Sunday, September 6, 2009

Simplifying CURRY!

In celebration of being at Ca'del Bosco for 5 days, I tested out a very basic CURRY Recipe, and continued to make a delicious Vegetable Curry from my vegetables from assorted neighborly gardens. My favorite book, right now, is from the owners of MASALA ZONE  in London. This is one of my favorite Indian restaurants, so I was thrilled to receive this from one of my best foodie friends, Adam.  It's called "50 Great Curries of India", and, I must admit, a bit daunting, in a wonderful, creative way. However, that's why it's important to start simple. And get the basics down. Camilla Panjabi offers lots of great direction  in her book. Key is to carmelize the onions properly because once you start adding in the cumin, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek (my addition) and curry powder, with of course, garam masala and paprika (I used my Spanish La Chinata Pimenta versio), it becomes almost a 'paste of onions' See my photo,  it looks incredible: Add a cup of water to the 'paste' and cook for 10 mintues. After that you can add in a couple of fresh diced tomatoes or a  can of Muir Diced and let it simmer and mix in for about 5 minutes.  Then the fun begins.  Add in your choice of vegetables:  I chose fresh potatoes from the garden (quartered and parboiled), squash, corn,and chick peas.  All diced to a bite-size.  I also added 2 cups of vegetable broth (from cooking the potatoes for about 15 minutes).  I brought this all to a boil, then let this simmer for about 1/2 an hour. At the same time, I made Jasmine rice.  Serve this beautifully seasoned curry over the rice and garnish with lots of fresh cilantro!  You've made your own first, healthy curry! I made enough to freeze 3 servings to bring to work!

INGREDIENTS:
4 T. OIL
1 LARGE Onion sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 sq of fresh Ginger (I only had the the l&Perrins root ginger)
3/4 t Coriander powder
a pinch of Turmeric
1/4 t. cumin powder
2 t. garam masala
1 t. paprika
2 tomatoes
Salt
chopped Cilantro leaves for Garnish
Mixed diced fresh vegetables: Squash, corn, potatoes, carrots
1 can of Chick peas
---------***** ENJOY!!!

1 comment :

  1. mmmm....looking forward to this tasty vegetarian curry!! Thanks for the inspiration.

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