Monday, January 21, 2008

Curry vegetariano multietnico

My first experiments of Indian cooking inspired me while I was cooking something simpler (and with no spices involved). I didn't really take the recipe from a specific cookbook, but definitely the making of this dish was related to what I read in Indian recipes from blogs such as Jugalbandi and One hot stove. So here is what I prepared: it's a vegetarian curry, with ingredients coming from cuisines from all over the world: Poblano peppers from Mexico, coconut and peanuts from India and Thailand, parseley from Italy, bok choi and tofu from China. The result was really good, and something very different from what I usually cook.
Curry vegetariano multietnico / Multi-ethnic vegetarian curry

To prepare it, dice 1/2 lb of tofu and sautee it in 1 tbsp olive oil, till brownish. Add 2 leeks, finely cut, and sautee together. Then add also 4 poblano peppers cut into pieces and keep cooking. In the meanwhile, blend together 1/2 cup raw peanuts and 1/4 cup dried grated coconut, and a small bunch of parseley leaves. Add 1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour, 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1 cup milk. Roughly cut leaves of 4 bunches of bok choi and add to the pan with the veggies and tofu. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 5 min and add the blended paste. Add enough water to make a curry-like consistency and simmer for a few more minutes. Serve with basmati rice.

I loved the combination of the spiciness from the Poblano and the 'rough' taste of the bok choi, with the sweetness from coconut and the creaminess from milk. I'd like to submit this dish to the 'Weekend Cookbook Challenge', which is themed 'Veggin Out', but I'm one day late, so I'm not sure if this will be accepted or not.. we'll see. :)

8 comments:

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Marta, this is a great worldly dish. I like the way you have used many different ingredients to give such a greatflavor!

bee said...

coconut and peanuts is a common south indian combo. love the way this dish looks. it must have smelt good too.

try buying 'coconut milk powder'. you get it thai, chinese and some indian grocery stores. 1/3 cup of that plus water makes 1 cup coconut milk. you get the coconut flavour without diluting the sauce - no grinding and it lasts a long time in the fridge.

when i make a dish that is too spicy or just needs some creaminess, i add it.

chemcookit said...

Meeta and Bee, thanks a lot for leaving such nice comments! And, I'll definitely look for the coconut milk powder next time I go to my favorite Indian store.

Sara said...

What an interesting dish! Wonderful to see you at WCC again.

Mansi said...

Marta, this looks awesome! the flavor combo would appeal to a lot of Asians:) looks really inviting girl:)

and thanks for your kind comments on my blog:) hope you can get to try the dishes!!

Laurie Constantino said...

Fascinating combination of ingredients Marta - I bet this is really tasty!

Ruth Daniels said...

I love the multi-cultural aspect of this. Thanks for sharing.

Somehow all those different ethnic ingredients combined make me a little homesick for Toronto.

KayKat said...

This looks *so* good! I love that you used bok choy - it has such a unique flavour.

And I agree with Bee - using coconut milk powder is so convenient and it makes for a great sauce - plus it works as the perfect alternative if you feel like skipping the heavy cream.