Nut-Free Vegetable Korma

Indian restaurants are off-limits since Katie is allergic to nuts, but because I don't want her to miss out on all the amazing food I've spent the last few years slowly building a repertoire of dishes I can make at home. Vegetable korma is my favorite Indian dish to order whenever we try a new Indian restaurant so I was really excited to make a good at-home version.



The house smelled AMAZING while this was simmering away and I'm happy to report it was just as good as the traditional version with cashews. I forgot the cauliflower in our dish, but that just means I need to make it again.

Nut-Free Vegetable Korma
Adapted from The Wanderlust Kitchen

For the Sauce
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 (1-inch) piece ginger root, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded

For the Korma
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 small Roma tomatoes, diced
1 can unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 medium red potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup peeled, diced carrot
1 cup chopped fresh green beans
1 cup cauliflower florets

To Serve
Cooked basmati rice
Buttered and grilled naan
Raita

Place the onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeno in a blender with 1/2 cup of water. Process until pureed.

Heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Measure all of the spices (the curry powder through cardamom) in a small bowl. Once the butter has melted, add the spices and stir to coat the butter. You want to toast the spices to bring out their flavors.

Pour in the pureed sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato, coconut milk, yogurt, brown sugar, potato, peas, carrots, cauliflower and green beans. Stir well. Reduce the heat to a simmer then cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.

Uncover and cook another 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Serve with cooked basmati rice, raita and naan.

Cucumber Scallion Raita
From Smitten Kitchen

1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 thinly sliced scallion
10-12 oz plain Greek yogurt
salt, to taste

Mix everything together and let sit in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors meld.

Coconut Shrimp Curry

My friend, Katie, posts photos of her family's dinner on Facebook sometimes. The other night she made this Coconut Shrimp Curry recipe and I couldn't get it out of my head. I quickly printed off the recipe to make this week.



This was so, so good. Light and fresh, with perfectly cooked shrimp. The only change I made was to add zucchini so I could call it a complete meal. You could add whatever veggies you like. I think carrots would be nice. Katie added sweet potatoes and said that was good.

Coconut Shrimp Curry
Slightly modified from Jo Cooks

For shrimp
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lb extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined

For sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise, then cut into bite-size pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (5.5 oz) unsweetened coconut milk

Fresh cilantro, minced
Cooked basmati rice

In a bowl or plastic food storage bag, toss the shrimp with the marinade ingredients. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes.

While the shrimp is marinating, heat the oil in a medium size pot. Add the onion and zucchini, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the ginger, garlic, pepper, salt, coriander, turmeric and curry powder.

Continue to cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent, another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes with juices and stir well. Cook for about a minute, then add the coconut milk. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp with the accumulated juices from the marinade and cook for another 5 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.

Serve over hot rice garnished with cilantro.

Chicken Curry with Potatoes, Carrots and Chickpeas

I love a good one-pot meal and lately I've been really into curries. I think it's because we discovered coconut milk was safe for Baby Girl. Or maybe it's because we can't get enough of the buttered naan I serve alongside. Whatever the reason, I've been wanting to make my friend Chelsea's chicken curry recipe for a while now and I finally put it on the menu this week.



This is one of those meals that is so versatile you could add whatever veggies you like, or whatever is lurking in your crisper drawer. Don't like carrots? Leave them out. Have some cauliflower approaching it's birthday? Add it in. Vegetarian? Leave out the chicken or sub in some tofu and switch to vegetable broth. The sauce is what makes this so good, so use your imagination.



The sauce is the best part of any curry, in my humble opinion, so I opted not to thicken this. If you prefer a thicker curry, add some cornstarch during the final simmer.

Chicken Curry with Potatoes, Carrots and Chickpeas
Recipe from my friend Chelsea

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 chicken breasts or 4 chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
3 teaspoons yellow curry powder
2 cups chicken broth, divided
4-5 small gold potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
3 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 can coconut milk
Optional: sriracha or hot sauce, to taste
Minced cilantro, for serving

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the hot skillet. Cook until browned but not cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the onion, garlic and ginger to the skillet. Season with a little salt and pepper, then cook until the onions are softened.

