As I emerge from my hockey watching-induced coma I find myself wondering where this month went? It was definitely a bit hectic but that's no excuse...so I'm going to sneak a post in before the month is officially over.
Hubby has been craving either Persian or Indian food so I searched online for a recipe for one my favorite Indian dishes - vegetable korma. But I knew I didn't want to use a recipe that calls for heavy cream or half and half like so many of them do. I came upon this recipe at Manjula's Kitchen. I was happy to see her recipe called for just plain mik - I figured it would more likely survive my use of soy milk. I've copied her recipe here with the adjustments I made in italics. It was really delicious, filling and exactly what I was looking for. I served it on long grain brown rice with plain yogurt and a very spicy mango relish on the side. Leftovers for lunch today were just as good. A definite keeper!
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups chopped vegetables (cauliflower (1/2 medium head), green peas (1/2 cup frozen), carrot (2 medium), green beans (~1/2 lb), red bell pepper (one medium)
- 1/2 cup chopped fried paneer (I didn't use paneer or tofu - just vegetables)
- 3 tablespoons oil (I used only 2 teaspoons with no problems)
- Pinch of asafetida (hing)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 seeded finely chopped green chili (I used a rather large jalepeno)
- 1 tablespoon shredded ginger
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric Haldi)
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon mango powder (amchoor powder) (I didn't have this so substituted the juice of half a lemon)
- 1 cup milk (I used 1 1/2 cups fat free soy milk)
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup seeded and chopped tomatoes (I added a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained, to the dish while it cooked rather than garnishing with fresh tomatoes)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro - didn't use
- Mix the shredded ginger, green chili, coriander powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper with 2 tablespoons of water and set aside.
- Mix cornstarch with milk and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if it cracks right away oil is ready.
- Add the asafetida and cumin seeds. After cumin seeds crack, add the bay leaves and the spice mixture. Fry for a few seconds until the spices start separating from the oil.
- Add the cauliflower, green peas, carrot and green beans. Mix well and cover the pan. Let the vegetables cook on medium heat for about 7 to 8 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked just about half way.
- Add the bell pepper and paneer. Mix well. Add the milk/cornstarch mixture and cook until the vegetables are tender. Add more milk if needed for more gravy.
- Turn off the heat. Mix in the garam masala, amchoor powder and cilantro. (At this point I put it in my Le Creuset dutch oven and let it cook in the oven at a low heat until we were ready for dinner - an hour or so).
- Place the vegetable korma in a serving dish and garnish with chopped tomatoes. Enjoy!