables cut along with the skin tastes good in this dish. If you do not like to keep the skins, peel them and grind them along with the other ingredients to make the paste. For all vegetables the vitamins lie just beneath the skin. So it is better to use the vegetables (as far as possible) without removing the skin. Or else use it innovatively & consume to enjoy the benefits of good health. So it is better to wash the vegetables

thoroughly before using them in the curry.

While cooking bengal gram take care not to overcook them.

Prepare the curry atleast 4 hours before serving to get better taste.