In 2000 or so, on a trip to the city that would soon become my home, I had my first taste of Indian food. I went to a restaurant that is now our favorite and had a delicious combination of flavors I had never experienced before. And I started loving Indian food. And I still do.
But my cravings for Indian food far surpass my budget for Indian food. So I've been trying to find a recipe that won't exactly replace my favorites, but will allow us to have something similar a little more often.
I've tried a lot of recipes. Most of them really disappointing, in spite of their lengthy lists of ingredients and complex preparations.
But...I've found it. And it's absolutely delicious. And not too fussy. The most labor intensive part is the chopping of the veggies, but it can be done ahead of time or with one of those hand choppers and it's worth it.
I made it yesterday and meant to take a picture of it to accompany this post, but I honestly got too excited about eating it and forgot the photo. Once I had eaten half of it, I figured that probably made a less appetizing photo and just decided to skip it. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to control my hunger and represent visually the amazingness that is this recipe.
Just in case you want it...here it is:
Vegetarian Korma
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1 (really generous) teaspoon minced fresh ginger (I keep my ginger in the freezer and use my microplane zester gadget.)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 potatoes, cubed (keep it small so they cook quickly later on, like 1/4 inch or smaller)
4 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted cashews, chopped fine
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper*
1 cup frozen peas
1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
*I am guessing this is not accurate, but I kind of consider 1 t. of cayenne as a "4" (on a scale of 1 to 6) at the Indian restaurant. My own little scale is 1/4 teaspoon for each increase on the scale. So if you like a "6", add 1 1/2 teaspoons of cayenne.
1. Heat the oil over in a large skillet (with a lid) over medium heat. Stir in the onion and cook until tender. Mix in the ginger and garlic and continue cooking for 1 minutes. Mix in potatoes, carrots, cashews, and tomato sauce. Stir in salt and spices. Cook and stir for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. (This is where the size of the potatoes becomes important. If the potato pieces are larger, this could take up to 20 minutes.)
2. Stir peas, pepper, and cream into the skillet. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Serve over rice.
And, do you know the trick for perfect rice? Especially brown? Until my friend passed along this piece of lovely wisdom, every time I tried to make brown rice, I'd end up with an inch of crusted rice on the bottom of my pan. But this will turn out perfect rice every time.
Measure out a cup or two of rice. However much you want. Put it in a big stockpot. Fill the stockpot with water. Don't measure it. Just put in a lot. Like you were cooking pasta. Put in on high heat, boil it for 15-20 minutes, uncovered. Pour the rice and water into a strainer in the sink. Put the rice back in the pot, cover it, and place it off the heat for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Enjoy it's perfection. Seriously. Changed my life.
