Monday, March 29, 2010

Emily's Vegetarian Curry & Hummus

Last night was generic* Middle Eastern Night at our house!  I made this vegetarian curry recipe given to me by my friend Emily.  She blogs about her poetry and photography here.  It's awesome!  You can go and check it out... I'll wait.

(Insert hold music here.)

See? I told you it's awesome!  Anyway!  I combined the curry with homemade hummus and blue corn tortilla chips.  Overall, a delicious generic* Middle Eastern supper.
*Not sure which country this particular kind of dish would be made.   

Emily's Vegetarian Curry
Ingredients
¼ cup oil (I used a bit less..)
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 ½ Tablespoon curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
14oz can diced tomatoes (no need to drain)
½ tsp salt
2 ½ cup diced potatoes
3 small med zucchini, sliced*
¾ cup dry roasted, unsalted cashews
1 TBsp lemon juice
Rice (whatever kind you like. I used a Texmati Blend)
Plain yogurt ( I used a plain, unsweetened soy yogurt)


*The zucchini in the store looked gross, so I opted for the asparagus that was on sale.  It worked well.  

Directions: 

Begin cooking your rice according to the package. I just throw mine in our rice cooker. 
Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and saute 5 minutes.  Mix in curry powder and cumin and cook two minutes to toast spices.  Add tomatoes and 1 cup water and bring to a boil.  Stir in potatoes and cover pan.  Cook at a gentle simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Remove the cover of the pan and add zucchini and cashews.  Cook uncovered until zucchini are tender, about 10 minutes.  Mix in lemon juice. Serve over rice with a spoonful of plain yogurt on top.  YUM.  (You might notice that there is no yogurt on top in the picture.... I forgot it until I took my first bite!  Then I hopped to add it....it makes a big difference in the taste.) 


Homemade Hummus
Adapted from Hummus III on All Recipes
Ingredients 
2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
paprika


Directions: 
 Cook the garbanzo beans (chick peas) in water on the stove for about 10-15 minutes, or until they are softened.  Cool them in a bowl of cold water.  Drain. Toss beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic and olive oil into a food processor or manly blender.  Process away until smooth! I like to add some water or olive oil as it processes to help it come to a smooth constancy.  When it's the way you like it, spoon it out into a bowl and make a well in the middle.  Pour a little olive oil in the center and sprinkle paprika around it for the full Middle Eastern Restaurant effect.  Enjoy!

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