Thursday, September 07, 2006

Curry experiment

Bob and I have church on Wednesday nights, so we can't always have something that takes a lot of effort to make. So I decided to experiment and come up with a new meal that I could make on such nights. I never made curry before, but I knew it was supposed to be pretty simple. So I read a couple of recipes for some general inspiration, and I came up with this easy vegetable curry.

Hodge-Podge Curry

1-2 teaspoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 cup eggplant, diced
1 cup broccoli florets
1 can chickpeas
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 tablespoon Indian spice (I used The Grit's blend)
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Handful chopped cilantro

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute more. The onion should be getting slightly brown. Add the eggplant, broccoli, chickpeas, tomatoes, and spices. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, with the lid on, for 15-20 minutes, until all the flavors are well blended. Remove from heat, stir in the chopped cilantro and let sit, lid on, 5-10 minutes before serving.

I didn't feel like making rice, and we had a freshly baked loaf of bread we were dying to try, so I served this up with whole wheat bread. I will definitely make this again! Very good. The only thing I would change next time is, I would go easy on the cayenne pepper. Anyone who's eaten authentic Indian food knows that it can be scorching hot. This curry was as spicy as any I've had in an Indian restaurant! I don't mind it, but Bob prefers to still have tastebuds left after he finishes a meal. Other than that, we both quite enjoyed it... And it made enough for about 4 servings.

Other than that, I've been making a lot of old staples and we've been clearing out leftovers. Our sloppy lentils came out quite fantastic this time. Our bread came out well. Good things have been stirring!

I'll probably be back Friday or Saturday, and I hope I have something interesting to share by then!

12 comments:

Dreena said...

Laura, I'm like Bob in that I like lots of flavor but not too much heat - then I can't 'taste' anything because my mouth is burning so much!! The curry looks/sounds great, though - I love chickpeas and they go really well in spicier dishes I think.

Oh, your book should be at your doorstep soon - mailed last thurs or fri (can't remember now), but you should have it soon!! :)

Anonymous said...

im with Bob, i dont like food with too much heat. im happy that you found a good recipe by those night when you are in hurry!

MeloMeals said...

Curry looks great!

So do your pancakes..

I just bought 3 dark green plantains.. trying to figure out what to do with them. I think I'll try the salting/saute mash and saute again thing that Midwest Vegan mentioned on your last post.

Glad you switched to beta so I can comment.

Anonymous said...

i got a e-mail that you post in my blog, but i cant see your post in my blog, i actually change to beta today so i can read the comments and post comments but your are lost! i cant find it!
have a nice day!

Nikk said...

The curry looks good! I might have to give that a try tonight! :)

Dori said...

I just discovered that I liked curry within the last couple of months. I prefer low to no heat in my dishes to. Looking forward to see what your fav picks are in your incomung cookbook. I just received a couple of veg slowcooker books that I ordered. I'm looking forward to experiementing this winter.

Aarwenn said...

Laura, you're a superstar! DREENA HERSELF commented on your blog! :)

urban vegan said...

Looks great and easy--perfect for our busy Wednesday nights, too! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Bob - I love Indian food but it has to be mild. Your curry looks good.

I'm going to have to track down a copy of that Grits cookbook. You've mentioned it a few times and it seems to have some good things in it.

KleoPatra said...

I'm already lookin' for ya, Laura! I hope you're having a stellar weekend!

funwithyourfood said...

I looove the heat! and chickpea curry is usually pretty hot. would have been perfect to me :)

Teddy

Nicki Baker said...

that looks really good, can I have some ;)