Tomato Kurma with Leek Kulsha - Indian Food Week

I have writer's block tonight, probably due to the Brewer's Gold, Timmermans Faro and Boon Oude Gueuze that I drank earlier at the Kingston Arms, Cambridge. I'd recommend all 3 to anyone who enjoys a good beer (or 2 or 3!)
So for a quick-ish post tonight, I made Tomato Kurma with Leek and Paneer Kulcha (stuffed Indian breads). It was the first time I made Kulcha and they are absolutely amazing!

Tomato Kurma I know that this dish is only supposed to contain tomatoes, but to make it a bit healthier I added peas and carrots to it.  I'm sure it would be delicious with fresh tomatoes only, but the UK isn't known for its bright red, juicy, tasty tomatoes in Spring so I added a tin of plum tomatoes to the sauce as well. 


Tomato Kurma with Leek Kulcha

Ingredients:

Olive oil

2 Star Anise seed 

1 Onion, chopped fine

500 grams plum, bright red, juicy (cherry) tomatoes, chopped - as mentioned, you can use tin tomatoes if you can't get hold of nice tomatoes at this time of year

1 tsp Special Spice Mix (see Curry post)

Salt

1 tsp Sugar

Handful of fresh Coriander leaves

2 Tbsp Cream (optional)

1/2 cup frozen Peas (optional)

1/2 cup Carrots, chopped small (optional)

Paste: 

1/4 shredded Coconut flakes

Small handful of Cashews, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
2 Red Chillies

1/2 to 1 tsp Chilli Powder (depending how hot you like your curry)

1 tsp Coriander Seeds or Powder

1 tsp Garam Masala

Ingredients for the Tomato Kurma

How to:
First, blend all the paste ingredients until smooth. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the star anise and fry for about a minute.
Add the onion and cook until nicely translucent, golden and caramelized.
Add the tomatoes and cook until they turn into a sauce, adding 1/2 cup of water at this point. Note: you can remove the skin of the tomatoes to get a smooth curry, alternatively blend the fresh/tin tomatoes whole before adding them to the pan. 
Add the Special Spice Mix, (vegetables) and the paste.
Simmer for another 10 minutes, allowing the tomato sauce to reduced slightly.
Add the sugar and salt, mix well.Add the cream, heat through.
Serve with Leek Kulcha or rice.

Leek Kulcha
Ingredients:
Dough:
150 grams (1 cup) Whole Wheat Flour
150 grams (1 cup) White Flour
50 - 100 grams Cottage Cheese (adjust to get a smooth dough)
50 grams Butter at room temperature (you can use vegan spread)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder - I think I'll use yeast next time, it will make the dough lighter
Filling:
2 Leeks, sliced thinly
100 grams Paneer, grated
1 Green Chilli
Pinch of Salt

How to:
Mix all the dough ingredients. Adjust the quantities if necessary, adding more flour if too wet or more cottage cheese if too dry.Rest for 1 hour.
Cook the leek in some olive oil until soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Add the rest of the filling ingredients.
Roll out the dough but not too thin. Cut out circles the size of coasters.
Put filling in the center of the dough circle and cover with another circle, press the edges down (it should make about 8 kulcha) and let them rest for another 20 minutes.
Heat a little (very little) oil in a pan on low heat and cook each kulcha on both sides until lightly brown.
Serve with any curry!