Curry!

Okay, it's time to get around to sharing that wonderful curry I've learned to make. I'm going to give a step-by-step for a "gravy curry". Start by choosing some vegetables and/or a protein, and prepare them ahead of time (or while you are preparing the 'gravy'). For this curry, I lightly steamed 2 sliced red potatoes, 2 cups of fresh cauliflower florets, and a cup of spinach. I also sauteed 1/2 a package of extra firm, pressed tofu seasoned with curry powder. Here we go! Heat about 1 T. oil in a medium size saute pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds. I don't measure these, you will want to experiment with the seasonings to find out what you like. BE CAREFUL--as the seeds heat, they begin to "crackle" or pop--they will jump right out of the pan. Have a lid ready to throw on. I've found it helps to shake the pan and keep the heat low during this process so that nothing burns. Keep the lid on until you hear the popping stop. Now throw in some chopped onion. Let the onion get good and brown, then add some diced ginger and a clove of diced garlic. Saute a few minutes more, then add in about 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes. (At this point, if anything has been sticking to the bottom of your pan, you should be able to scrape it loose and have it blend into the gravy.) Add turmeric, salt, and curry powder. Mix well, then turn heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer until the tomato has broken down and is leaving traces of oil when you stir. Add in your veggies and protein, mix well, salt lightly, and cover until you are ready to serve. Tonight I served this concoction on brown rice with a spinach salad topped with walnuts, parmesan, straberries, and a light vinagrette. The kids actually ate all of their portions (with the tempation of ice cream to follow!). I still need to work on my seasoning levels. I think I'd like to try a little more ginger, a little less cumin, and up the curry powder. It's hard to know when you're not familiar with the spices. My experience has been that the more I experiment with it, the more I learn about what works and what doesn't. For some reason curry has appealed greatly to me and has perked my interest in cooking, as I've said before. I am so grateful to Kaldave from the Veggie Board on Weight Watchers. She has been so kind in answering all of my questions and providing me with invaluable information as I've learned this method of cooking! Her website is wonderful, and she has given me permission to share it. http://info.curryleaves.com/ Be sure to check it out. There are great recipes, nutritional information, and more.