Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew with Basmati Rice
Well, last night I finally got back in the kitchen after my much-needed break. After having eaten Thai curry the night before and leftovers for lunch, I was still in the curry mood. So I searched Foodbuzz for curry recipes, and I found one on the blog Spork or Foon? that seemed pretty simple and looked tasty, so I went with it. Check out the recipe there, at the very least to see a decent photograph that doesn’t look like someone ralphed all over the brown basmati rice I cooked to serve it with.
I don’t really know too much about curry except that it tastes different every time I eat it. This is because “curry” just refers to a style of cooking; there’s no standard recipe for curry powder. The powder I used this time was one that I found in my dad’s cupboard– we ate with him and his wife last night — called “Tandoori Curry.” A quick Google search tells me that “tandoori” refers to a style of Indian cooking using a large cylindrical oven, but I can’t really find the difference between tandoori curry powder and regular curry powder. Whatever the difference, it was pretty red and pretty spicy, but the coconut milk (something I’m totally into these days) helped out with the heat.
The recipe calls for a quarter cup plus two tablespoons of curry powder, which is a whole lot! And since curry powders vary so much in terms of flavor and heat, putting this much in is really risky. But life’s too short to fret about how spicy your curry will be, and only one unnamed wife of mine found the meal unpalatably spicy. My dad thought it was really good, and nothing makes a son feel great quite like getting some food into his zero-appetite surgery-recovering dad.
So this meal was pretty much a hit, barring the spice issue. The amount of salt to use in the dish isn’t specified; I added a tablespoon or two to the pan and it still needed more at the table. Once the amount of salt was correct, this meal earned about 3.5 to 4 cows out of 5 from me. My only problem was the curry flavor just wasn’t like it is when you get curry at a restaurant. Maybe I need to make the powder myself, or perhaps good curry-flavor comes from really slow cooking. Speaking of cooking time, this meal took a while (maybe 40-45 minutes total) because of simmering time, but the active cooking time was very little.
So get in the kitchen and get your Indian on this weekend (but not on Memorial Day; that would be a little weird)!
Erin and I hit the farmers market this morning– going to the farmers market is so gangster. If you’re still not going to yours, check out localharvest.org and get to it! We found some fresh asparagus that we’re going to use for asparagus ragout with polenta and some nice Chardonnay tonight, so check back over the next few days for that one.
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Hey guys, I’m glad you’re trying some meatless meals! The more I learn about it, the more I realize what a great thing it is for our health, the planet’s health, and our wallets. Even if you don’t eliminate meat entirely from your diet!
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Hey Spike and Jo,
I have cooked a bunch of these meals and AJ loves them too. I have only had to change a couple meals that have nuts in the recipe, but I just finish his plate, then add the nuts to the batch for us.
i think the knee sleeves helped reduce knee pain, although they did not get rid of it completely (obviously!) LOL. the sleeves work by preventing your patellar bone from tracking laterally (left and right) which reduces pain and helps minimize further damage to your joints. they were recommend by a friend in the medical field, although not by the sports doctor i saw (but he sucked). i hope that helps!
Glad it worked out and I am so glad your dad liked it (and so sorry your wife didn’t!). It is quite spicy with the large amount of curry powder, and I wonder what the Tandoori curry powder made it taste like! The coconut milk really brings down the heat, though! It looks great!!!
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It wasn’t that she didn’t like it, just the heat. She’s not good with the hot stuff. Thanks for the great recipe.
Can’t go wrong with chickpeas + curry!
I’d recommend seeking out Madras curry powder (it’s a type, not a brand). It’s got the most “authentic” curry flavor and aroma. It sounds to me like “Tandoori curry” may be more a blend of curry powder + other seasonings. Regular curry powder is yellow; if that stuff was red, I’m betting it was a pre-made tandoori-style dry rub, which means it would include chili powder and various other things meant to be rubbed on meat (usually chicken) before roasting it in the tandoor.
Yum! I’m so glad that I found this recipe. I made this last week and it turned out great! I also made the Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry with Green Peas which was really good too. I’ve been in a curry and veggie mood lately and both of these recipes were perfect for me. Thanks.
We’ve been reading NMA for a week or so, and we’ve decided to introduce some veggie meals. Tonight we had the bean burritos, which were awesome. Also, Brendan (our 14 month old) is not really into meat, so this could help out with finding some great alternatives for him. Thanks, NMA!