Vegetarian Curry Recipe

Vegetarian Curry

As usual, we were looking for a new recipe to try out for guests (why oh why must we always try things out for the first time with guests?!?) I guess I am a masochist when it comes to this but it certainly keeps things interesting in our kitchen - and this time was no exception...

Here's the recipe which was very much made up as we went which may also have led to our near demise! It makes about 5-6 servings - we cooked for 4 people and still had some nice leftovers for lunches... my favorite!

Don't forget to cook the lentils, potatoes, carrots and rice while the rest is cooking so you do not end up with a surprise at the end like we did... forgot to boil the lentils and then made the mistake of dumping them in uncooked and had to start over. But, we were able to pull it off, completing the dish 2 minutes before our guests walked in the door - thank goodness! Do NOT do this... cook those lentils, potatoes and carrots and all will be GRAND!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lentils, cooked
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 head of broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
• 20 green beans, cleaned and cut in half
• 1/2 a can of garbanzo beans
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1 jar of Patak's Tangy Lemon & Cilantro Cooking Sauce (Tikka Masala Medium). You can buy this at Harris Teeter. (If you can't find this, your favorite curry sauce will do. Use as much curry sauce as recommended for one meal on the jar or package.)
• 1 cup water
• Extra virgin olive oil as you need it

Directions:

1. Boil lentils in small pot for 20-30 minutes until tender. Drain.
2. Boil potatoes and carrots in one large pot for 20 minutes until tender. Drain.
3. Heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
4. Add cumin and fry until it mixes and there is a fragrance.
5. Add onions and cook and stir until they are transparent.
6. Add cauliflower, broccoli and green beans and cook for 4-5 minutes.
7. Add the cooked carrots and potatoes, garbanzo beans and the rest of the spices. Mix around until the spices are evened out.
8. Add curry sauce and water. Stir until everything is mixed thoroughly.
9. Simmer until water evaporates and everything is a thicker, stew-like consistency. Stir as needed.
10. Serve over rice and enjoy!!

Sous Chef Notes

The veggie curry is great, but it's important to remember to serve the curry first! We had some salad and while the salad was tasty, our curry got cold by the time we got to it. Serve right away. If you have a hot plate to keep it warm at the table while you eat, even better. Also, the curry goes well with Indian bread. In our case, we complemented our vegetarian curry dinner with some Naan bread.