veggie dinner 1: cauliflower curry
Even though I've never been a vegetarian myself, I didn't grow up eating a lot of meat; thanks to my mother's healthy multi-ethnic cooking I never felt like every meal had to be anchored by a big piece of animal. Good thing, since Leah was a vegan when we first started living together. Now that everyone is trying to eat locally and ethically and sustainably and realizing how expensive meat is supposed to be, we're all looking for vegetarian main dishes that will satisfy our families; this week I hope to post a few of mine. Leading off, cauliflower curry.
Cauliflower Curry
This is the all-season version of this recipe, one you can make any time with ingredients from the grocery store. But once you have the curry base made—up to adding tomatoes and coconut milk—you can throw whatever veggies you want in there. Recently we made a curry with zucchini and green beans from the garden, and it was as tasty as ever you could wish.
In a large saute pan, heat
some oil
Add
1 large yellow onion, chopped
Cook for a while, then add
1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped (seeded if you want)
about an inch of ginger, chopped
two cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp curry powder
Cook for 3 or 4 minutes, then add (deglazing the pan)
1 14oz can diced tomato (undrained)
1 5oz can coconut milk
Bring to a simmer and add
1 head cauliflower cut up into little florets
1 14oz can chick peas
1/2 c water if needed
Simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is as cooked as you want, then at some point add
frozen peas
Five minutes before serving, add
1 bunch chard or other greens
Serve over rice.
comments
Leah tells me the "skinny can" of coconut milk I originally called for is actually 5oz, so I updated the recipe to be just that much more precise.