- It tastes pretty good, and we like pretty much all versions of it.
- It can be made up fairly quickly with a couple of pantry staples at hand, and a pressure cooker
- It is pretty versatile and works well as a freestyle item — no recipe needed, just a set of guidelines
Some people get intimidated by curry, but basically, it is a stew — and the same “rules” for making a tasty stew apply to curries — spend a little bit of time at the beginning developing the flavours, add liquid, and braise until everything is tender, and the flavours meld together. With some pre-cooked chickpeas (from a can or from the stash in the freezer), we can cook up a tasty curry in about 25 minutes — 10 minutes prep, and 15 minutes in the pressure cooker. A little bit longer if you’re going for a meaty curry.
When in doubt, a tasty braise is always on! If you notice, a lot of the tasty fancy dishes around the world are in fact, just versions of stew. Curry, coq au vin, boeuf bourginone, chicken paprikash, goulash, chicken tikka marsala, chicken pot pie = stew masquerading as pie!
For us, a quick curry is also a good way to empty out the fridge — just remember to keep the flavours complementary. For this curry, we had chickpeas and cauliflower (one of my favourite combos), with the addition of a cubed sweet potato, an apple cut in small dice, julienned ginger, lots of garlic and some apple butter that needed to be used up.
Go ahead and give it a shot! With the cauliflower, this is one instance where I like it cooked until it “melts” into the curry and starts to become part of the sauce. It stays nice and sweet that way, complementing the sweetness of the apple butter and sweet potato. It you want to switch it up, you can add coconut milk to the braising liquid, or diced, canned tomatoes. You can also amp up the onions and garlic, cut back on the ginger, add extra spices — its your curry, so go crazy!!!
Vegetable Curry in a Hurry
- 1 large onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2-3 Tablespoons garlic, finely julienned or minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3-4 Tablespoons curry paste (I use Patak’s but you can use your preferred brand)
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 medium sweet potato, sliced and cut into 3/4″ dice
- 3 cups cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 medium apple, cut into small dice
- 3 Tablespoons apple butter
- 2 to 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock (quanity depends on your pressure cooker)
Saute onions on medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until onions are just starting to brown lightly. Add the curry paste, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add all the other ingredients and mix to combine everything. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and bring the pressure up. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pressure come down naturally. Give one last stir, and serve over rice, or with flatbread and raita.
Tonight’s version is a vegan curry, and if you serve it over rice, is also gluten-free
]]>This fit the bill on all fronts, and is hearty enough to have for [...]]]>
This fit the bill on all fronts, and is hearty enough to have for a lunch, and interesting enough to have as a side dish for dinner, and because of the black beans combined with sweet potatoes, is filling. The flavours are all southwestern — for maximum best flavour, make sure you take the time to toast the spices with the onions. You can also leave out the cilantro for those who don’t care for it, and if you can eat citrus, adding the juice of half a lime will brighten the flavours even more.
- 3 medium yams cut into 3/4” dice
- 1 sweet bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans
- 2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil, or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2-3 teaspoons chipotle Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the yams in a single layer on a half sheet pan or large cookie sheet. Roast the yams, uncovered in the oven for 20 minutes, until tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. When cool, place the yams in a large bowl.
While the yams are roasting, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add salt to taste, and sauté until onions are soft and translucent. Add the cumin, coriander and chili powder, and cook until lightly toasted. Let cool slightly, and add to the bowl with the yams.
Add all the other ingredients to the bowl, and toss lightly to thoroughly mix everything.
Serve warm, or at room temperature. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
southwestern sweet potato and black bean salad (PRINTER FRIENDLY)
]]>Recently I came across this recipe for Gluten-free Cookie Bars by Julie Hasson over at Everyday Dish TV, and we have a friend who has been going through some food-related problems, so I figured I would test them out on him and hubby. For me, its all about the taste and texture — who cares if its gluten-free or vegan if it tastes like cardboard! I’m a firm believer in enjoying your food — there is more to food than just its nutrient components! I don’t want to be cooking for people if they are going to feel as though they are deprived of something.
Baking gluten-free does require stocking a few extras in your pantry: I had some of the items already (flax seeds, egg replacer, chickpea and soy flour), but added a couple of extras (gluten-free AP flour, xantham gum). Most are readily available at your local health food store, and some supermarkets are now stocking some of these items.
I have found that many of the vegan baked goods go together quite easily — no mixer required. Because you are not creaming butter, or using stiffer ingredients, it doesn’t require arms of Hercules to incorporate all the ingredients! This was a bit of a stiffer batter, but completely manageable. I opted to bake these in 2 8-inch square pans (recipe uses a 9×13), for 2 reasons:
- one pan was going to someone else for tasting
- I used 2 different pans to see if it affected baking time (yes it did, glass baking dish cooked a little less quickly than in the heavy gauge metal baking dish)
Here’s the final result: They had great texture, nice and chocolatey (I used 1 cup of chocolate chips rather than 1 1/2 cups as that was all I had), crispy on the outside, chewy in the interior, and they had a great taste without being overly sweet. Hubby seemed surprised that they had no butter in them (he’s not normally free with comments, so this is good!). I am thinking of using this as a jumping off point for other flavourings and other additions (dried cranberries and vegan white chocolate chips? orange zest and oil with dried blueberries?)
Thanks Julie for a great recipe!
]]>