When my friend Tung came back from a wedding in India, she was raving so much about the perfectly delicious vegetarian food, that I began looking for recipes. This simple curry is a winner. And if you can’t find curry leaves, it’s still delicious:
Ingredients
- 4-5cups mixed vegetables, cut into chunky slivers about 1 1/2 inches long (I used half a cauliflower, 1 zuccini, two carrots, and a cup of green beans)
- 1/2tsp turmeric or one piece of fresh turmeric, grated
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 15 oz can coconut milk (not the light kind)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1tsp yellow split peas
- 1large dried chipotle or other med hot chile
- 1-2tbsp coconut oil (more oil means more flavor)
- 2sprigs (about 25-30) curry leaves
- 1tsp black or brown mustard seeds
- 1-inchknob ginger (cut into thin slivers)
- clove grated garlic
- 1/2cup greek yogurt
- Salt to taste
- lime
- chopped cashews and grated fresh coconut, if you have some, for garnish
Instructions
- Place all the carrots and cauliflower into a large pot with 1 cup of water and turmeric and salt. cook 10. min or so and add other veges. cook another 5 min.
- Place the coconut milk in the blender with the ground cumin, pepper, garam masala and split peas. Blend into a paste. Set aside.
- When the veggies are cooked — it should take no more than 15-20 minutes — add the coconut paste to the veggies and stir well to mix. Let the curry come to a gentle boil over medium-low heat.
- Turn off the heat and add the yogurt & lime juice. Stir to mix but be careful not to mash up the veggies because they’ll be very tender at this stage.
- Heat the oil. Add mustard seeds and when they sputter, add the curry leaves, garlic and the ginger. Saute for a minute or two until the fragrance permeates the house.
- Pour the tempering over the avial and stir to mix. Garnish, if you wish, with cashews and some fresh coconut.
- Serve hot with rice.