Food Matters Project #7: Curry with Vegetables

I thought this post was very fitting for our household today. The chosen dish for the The Food Matters Project was a curry, and today, Sam is leaving for a work trip to India.  What a coincidence!  This weeks recipe was chosen by Joanne of Eats Well With Others.  Joanne had chosen the Curried Tomato Soup with Hard-Boiled Eggs from Mark Bittman’s book, The Food Matters Cookbook.  Check out the comments section of this post to see how everyone else’s dishes turned out.

I actually wasn’t a fan of Indian food until Sam made me dinner when we first started dating.  At that time he wasn’t eating meat, so the dish was full of veggies, chickpeas and a spicy sauce.  I fell in love (not only with the dish)!  Since then, Indian has definitely been one of our rotating flavors.  The best part is that Indian dishes are very versatile, without meat it tastes even better.  My favorite veggies to add are cauliflower and carrots, definitely try those if you haven’t already.  Add some fresh naan and basmati rice, and you’ve got yourself a great dinner.  Or even better leftovers.

This dish was light, airy and had a silky sauce with the vegetables and the coconut milk.  It’s something all of us can put together after work, or a couple of days in advance for a mid-week dinner.  Mark Bittman even suggests freezing this, for future dinners.

Curry with Vegetables
Adapted from: The Food Matters Cookbook (pg 107)
I realize that Mark Bittman’s recipe called for hard boiled or poached eggs, and other bloggers had also tried a fried egg on top.  This weekends festivities included a giant omelet, and therefore eggs were not calling my name this evening.  But if you do try this version, please let me know how it tastes!  I served this over some basmati rice, but it can also be enjoyed with some naan.

1 large onion, diced
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 inch piece of ginger, shredded
1 jalapeño, chopped (optional)
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
3 medium potatoes, peeled & chopped
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into pieces (about 3 cups)
1 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup water
3 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp cilantro, chopped

In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil.  When it’s hot, add the onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeño.  Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft for about 5 minutes.  Then stir in the curry, chili powder, cinnamon and garam masala.  Once the colors of the spices are stirred in, add the potatoes, carrots and cauliflower into the skillet.  Cook them for about 2-3 minutes, then add the coconut milk and water.

Mix all of these ingredients and allow them to cook for about 25 minutes on low heat.  Once the carrots and potatoes are soft, sprinkle in the salt and pepper.

When plating this dish, sprinkle cilantro on top.