Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Super Easy Vegetable Curry

I found this curry recipe in an Indian Cookbook my Dad has had lying around for a long time. The recipe had alot more steps that I found unnecessary. All of the essential ingredients are there but the preparation makes all of the difference. This is choc-full of delicious veggies and spices that will make your mouth water.

 Get your trash bowl and get ready to cook. You're going to need:
1/2 lb of green beans
2-3 potatoes, depending on how much you like your tater
2 carrots
4 medium hothouse tomatoes, ripe
2 medium onions
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsp olive oil
S&P

So get a GIANT pot or skillet. It needs to be deep and have a wide bottom preferably. Put it on a large burner and crank up the heat to medium low. Let the pan heat up while you chop your stuff. Also put a pot of water on to boil with 4 tbsp of salt, this will flavor the potatoes later.
 
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Mmmkay, so dice the potatoes into roughly 1in by 1in pieces. Try not to mutilate them. Put them in the water and put a lid on. When it boils take the lid off. Let those do their thing while you chop the rest of the stuff. You want them to be firm in the middle so they can cook in the sauce later without turning to mush.

Okey dokey, chop the carrots into medallions (circles).

Chop up both onions. I prefer long thin slices but if you like smaller pieces of onion be my guest to dice them. You're going to puree half of these later so it doesn't need to be too pretty.

Peel and dice the garlic.

Wash the green beans and pull the stem end off. Also cut off any bad parts. Cut them in half.

Quarter the tomatoes and try to keep the juices intact. The juices are what help make the sauce.

Okay now it's time to get things going. Remember to keep checking your taters for almost-doneness. So first put some oil in your pan. If it starts to look crazy and wavy then that means the pan is really really hot. If it is this hot pull it off and then add half of the onions and all of the garlic, stir and put it back. Otherwise, just toss it in and start stirring. Add some salt and pepper and the red pepper flake. Let them go until the onions turn translucent.

When you get a minute puree the onion with a little bit of chicken stock or water and add to the party.

Add the tomato, carrot and all of the spices. Keep a cup of water on hand in case the mixture starts sticking to the bottom. If it does just keep it moving and add a little water at a time. It will eventually evaporate and won't harm the food. Turn down the heat to low, cover with a lid and let simmer until the taters are done. When the taters are done strain them and throw them in the curry. Also add the green beans. Let everything get to know each other with a lid on, on low heat. Add water if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve with steamed rice with a splash of lemon or all by it's pretty little self. Either way is good. Very filling and delicious

TIP: Taste your food throughout the cooking process. That way you can adjust the seasoning as you go. You have more time to fix things this way. When you add more vegetables you usually need to add more seasoning. Keep this in mind and also it will keep you from getting too hungry while you cook.

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