African Vegetable Curry

I got this recipe from here

Ingredients

• 1/2 head cauliflower
• 1 red pepper
• 1 small red onion
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoon curry
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon clove
• pinch corriander, tumeric, and paprika
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1/2 small zucchini
• 1 cup vegetable broth

Instructions

1. In a large skillet or stock pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat of medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, about five minutes. Add cauliflower and pepper, continue to cook until cauliflower begins to soften- another five minutes..
2. While vegetables cook, in a small sauce pan combine remaining olive oil, garlic, and spices. Heat and whisk until sauce is warm and combined. Add spice mixture, beans, zucchini, and vegetable broth to vegetables. Continue to cook uncovered for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Liquid will reduce by half and vegetables will be cooked through. Remove from heat and serve over rice (I used 10 minute rice.)

Personally I didn't use any cauliflower and I used a whole zucchini instead of half. Also my garbanzo beans (chickpeas) were made from scratch, not canned and I added an eggplant.

Kenyan Curried Plantain

Thank you Grace for sending me this fabulous recipe! I used one plantain just to try it out and I absolutely loved it! One thing I've discovered about African recipes is that we don't really follow measurements when cooking, we just go with what feels right. This recipe was no exception but it's pretty foolproof.

Kenyan Curried Plantain

Onion, chopped
Diced tomato (or tomato paste)
Curry powder
Plantain, peeled and chopped
Salt

Method


Fry onion until salt. Add tomato and curry powder. Cook for a few minutes.

Add plantains and salt. Stir and cook for a few minutes.

Amazing! An instant favourite!

East African Shrimp Curry

I have been inspired recently to try out some African recipes. When I lived in Africa, my family had a cook so I never really had much of an opportunity to cook African food which I find to be a real pity now that I live in Canada. I have learned to make a few things in the last several years but it's quite difficult (and expensive) to find some of the needed ingredients.

I really love East African food. Unlike Malawian food they tend to use more spices. Plus they use a lot of coconut milk. I got the recipe for this shrimp curry from http://africaimports.com/seafood1.asp?url=

SHRIMP CURRY, East Africa
Any size shrimp may be used in this curried dish, but small shrimp (over twenty five per pound) are just as satisfactory and far less expensive than the large shrimp.
In a 4-quart saucepan:

Sauté: 1 cup CHOPPED ONION
1 tsp. GARLIC POWDER
1 Tbs. CURRY POWDER
1 tsp. TURMERIC
1 Tbs. SALT
1/2 tsp. CHILI POWDER in
2 oz. BUTTER or OIL until soft but not brown.
Add: 1 cup COCONUT CREAM
2 lbs. SHRIMP, uncooked and peeled
2 cups POTATOES, diced, and
1 cup WATER.
Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes, covered tightly.
Add: 2 oz. LEMON JUICE
1 cup COCONUT CREAM.
Cook until slightly thickened-about 10 minutes more.*
*If a thicker curry is desired, dissolve 2 Tbs. cornstarch in 2 Tbs. water and add in the last few minutes of cooking
Serve hot with rice

A few of the ingredients I used

 

What I used instead of chilli powder: Malawian hot sauce

South Indian Shrimp Curry

 
 Recipe from http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_curry.htm

2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil

1 onion—chopped

2 cloves garlic—finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely grated ginger

2 teaspoons cumin

1½ teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon chili powder

1 cup canned tomatoes—chopped

1 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup basmati rice

16 large uncooked shrimp (prawns)—peeled

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
 ADD the garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, paprika and chili powder and cook, stirring, for a minute. 
ADD the tomatoes, coconut milk and salt and bring to the boil. 
REDUCE the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 8 minutes. 
WHILE the curry simmers, cook the rice (see Cooking rice). 
ADD the shrimp and cilantro to the curry, cover with a lid, and simmer for another 4 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice. 
SERVE on a bed of rice.

Butternut Squash Curry

I bought a butternut squash on a whim last month. I don't have much experience cooking with turnips, rutabagas, swedes and so on. I was surprised by how hard it was to cut the squash up into cubes. Maybe I need sharper knives.

Method

The first step was frying some onions, then adding garlic and spices (I used garam masala, cumin and cayenne pepper).

After that I added around half a can of cubed tomatoes and let it simmer for a while. 

After adding the cubed squash to the tomato mixture, I added some vegetable stock and let it cook for a while.

Near the end, I added some leftover kidney beans I had and cooked for an extra 5 minutes.Then I seasoned with salt and pepper.

It tasted great with brown rice!

Mung Bean Curry

I've never tried mung beans before but they were really easy to cook with and have an interesting taste. For this quick curry I fried some onions, added some spices and then some cooked mung beans together. Then I added some coconut milk. Not bad.

Sweet Potato Curry

I started another Daniel Fast on January 7th,2012. That means 3 weeks with no meats, dairy, sugar or caffeine. Seafood is okay but I'll try to stay away from it as much as possible.

