My first curry

I'd been craving a coconut milk-based curry for months. Couldn't find a recipe that spoke to me. Then we replaced our broken slow cooker and I opened up my trusty Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker and there it was. While it doesn't taste as authentic as something you'd get at a restaurant, it totally does the trick. We ate it with brown rice.

Ingredients:
1 T peanut oil
2 carrots, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T curry powder
1 t ground coriander
1/4 t cayenne
2 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
8 oz green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used frozen)
1 1/2 cups garbanzo beans
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained (oops, I didn't drain mine!)
2 c veg stock
1/2 c frozen green peas, thawed
1/2 c canned unsweetened coconut milk
salt

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrots and onion, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, curry powder, coriander and cayenne, stirring to coat.

2. Transfer the vegetable mixture to your slow cooker. Add potatoes, green beans, chickpeas, tomatoes and stock, cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. (I cooked for 8.5 hours because I was started with frozen green beans and garbanzos and that's how long it was until dinner time)

3. Just before serving, stir in peas and coconut milk and season with salt.

Bombay Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk

My roommate made a variation of this recipe from Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness. She added squash & zucchini and served it over saffron rice. Delish!

Ingredients:

1 large red onion, quartered

6 garlic cloves

2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thirds

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 tsp salt

1 fresh hot green chile, sliced into thin rounds

12 fresh or 18 frozen curry leaves, torn to pieces (optional)

4 lbs of chicken, cut into pieces

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

For spice powder:

2 Tbsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds (optional)

12 black peppercorns

2 whole dried red chilies

1/4 tsp turmeric

6 whole cloves

6 green cardamom pods

Directions:

For the spice powder, combine the ingredients in a grinder & grind into a powder. Set aside.

Combine the onion, garlic and ginger in a blender and process to a puree. Set aside.

Heat oil in large casserole dish or wok over medium-high heat. Add onion puree and salt. Cook until golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Drizzle water in as onion cooks to keep from burning.

Add green chili and curry leaves and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add spice powder and salt and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Add chicken pieces and cook, stirring constantly, until meat is mostly opaque (4-5 minutes).

Add the coconut milk and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Salt to taste & sprinkle the remaining cilantro on top.

Samosa casserole

One of my favorite cookbooks, Veganomicon, has a recipe for Samosa Baked Potatoes, which is basically twice-baked potatoes with samosa-inspired spices (mustard seeds, coriander, garlic, ginger, cumin and turmeric) and veggies (onion, carrot and peas). I've made it a bunch of times before and always love it, but always seem to forget about it. I recently remembered it and decided to make it, but with a twist - instead of going through the hassle of scooping out and restuffing the potato skins, I decided to just coarsely chop the potatoes and cook it in a casserole dish.

And to finish the meal off, I went with the book's suggestion and tried the Spinach and Tomatoes, which is simply diced tomatoes and spinach cooked up in some of the same flavors as the potatoes. Served up side-by-side they made a tasty, light meal.

The full plate

Check out my blog, Yummy Mummy Meals, to see what I did with the leftovers!

Vegetable Tikka Masala

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Indian food. Normally, couldn't even stand the smell. But my New Year's resolution was to give Indian and Thai food a shot. Hence, my first Indian dish from Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's. (Recipe was altered a bit to suit what I had in stock).

• 1 15oz jar Masala Simmer Sauce from TJ's
  
• 4 cups cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
  
• 1/2 frozen vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans - TJ's Organic Foursome)
  
• 1 cup canned garbanzo beans
  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

1. Pour sauce into a large pan over medium heat.
   
2. Add all veggies and stir until completely covered in sauce
   
3. Bring to a simmer, then cover and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes.
   
4. Mix in yogurt and bring to a simmer again.

I served ours with a bit of quinoa, but rice would work well too.