Add the other tablespoon of olive oil and the curry powder. Let the curry powder toast for about one minute, then add the potatoes, carrots, and chick peas. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth, then stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Cover and cook until the potatoes and carrots are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pan again. Bring to a boil and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Add the chicken and any accumulated juices, coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, and sriracha (if using) to the pan. Simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly (it will continue to thicken as it sits).

Serve over basmati or jasmine rice topped with chopped fresh cilantro.

Lemon Parsley Turkey Meatballs in Curry Sauce over Coconut Rice

I've become obsessed with meatballs.



My friend, Jaida, posted this recipe for Lemon Parsley Turkey Meatballs with Lemon Coconut Curry Sauce and Lemon-Coconut Rice (sorry, Jaida, I had to shorten the name) last month and I couldn't wait to make them. She came up with this one all on her own, which is pretty amazing if you ask me.

We're also obsessed with coconut rice in this house and these delicious, light meatballs in a drinkably good curry sauce were the perfect thing to serve on top. I decided to make a few changes to Jaida's original recipe to suit our tastes and it did not disappoint. I'm already plotting when I can make it again.

Lemon Parsley Turkey Meatballs in Curry Sauce over Coconut Rice
Slightly modified from Sweet Beginnings

Lemon-Parsley Turkey Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
Zest and juice of 2 medium-large lemons
1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil

Coconut Rice
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup long-grain rice
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water

Curry Sauce
1 can, plus what's left in the can used for the rice, coconut milk
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients, except the olive oil. Gently mix with your hands until well combined. Take about 2 tablespoons of the meat at a time and form into balls. Place each meatball on a plate and repeat with all the meat. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add the meatballs so that they are not touching. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until all sides are browned. Reduce the heat to medium.

While the meatballs are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Once the butter is melted, add the rice and stir to coat each grain evenly. Toast the rice for a few minutes, until you start to see brown spots. Add the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit while you finish the meatballs and sauce.

Put all the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring occasionally, while the meatballs cook. Once the meatballs have been browned, carefully pour the sauce over the meatballs. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are cooked all the way through.

Serve the meatballs and sauce over the rice.

Recipe Swap - Indian Chicken Curry

Want to see what other chicken dishes were made during the swap? Here is the link for the Chicken Recipe Swap Roundup.

I've been enjoying the recipe swap I've been participating in so much I decided to see if the women on the cooking board I frequent wanted to start one. The response was overwhelmingly positive so off we went. I hosted this week's swap and chose chicken as the theme. I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for new and exciting chicken recipes, like this one for Indian Chicken Curry from J Bean Cuisine.


I knew SP would love this dish and it didn't disappoint. I served it with basmati rice and store-bought naan. The only change I made was to use dry spices for the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom since that's what I had on hand.

We've found that, for some reason, curry dishes tend to taste better the next day. We had the leftovers for lunch the next day and it was outstanding - nice depth of flavor and everything came together. Next time I'll make this dish the day before we want to eat and reheat before serving.

Chicken Curry
JBean Cuisine

Marinade:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp grated green jalapeño
3 tsp garam masala
3 tsp cumin
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp salt
3 lbs of chicken (thighs and breasts), chopped into bite-sized pieces

Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cardamoms
2 cloves
4 black peppercorns
3 medium onions, diced
1 cup of water
1 medium tomato, diced
1.5 cups of plain tomato sauce

In a large glass or metal bowl, make a paste by mixing 3 tbsp of olive oil with the ginger, garlic, jalapeño, garam masala, thana jeeroo, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt.

Add chicken pieces to the paste and mix very well, ensuring that each piece of chicken is coated with marinade. Cover and marinade in fridge for 2hrs.

In a large dutch oven, heat remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil for one minute over medium heat. Add the cassia sticks, cardamoms, cloves and black peppercorns. Allow spices to infuse the oil for 2–3 minutes. Add the chopped onions to the oil mixture and sauté until translucent (about 10 minutes). A bit of color on the onions is fine.

Add the marinated chicken and stir well. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to have the heat too high, as your chicken will stick.

After 20 minutes, add 1 cup of water to the chicken. Give a good stir and scrape any bits of flavour off the bottom of your pan. After a minute or so, add tomato sauce and diced tomato to the chicken curry.

Cover again, lower heat to a simmer and cook for an additional 20 – 30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with basmati rice, naan, roti or paratha.