Autumn Vegetable Curry

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For years the Mixed Vegetable Curry in New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant has been my go-to at home curry. The complexity of the spice combination won me over and I’ve stuck with it. Until now.

Last night I tried Ellie Krieger’s Autumn Vegetable Curry from comfort food fix (pp. 208-210). The curry sauce might be my new favorite – or I might try experimenting with a mix of the two recipes… At any rate, here’s the (modified) ingredient list:

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 1-1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 1-1/2 tbsp yellow curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (Krieger calls for vegetable broth)
  • 1 cup light coconut milk
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 9 baby carrots, cut into 1-inch rounds
  • 1 head broccoli, cut into florets (my substitute for tomatoes, which were too spendy this week)
  • zest and juice of 1 lime
  • 1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed
  • 5 cups fresh spinach

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer puree to a large pot and cook over medium heat. Add tomato paste and cook for about five minutes. Add the broth, coconut milk, cinnamon stick and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and carrots; stir to coat, cover the pan, and simmer until vegetables are tender. After about 25-30 minutes, add lime zest, lime juice, chickpeas, and spinach. Stir to coat and cook until spinach wilts.

Serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts.

The next time I fix this dish, I’ll omit the carrots, which are too close in color and texture to the sweet potatoes. I’ll keep the broccoli, but I might also add a yellow squash when adding the spinach and chickpeas, just for some color variation. In the meantime, since Krieger’s recipe makes 4 servings and I added additional veggies (1/2 a cauliflower head and the broccoli), I probably have 5 more servings in the refrigerator and freezer.