You know what’s delicious paired with the Easy Saffron Brown Basmati Rice I recently posted? This comforting, Colorful Root-Veggie Curry. It’s one of those recipes that gets better with each day it is stored as leftovers (spice infusion to the max), so make plenty.
You can remove the skins from your root veggies or keep them on—Cook’s choice. I’ve also made this recipe many times without any legumes, so skip them if you like. I’ll sometimes use broccoli instead of peas, and I’ll add some shallot or yellow onion to Step 3. And always serve it up with some gluten-free Naan from Gluten-Free Baking Academy.
This recipe is a pared down version of curry, which is a general term for many simmered, stew-like dishes from around the world, particularly Asia. Typically, curry contains a variety of textures and many spices. Great care is taken in preparing all components of the dish to build layered full flavor. You’ll find all sorts of ingredients in a traditional curry: animal products, grains, pulses, vegetables, noodles, even fruit.
If you’d like to learn how to make curry with more traditional techniques and secrets, check out the following books:
Fresh India or Made in India by Meera Sodha
Zaika by Romy Gill
Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen by Richa Hingle
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked split-mung dhal (can sub cooked chickpeas, any cooked lentils, or whole-cooked mung beans)
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2 cups purple potatoes, cut into roughly 1/2″ cubes
1 cup carrots, sliced into rounds with larger rounds cut in half
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2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil (or ghee if you use that)
2 teaspoons mustard seeds (black or gold)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds (gold or black, or benne seeds), optional
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon fine-ground sea salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
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1 1/2 cups canned coconut milk (full fat)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice), optional
1/2 cup water (or veggie stock)
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
Fresh-cracked black pepper to taste
Handful of fresh cilantro leaves to garnish, optional
Let’s get started.
1. Cook the dhal you’ll be using for this recipe and set aside. Chop and prepare potatoes and carrots for cooking…
… and set out frozen peas to thaw, too.
2. Heat a large skillet to medium and add oil, mustard, sesame seeds if using, and cumin seeds.
Stir together until the seeds begin to pop, then add potatoes and carrots. Stir together for 7–10 minutes until they start to brown a bit, then add salt, turmeric and coriander and stir for 30 seconds.
3. Then, pour in coconut milk, apple cider vinegar if using, and water (or veggie stock). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10–15 minutes or until root veggies are tender, but not mushy. Fold in peas and cooked legumes/dhal, and cook for another 5 minutes, seasoning to taste with black pepper and more salt if needed.
4. Serve warm with Easy Saffron Brown Basmati Rice, and a handful of fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
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