Spicy Vegetable Curry

This is a variation of a recipe I got from the food columnist at the Fayetteville Flyer. She was bemoaning the fact that Fayetteville has no Indian restaurants and the ones within driving distance to the north were mediocre at best. I have not had any decent Indian food since moving here from Dallas. I have very fond memories of Indian food from our trips to London. London is a great food town! There was a Pakistani restaurant that opened in an old Pizza Hut here this year that did not last long. I have no idea if the food was good but can't help wondering if maybe they had called it Kashmiri or Himalayan cuisine it might have been more successful. And of course that whole abandoned Pizza Hut thing can be risky.

I made some modifications to this recipe including using fresh jalapenos in addition to cayenne pepper and peas instead of edamame. Somehow edamame did not sound very Indian to me.I may be wrong though. I added frozen green peas instead.It is incredibly easy to make. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you. The key is to do all your chopping ahead of time and have your ingredients lined up and ready to go.





And it is always nice if you have a helper. Well, maybe not...




Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
3 or more cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, minced
1" or so fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander

3 tbsp curry powder
1 cinnamon stick
a bit of cayenne pepper if you dare
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
fresh cilantro and chopped nuts for garnish
cooked brown rice

In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Saute the onion, red pepper, carrots and jalapeno until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a minute or so until fragrant. Add the flour and spices and cook for a minute more. Then add the vegetable broth, coconut milk, potatoes and cauliflower and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender then add the green peas. Serve over rice and garnish with the cilantro and nuts.

A note on the rice-Jack Bishop in A Year In A Vegetarian Kitchen recommends cooking brown rice in a large pot of boiling salted water as in cooking pasta. Then you drain it and steam it in a steamer basket until tender for about another twenty minutes. The result is light, tender and flaky brown rice. Not at all heavy or gooey. A revelation!

Enjoy!