Indian Vegetarian Recipe: Easy Vegetable Curry

Contributed by Geraldine Hartman, author of 'Not Just For Vegetarians, Delicious Homestyle Cooking, the Meatless Way.'

An ideal cookbook for transitional vegetarians, also for non-veg who want a healthier, lighter, more varied diet. Geraldine's recipes are both flexible, and blissfully familiar - if you have a comfort food that you remember from childhood, or want a favorite family recipe in a vegetarian version,
'Not Just For Vegetarians, Delicious Homestyle Cooking The Meatless Way is just for you.

Geraldine thoughtfully sent two other Indian recipes from her cookbook to eat with the curry:
Indian Chapati Flatbread and Rice and Red Lentil Salad

Easy Vegetable Curry

Looking for something a bit different for dinner? Don’t let your family 'write off' curries until you have tried this one. Quick to make, full of flavor, texture and colorful too. Serves 6 generously.

SV Note: Ghee is nice for cooking Indian food, in place of oil, if you have some, and you're lacto vegetarian. I'm not an onion fan, so I left them out, and it worked just fine - I also cooked the veggies until they were softer and that was ok too. If you don't have curry powder, try 1 tsp ground turmeric + 2 tsp ground coriander, with a pinch of cayenne. Roasted cashews are nice. If you're vegan, you can substitute 2 T. of lemon juice and 1/4 cup tahini + 3/4 cup water for the yogurt. If you have this with Geraldine's other recipes, the Rice and Red Lentil Salad and Indian Chapati Flatbread, it's a very complete, satisfying meal.

Ingredients:

2 T. vegetable oil
1 T. finely chopped fresh ginger root (peel first)
1 medium onion chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced in circles
1 C. cauliflower florets
1 C. sliced green beans (bite-sized)
1 small sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 C. chick peas, precooked and drained (if using canned rinse and drain thoroughly)
1/2 C. raisins
2 T. good quality curry powder (or more, to taste)
1 T. cumin seeds
1/8- 1/4 tsp. freshly-ground pepper, to taste
1/2 -1 tsp. sea salt
1 C. plain yogurt
Garnish: 1 C. coarsely chopped cashews

Directions

In a large fry-pan or wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add ginger and sauté 2-3 minutes to release flavor.
Add vegetables and raisins and sauté for 5 more minutes.
Add spices, cover and steam for 5 minutes over low heat or until all vegetables are cooked but still crunchy, don’t overcook.
Remove from heat, stir in yogurt. Serve immediately with rice or couscous, topped with cashews as a garnish.