Or, what to make when you miss your childhood kitchen.
This is one of those recipes that has had many sub-headings over the years. I first ate this at my mom’s table, where I learned to love curry and take an interest in family recipes. I remember watching her temper the dal (recipe coming soon!), fry the grains of basmati before adding the cooking water, and explain the sweet/sour nature of this curry – which was actually a chicken and potato curry when it appeared on her stove.
In college, the sub-heading would have been ‘what to make to impress people (see: professors coming over for dinner)’. In grad school, it was ‘what to make with friends when hunkered down with your Logic and Set Theory problem set (see: weeping and gnashing teeth, the soothing of)’ and, later, ‘what to make when you are adapting mom’s recipe for your own housemate family (see: vegetarian! sweet potato! the budget version!). Finally, this recipe has been made by so many versions of my former selves that I feel like my curry now has a life of its own.
You start this one off by creating an aromatic base of onion, garlic, ginger, and spice, to which you add vegetables and some tomatoey liquid, and in the not-too-distant future you achieve what is probably my most-often repeated recipe over the years (other than Saturday morning pancakes).
This is one of those recipes I learned by watching and now cook by feel and by taste. You should do this, too, tasting as you go along. Be generous with your quantities (which I never learned to measure anyway), since the leftovers just keep getting better and better. In this case, I made leftovers last even longer by making the last few bowls into brothy soup with the addition of some chicken stock. (And the soup bender of 2017 continues unabated…)
Traditionally, I have served this with a basic red lentil dal and basmati rice, like my mother does. However, I’ve been curious about the idea of making spongy, injera-style flatbread to scoop up curry since making my Yemeni pancakes a few weeks ago. I decided to give it a whirl with this curry, using the same basic recipe, only leaving out the herbs and adding 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds and a bit more water. It was pretty good – not perfect, as I’d like the pancakes to be slightly lighter and thinner, but pretty good. I’ll keep at it and let you know when I’ve cracked the curry-scooping flatbread code.
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, diced
- a 2 inch piece of ginger, diced
- 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin, coriander, and turmeric
- a good pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste (I often make this with one or two whole dried red chilis)
- 1 cauliflower, cut into large florets (they will break up a bit while cooking)
- 1 medium sweet potato, cubed
- 8-10 baby potatoes, halved
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- salt
- heat oil to medium high in a large pan
- add onion, garlic, and ginger; cook until softened
- add spices and stir to coat onions; fry in oil for a minute until things are almost starting to stick
- add vegetables and stir to coat
- add tomatoes, a good pinch of salt, and enough water to almost cover the vegetables.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until everything is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve: you can serve this with rice, flatbread, or on it's own, really! I like to top with a swirl of yogurt and some cilantro leaves.
Heather and Pixie
February 11, 2017 at 10:35 pmYum, yum, yum! Those hazelnut clouds look divine. The photos are terrifi throughout. For some reason, I especially loved the photo of the baking aftermath—eggshells, stacked bowls. I want to try to make the curried cauliflower. All the functionality worked perfectly on my phone…photos, text, formatting for recipes. Brava! If and only if you are taking requests…pavlova. Love you to the moon and back! Heather and Pixie
Laura
February 14, 2017 at 7:15 pmThanks Heather and Pixie! I like the process photos too. =)