mitzireddy

This coconut vegetable curry is an old family favorite – one that I have been making for more than a decade. I cooked this curry over the weekend for lunch for my vegetarian friends – it quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious. I served it with freshly baked garlic tava naan – (recipe posted previously).

It’s perfect for meatless Monday.

COCONUT VEGETABLE CURRY

Ingredients

25mls cooking oil / ghee

2 cups mixed vegetables (sliced)

1 onion, finely sliced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste

½ tsp tulmeric powder

1 tomato, finely diced

1/2 cup desiccated coconut or freshly grated coconut

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

125ml fresh cream

Fry the onions and chopped chilli in oil or ghee on medium heat until the onions are lightly browned.

Add the garlic, turmeric and curry paste. Add the tomato and mix well.

Add the vegetables, salt, sugar and coconut.

Mix well and simmer for 4 minutes. Add the cream and mix well and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Serve hot with basmatic rice, roti or naan.

The iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge was illuminated pink on Tuesday night, 3 October 2012  to mark the launch of the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign spearheaded by international skincare company Estee’ Lauder and the City of Joburg. This year the awareness campaign is celebrated under the theme “Courage. Believe in a world without breast cancer”, highlights Estee Lauder’s 20 year commitment to defeating breast cancer through education and medical research.

In 2000, the company started a campaign to illuminate notable landmarks all over the world to call attention to breast health and early detection in order to save lives. In 2010, the campaign earned a Guinness World Record for most landmarks illuminated for a cause in 24 hours.

My daughter, Lovely Linda, did a 21.5 km walk to raise funds in London’s Shine campaign – she dedicated her walk to my friend, Elizabeth.

One of Lovely Linda’s favorite is my butternut curry and it’s a dish that she looks forward to whenever we visit. Although it’s a very simple dish with minimum ingredients it’s delicious. It’s excellent either as a side dish or a vegetarian meal.

BUTTERNUT CURRY

1 x medium butternut, peeled, cubed and rinsed.

30mls cooking oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 – 3 dry chillies  ( can be adjusted according to taste)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon salt

Fresh coriander to garnish

Put the cooking oil into a pan and add the onions and dry chillies. When the onions start to brown add the mustard seeds.

When the seeds start to splutter add the cubed butternut and salt. Mix well. Lower the heat and cook the butternut for about 8 – 10 minutes, stirring frequently

. When the butternut starts to soften, add a little water (45mls) – mix well and cook for about 10 minutes adding more water if necessary until the butternut is fully cooked.

Garnish with coriander.

Coconut seems to be the in the spotlight currently –getting Bob Skinstad in hot water in Saturday’s game between Sharks and New Zealand’s Chiefs. Pinkpolkadot’s  Friday food quiz also asked a question as to how many eyes does a coconut have – and the answer is 3.

Coconut, fresh and desiccated is widely used in the local Durban Indian cuisine where I had grown up but mainly in dessert and sweet baked or fried goodies.

So I was fascinated when I came across recipes using coconut in Indian savoury dishes.  A few years ago I watched Anjum Anand, a chef on the BBC food channel making some mouthwatering Goanese dishes using fresh coconut as an ingredient and this inspired me to make this potato curry.

A plain potato curry is alright but really does nothing for me and I cannot remember the last time I had cooked one and after tasting the Goanese potato curry I am hooked on the taste of the blend of spices in this dish.

The long list of ingredients can be off putting – but it’s definitely worth trying. The potatoes are pre -cooked. Some of the spices are soaked in vinegar and then blended with other ingredients to form a paste. This is then all cooked into a delicious curry with interesting bursts of flavours.

Curried potatoes Goanese style

Ingredients

1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds

1 ½ Tablespoons white vinegar

1 ½ Tablespoons warm water

1 -2 green chillies, finely chopped

4 medium sized potatoes

1cup fresh coconut grated (can use
desiccated coconut)

10 cashew nuts

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 tomatoes, chopped

30 mls cooking oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon fresh ginger paste

¼ teaspoon tumeric powder

½ – 1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon cumin-coriander powder

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

½ cup warm water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon chilli flakes ( optional)

Coriander to garnish

1. Soak cumin seeds and chopped green chillies in vinegar and warm water for at least
   10 minutes.
2. Peel and cube the potatoes. Cook the potatoes in boiling water until done. Drain and
   keep aside.
3. Blend the following ingredients in a food processor to a fine paste: vinegar soaked
   cumin chilli, coconut, cashews, mustard seeds and tomatoes. Keep aside.
4. Fry the chopped onions in a pan with the cooking oil on a medium heat until just
   starting to brown.
5. Add ginger, garlic paste and tumeric powder to the pan. Mix and cook for about 2
   seconds.
6. Add the blended coconut and tomato mixture to the pan and mix well.
7. Add the chilli powder, cumin-coriander powder, black pepper and salt. Mix and allow
   this mixture to cook on a low heat until it cooks to a thick paste until the
   oil starts oozing to the surface. (5- 8 minutes).
8. Add the ½ cup warm water to the paste and mix well and cook for about 5 minutes to
   a thick sauce.
9. Add the sugar to the sauce and mix well. Cook for about 2 seconds.

1. Add the cooked potatoes, chilli flakes and garam masala powder. Mix and cover the
   pan and cook for about 10 minutes, adding more water if the mixtures gets too
   dry.
2. Serve garnished with fresh coriander.