The first dish I attempted during my fast was a sweet potato curry


Ingredients


1 cup kidney beans, boiled
1 large sweet potato, diced
I head of brocolli, cut into mini florets
1 handful of raisins
2 carrots, cubed
1 can coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
Garam masala
Salt and Pepper
Cayenne pepper
Ginger
1 onion, chopped
Minced ginger

Method

Saute onions. Add spices and garlic. Saute further.

Add vegetables, beans and vegetable stock. Boil, then reduce to  medium heat. Cook until sweet potatoes are tender.

Add raisins and coconut milk. Heat.

Season with salt and pepper.

Chicken Curry With Bamboo Shoots

I seem to eat a lot of curry. I guess the reason why I do is because I'm always really busy during the week and I prefer to make a large batch of something that I can freeze and easily heat up. It doesn't hurt that curry always tastes better a day after it's made! The only down-side is the tedium of eating curry week in, week out so I'm always looking for new curry ideas.

A rummage through the cupboard found a can of bamboo shoots. I have never cooked with them before but I was excited to give it a try. 

I got my recipe from here

I added some sliced mushrooms to get rid of some I had in the fridge. I didn't use shrimp paste, I have no idea what that is. I also added some garam masala, as I do to most of my curries.

Some pictures from my cooking:

Bamboo shoots in curry was definitely a winning idea!

Chickpea Curry

I've been feeling kind of blah for the past few weeks. I realize it's because I've been eating more meat than I'm used to so I decided to take a break from meat for a while. I tried out this new recipe.

I pretty much followed the recipe but I added some chopped mushrooms while the curry was cooking, and some hot sauce too. Also, near the end of the cooking, I added about 50g of creamed coconut. I also prepared my beans from scratch.

Verdict? I love it! I'm going to make this for my family, I know they will love it!

Sweet Potato Curry With Spinach and Chickpeas

I need a break from all the chicken I've been eating recently! I found this recipe .
I pretty much followed the recipe except I made it more spicy by adding hot sauce. I didn't garnish it either.

Coconut Fish Curry

I can't believe I'd never thought of making fish curry before! It was so easy to make and tasted delicious! I didn't use any tomatoes. Recipe here

Chick Pea Curry

I have become so interested in beans lately. I know how nutritious they are and they are also very versatile. The only thing I don't like is the bloating. That's why I decided to try chick peas because I heard they are the least gas-producing beans.

I went to an Indian store with my sisters and the chick peas were on sale so I took that as a sign that I had to get some!

I soaked  a cup and a half of the beans overnight. They soaked up so much water! They looked kind of cute.

So, I made chick pea curry. The recipe is here
I didn't exactly follow the recipe too closely. I added some coconut milk and instead of mushrooms  I added  yellow bell pepper. I didn't use any tomatoes either.

Turkey and Black Bean Chilli

 I am going to be incredibly busy this week so I decided to make a batch of chilli to freeze. Turkey is supposed to be healthier than most other meats. Also, I love black beans! I had never had them before I underwent the Daniel Fast. I didn't think any bean could surpass kidney beans. I was so wrong!

Recipe here

I added sliced mushrooms and a cup of frozen vegetable mix instead of the zucchini. I didn't have any tomato paste so I didn't use any. Also, I added hot sauce instead of jalapenos. It tasted awesome! I froze individual servings in ziplock bags.

Tomato and Mushroom Chicken Curry

I like making curry because I can add, and experiment with ,vegetables and I can also make big batches so I don't have to cook again for a few days. The only thing is I don't really keep track of quantities when I make curry; I need to start doing that.

Tomato and Mushroom Chicken Curry

2 tbsp olive oil
3 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp hot sauce
6 mushrooms, cut up
1/2 can crushed tomato
1 cup frozen vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste

Fry the chicken until the colour changes
Add onion and garlic and fry for a while
Add the spices and fry for a couple of minutes
Add vegetables, saute and then add crushed tomato
Reduce heat to medium and cook for around 20 minutes
Season to taste

Lentil Curry

Being vegan isn't so bad after all! Link here

Chicken Mushroom Marsala

Pork Coconut Curry with Plantains and Vegetables

In celebration of Yukari's long-awaited return to Vancouver, I tried a new recipe. Actually, this was a mix of three recipes I found on the internet.

Coconut Chicken Curry (Opor Ayam)

I've made this many times and it hasn't failed me yet.I found the recipe many years ago in a South African magazine.

INGREDIENTS

1 kg chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 small onions, chopped
1 tspn grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tspn ground coriander
1 tspn ground cumin
25g crushed nuts (I use pistachio, walnuts or almonds)
2 tbsn oil
1 cinnamon stick
salt and pepper
1 tbsn lemon juice
1 can coconut milk

Mix onions, garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, crushed nuts and a pinch of salt to a paste with a little oil
Mix the chicken well with the paste. Cover and let marinade in the fridge for at least an hour
Fry chicken mixture until chicken starts to change colour
Add coconut milk, cinnamon and salt. Bring to boil, then simmer uncovered until the chicken is tender
Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste
Serve with rice