If you are familiar with me, you know I loves me some bacon. Which is why it comes as just as much of a surprise to me as it is to you that my husband and I decided to eat vegetarian once a week for the entire year in an effort to get healthy. I literally don’t know how to make food taste delicious without bacon fat, so this will be a challenge, but hopefully a fun one. Recently, one of my Indian aunts told me about a web site that homesick Indians turn to when they want to know how to make vegetarian cuisine from home: Manjula’s Kitchen. Not only is the name awesome (my own grandmother’s name was Manjula), it offers a wide array of Indian vegetarian dishes from scratch. For our first week, I went with a potato curry with yogurt gravy that I supplemented with my own carrots and kohlrabi. No pork was hurt in the making of this meal. More food porn and the recipe after the jump! The recipe itself is quite simple. You simmer the veggies you are using in water until soft (I used veggie stock), then create a yogurt sauce, and toss together.
Instead of making a traditional Indian flatbread, I decided to make papad, or toasted lentil wafers. They come pre-made in a package at your local Indian grocery store, typically in plain or black pepper flavors. You can deep fry them, but for a healthier alternative, my family likes to toast them on a screen over the stove.
Finally, I used the food processor to whiz up some basic cilantro chutney, which I used plain and thinned out with some yogurt as condiments for my curry, along with a sweet and spicy apple cranberry chutney I had canned a few weeks ago. I have found that when dining vegetarian, the more flavors you can get into your meal, the more filling the meal feels. So far, my venture into vegetarianism (or as I like to call it, NOT BACON-ism) was a success. The potato curry was filling, the yogurt gravy made it taste even more complex, and at the end? I was actually full! Yay, veggies! ~LTG!
**************************** Leena Potato Curry with Yogurt Gravy Group 1 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into medium cubes 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into medium chunks 1 celery stalk, peeled and cut into medium chunks 1 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into medium cubes 2 cups of homemade vegetable stock Group 2 4 tablespoons yogurt 2 tsp curry powder Pinch of asefatida (also called “hing”) Pinch of paprika 1 tsp grated ginger 1 tsp chopped garlic ? tsp chopped green chiles Group 3 1 small onion, chopped 1 small fresh or dried bay leaf 2 tsp all purpose flour 1 tsp oil Simmer all Group one ingredients together until vegetables are tender, then drain and reserve the liquid for later use. Mix together all group two ingredients and set aside. Put oil into pan, fry group three chopped onion, 1 bay leaf and 2 tsp all purpose flour until brown. Add in the group two mix and stir until yogurt separates from the oil, a few minutes. Add in ? cup of reserved vegetable stock, stir, raise heat and cover with lid and cook for another few minutes until thick. Add in vegetables and cook for a few more minutes. Salt and cook a bit more, then adjust seasonings and serve with rice, flatbread or pappadum, and chutneys. Inspired by this recipe: http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/03/06/potato-curry-with-yogurt-gravy/
