Vegetable and Garbanzo Curry

Vegetable and Garbanzo Curry (slightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, Servings: 4-6, Total Time: 5.5 hours)

Ingredients

·         3 cups cauliflower florets

·         1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained

·         ½ of 16 oz. bag frozen cut green beans

·         1 cup sliced carrot

·         ½ cup chopped onion

·         2 cups vegetable broth

·         2 tsp. curry powder

·         2 cups light coconut milk

·         ¼ cup shredded fresh basil leaves

Directions

1.       In a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, combine cauliflower, garbanzo beans, green beans, carrot, and onion. Stir in broth and curry powder.

2.       Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

3.       Stir in coconut milk and basil.

The picture on the Better Homes & Garden website is very misleading.  My vegetables were in no way bright and vibrant.  After about 2 hours in the slow cooker, they were quite dull.  It definitely took away some of the excitement that I had for this meal.  The flavor was also kind of missing as well.  I added a bit of garam masala, red cayenne pepper, and ginger to try to get more flavor out of the dish. My husband enjoyed it, but I just couldn’t get behind it.  I finally just added some Sriracha to amp up the flavor.  With all that said, I would not make this dish again.  There are a lot of other curry dishes that I have made, successfully, and I’d much rather have those.  It’s a shame because this was super easy to make. 

As a note, I served the curry over brown basmati rice, which soaked up the broth/coconut milk mixture.  That was a nice plus – I like it when I have a runny curry and can use rice as a sponge!  This dish would not work with naan.

Spicy Eggplant with Cauliflower and Basil

Spicy Eggplant with Cauliflower and Basil (from Real Simple, Total Time: 45 minutes, Servings: 5-6)

Ingredients

·         1 ½ cups rice

·         kosher salt

·         2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

·         1 tsp. dried ginger

·         1/3 cup olive oil

·         2 tsp. Thai red curry paste

·         3 small or baby eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut lengthwise into wedges

·         ½ head cauliflower (about 1 pound), broken into florets

·         1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

·         2 cups bean sprouts

·         ½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Directions

1.       Heat oven to 450º F.

2.       In a large saucepan, make rice according to bag or box.

3.       Meanwhile, whisk together the garlic, ginger, oil, curry paste, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and ½ cup water. Toss with the eggplants and cauliflower.

4.       Transfer to a roasting pan in a single layer. Roast until tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding the chickpeas during the last 5 minutes.

5.       Remove the vegetables from oven and toss with the bean sprouts and basil. Place 1 cup of rice on each of 4 plates and top with some of the vegetables.

I have two main issues with this recipe.  First, it is not spicy the way it is – not even my husband thought it was.  Second, the eggplant gets really mushy and it is kind of a gross texture.  That said, adding a bit of Sriracha definitely helped spice up the dish.  The overall taste is OK – I cannot really pinpoint a specific taste, but the different spices work well with the curry paste so that there is no overwhelming flavor.  I like the addition of the bean sprouts – adding a vegetable that I am not used to eating is always nice.  The chickpeas and cauliflower remain crisp and crunchy, which is a nice change from the mushy eggplant and soft rice.  I do not think that I will be making this recipe again.

Slow Cooker Indian Chikn Stew

Slow Cooker Indian Chikn Stew (slightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, Servings: 8, Total Time: 8-10 hours)

Ingredients

·         Nonstick cooking spray

·         2 packages Trader Joe’s Chickenless Chikn Strips, cut into 1-inch pieces

·         ½ cup onion, chopped (1 medium)

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         5 tsp. curry powder

·         2 tsp. ground ginger

·         ½ tsp. salt

·         ¼ tsp. ground black pepper and/or cayenne pepper

·         2 15 oz, cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained

·         2 14 ½ oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained

·         1 cup water or vegetable broth

·         1 bay leaf

·         2 Tbsp. lime juice

·         1 9 oz. package fresh spinach

·         Hot rice (for serving)

Directions

1.       Lightly coat a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Add Chikn, onion, and garlic to the slow cooker. Add curry powder, ginger, salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Stir in beans, tomatoes, water, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

2.       Stir lime juice into mixture. Stir in spinach and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes or until spinach starts to wilt. If desired, serve in bowls with hot cooked rice.

This was a simple dish that was low on preparation but high on flavor.  Not sure if it’s exactly one of the flavor profiles that I fall in love with, but it was still good and I would probably make it again.  The only changes that I made to the above recipe was using water in lieu of vegetable broth (we didn’t have any), cayenne pepper, and three small bay leaves instead of one bay leaf.  I also removed the leaves before serving (because that’s what I’ve read in other recipes).

The soup has just the faintest hint of heat (from the cayenne pepper.  I actually added some Sriracha to mine the first night because I wanted to amp up the heat.  It has a little sweetness to it as well, you can definitely make out the bay leaves and ginger in each bite.  The garbanzo beans cooked nicely, but I recommend using petite diced tomatoes – it might make the soup look a little neater (as opposed to having big chunks of tomato everywhere!).  I also recommend tearing the spinach leaves into small pieces because each bite I took, there was a string of wilted spinach hanging off the fork – not very appetizing, in my opinion.  If I make it again, I’ll probably add a bit more curry powder to increase the Indian flavor, and the cayenne pepper to make it something I like a little more.

All in all, not bad for a quick dish that I can let sit and stew all day!