Curry-like vege stew

To be honest I wish I was having this tonight; it’s going to get down to 1 degree tonight apparently, and I am so not prepared for it!

This is similar to my first curry, but then it’s much less complicated and also vegan. You could experiment with different vegetables of course, as the ones below are quite summery, but I think in combination with tomatoes the veges I used taste pretty darn good. This also tastes good reheated in the pan the next day with a splash of water.

I pretty much made this up on the night, but I’m sure there are plenty of variations. If you felt like being really lazy you could just use curry powder, just don’t tell anyone I said so :P

I know…it doesn’t look pretty, but it sure was satisfying! With potatoes and tofu it made a complete meal, but you could add meat if you really wanted. I also served it with some 5-minute grilled cheese toasties, but I added some chopped garlic and cumin…so nom:

Curried vege stew

serves 2-3

bit of butter or cooking oil
2 potatoes, cut into 1 cm dice
1/2 large eggplant/aubergine, sliced into 1cm thick slices then cut into 1″ squares
beans of your preference, snapped into 1″ lengths
a large handful of cauliflower florets (approx 1″ wide florets)
1/2c extra-firm tofu, sliced or chopped as you wish (or use chopped chicken, cooked beans or chickpeas)
1 onion, chopped finely
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt, pepper to lightly coat all veges
1 can chopped tomatoes (best you can get, preferably organic)
garam masala to taste, and more ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt, pepper later
optional: chili or cayenne to spice things up!
water

Grab the biggest frypan or wok you have, add a tablespoon or so of butter (don’t you dare use margarine! Use cooking oil if you want to make it vegan), and heat it on medium heat until the butter is bubbling or the oil easily slides around the pan when pan is tilted. You preferably want a non stick pan but because you’ll be adding liquid later it won’t matter too much. Add potatoes, aubergine, cauliflower, beans, onions, tofu, first lot of spices, and let cook until the onions start to smell fragrant. Stir, flip the vegetables, and let cook until the onions are golden and flecks of golden brown start to appear on the vegetables. Aubergine should be almost translucent. Add garlic, stir through for a minute and add tomatoes. Taste, and add more spices as necessary. Bring tomatoes to a simmer, and let cook until veges are as tender as you like.. Add splashes of water or cover while cooking in this period to prevent burning ans sticking, and create a stew like consistency.

Serve with cheesy garlic and cumin toasts (slice bread, throw over grated cheese, chopped fresh garlic, a pinch of cumin, and throw under the grill for 3 minutes at 200C or 400F until cheese is golden – make sure to watch them as they burn very quickly). Or if you want to keep the whole meal vegan, just serve with regular toast (maybe smeared with some avocado…mmm)

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