Vegetable Curry Over Sticky Rice

Warm, Rich and Spicy

I am obsessed with ways I can use up leftovers or re-imagine a new dish, using ingredients left from a week of cooking adventures.  This week I had a ton of fresh veggies and cilantro.  I also had a can of coconut milk in my pantry that has been screaming at me!   Hmmmm, yes, that’s it, curry!  I will admit that I have a pretty well stocked spice collection.  If you don’t keep a lot of spices on hand, you can make the curry easily by buying curry powder, already blended in the spice section of your store.  Making a vegetable curry is really great for using up any extra vegetables you want to use before they drop below the state of delicious.  You can use just about any vegetable you like.

 Take An Inventory Of Your Fridge

I had some potatoes from my upcoming blog about potato crusted asparagus tart, left over spinach from (Fresh Made fettuccine with Spinach and Creamy Ricotta Lemon Sauce )   Leftover fresh cilantro and limes from (Spicy Mexican Street Corn Dip).  I also added carrots, onion, garlic, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, 1 cup of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, and my spices.  Cooked it up in a dutch oven and served it with sticky rice.  You can make a million variations of this recipe, just stick to the seasoning basics for the best possible curry flavor.

This Is How I Did It

Make sure your veggies are cut into large pieces.  No careful cutting/chopping is required in this dish, other than for the garlic.  In a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil.  Add 2 coarsely chopped onions.  Cook on medium high heat until they start to get very brown, at least 5 minutes, then add 5 minced garlic cloves and cook another minute.

Spice Time

Blend your spices – I used 2 tablespoons ground coriander, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (you can you more or less, depending on your tolerance for heat!) 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 2 teaspoons of powdered ginger.  If you have fresh ginger, substitute the dry for 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh grated ginger.  Add a pinch of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick.    If you are not blending your own curry as above, you can substitute 3 tablespoons of yellow curry powder.

Now, add 2 cups either vegetable or chicken stock, low sodium is always the best choice whenever using stock.  If you don’t have any stock, go ahead and use water.  Add 1 cup of coconut milk, 1 teaspoon salt and a bit of freshly ground pepper.  Bring everything up to a boil.  Then reduce heat to low.

Veggie Time

This is where you can really be creative.  I used 2 1/2 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped.  1 small cauliflower broken down into florets.  1 cup cherry tomatoes, 4 carrots, chopped.  Add the veggies to the pot and simmer on low, covered for 30 minutes.  You can make almost any combination of vegetables.  Right before you’re ready to serve, add 5 ounces fresh baby spinach and check spice – add more salt or pepper if needed.

Serve over rice and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

You could also top with chopped peanuts or cashews for a little crunch and/or raisins to sweeten things up.  Your house will smell amazing!

This recipe is adapted from epicurious  and Ellie Krieger’s blog post about the healing power of spices.

Vegetable Curry In A Hurry

April 12, 2018

by Karen

Category Main Dish What's Cooking

Vegetable Curry with Sticky Rice

Persons

6

Ingredients

For The Curry

• 2 yellow onions, peeled and chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger or 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick or 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• (Or substitute above spices for 3 tablespoons yellow curry powder)
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2-3 small russet potatoes or sweet potatoes
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 small cauliflower broken into florets
• 4 carrots chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 5 ounces fresh spinach
• 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• limes for garnish
• Optional: chopped peanuts or cashews, raisins

For Sticky Rice

• 1 cup basmati or jasmine rice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups water

Instructions

• In a dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, over medium heat, add vegetable oil. When hot, add onions. Cook until they are nicely browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and mix in. Add all the spices and let them cook for about 2 minutes.
• Add the stock or the water, then the coconut milk. Allow to come to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, add all the vegtables, except the spinach. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
• Add the spinach and cook for 3 minutes until the spinach is wilted.

For the Sticky Rice

• Add 4 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon butter to a medium size sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil.
• Slowly, add one cup rice, reduce heat and stir.
• Bring the rice back to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
• Let the rice cook uncovered for about 25 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Stir the rice periodically to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Serve the curry in a shallow bowl, top with sticky rice and garnish with chopped cilantro and limes, nuts and raisins.

Tags

coconut milk,

curry,

spice,

sticky rice,

vegetable

https://www.blossomandfinn.com/2018/04/12/vegetable-curry-coconut-milk-cilantro-lime-sticky-rice/