curry, love + life.

Passport & Plate - harvest vegetable curry

India | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 4 photos

Ingredients
2 cups brown rice
4 cups water
1 cup green cabbage, shredded
2 cups cauliflower florets
1½ cup green beans, cut in half
3 medium carrots, sliced thickly
1 large sweet potato, chopped chunky
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chickpeas
2 cans coconut milk
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1tbsp garam masala
1 tsp tumeric powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp coconut oil
pinch salt/pepper

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, turn down heat, add brown rice and simmer on low for 35-40 minutes until water is absorbed - or put water and rice in a rice cooker and cook until ready.
2. Mix spices in a bowl.
2. In a saucepan sautee coconut oil, onion, sweet potato and carrots on medium for 5-7 minutes. Then add garlic and spices to sautéed vegetables. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until vegetables are fragrant with spices.
3. Add 2 cans of coconut milk, chickpeas, green beans, cauliflower and cabbage, as well as 1 - 1 1/2 cups of water to pan with sautéed vegetables, until vegetables are covered with liquid. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Let sit before serving so coconut curry thickens.
5. Serve over brown rice.

 

The story behind this recipe
This recipe was named by my mother, simply, Harvest Vegetable Curry. In many ways, it represents my life’s journey with food. It is simple and deeply nourishing, just as I like my food and life. It lives in a binder of photocopied recipes my mum gave me over 10 years ago with the title ‘Mum’s Recipes’. It was a collection of my very fave recipes from my childhood – some of them hers, other from friends, loves, family and some from her stack of Chatelaine’s from years past. This one was her own, something I’m sure she just threw together one night in a frenzy after work. But it stuck with us, it stuck with me, and I love it.

From my mother’s passion in the kitchen, to my own battle with anxiety and depression; from controlling my husband’s Tourette Syndrome through a whole-food and gluten-free dairy-free diet, to facilitating healing of mind + body for my clients; from my unrelenting passion for travelling the world to my deep and unshakeable love of India and it’s cuisine – this recipe encapsulates everything food means to me and every way it touches my life.

The ingredients are themselves a roadmap of my journey: Energetic and emotionally grounding root vegetables, warming and firey spices, brain supporting coconut milk, deeply nourishing brown rice and my all time favorite - the chickpea – I LOVE this recipe.

I chose this simple recipe because enjoying food shouldn’t be complicated. I chose this simple recipe because I believe in the nourishing properties of whole foods for healing, in every sense. And I chose this simple recipe because I think that most people don’t realize how easy it is to eat healthy and delicious foods, in just a little bit of time, and just a few steps. Because while it feels amazing to cook a gourmet meal to impress my friends for a weekend dinner party, nothing nourishes my body, mind and heart like simple, whole foods from homegrown, heartfelt recipes. I hope you enjoy.