Vegetable Curry

Vegetable Curry
3 Garlic cloves
2 Chilies, seeded
1 Small onion, chopped
1 Inch piece fresh gingers, grated
1 TSP cumin
1 TSP coriander
1 TSP turmeric
1 TBS oil
7 Oz coconut cream
2 1/2 Cups boiling water
2 Lbs vegetables

Sunday night's dinner is going to be a two-part blog, since there are a lot of components! I finally bought myself an Indian cookbook (Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking), because I've been dying to learn how to re-create the dishes from my favorite cuisine. I decide to tackle the kebab, chutney and poori recipes from my book to start with, since they required the least number of ingredients. Luckily, I live near an Indian grocery, which has every possible spice and exotic ingredient you can imagine, so I'm able to find everything I need. I just need a veggie side to round out my meal. This vegetable curry dish actually comes from a Thai cookbook I have, but I am using the same spices, so the flavors will go well with my Indian kebabs.

I cut my vegetables into large chunks. I'm using cauliflower, red pepper, eggplant and green beans. You can really use any veggies you like, such as squash, potatoes, mushrooms, etc. Set aside while chopping the garlic, chilies and onion. Grate the ginger. I pulverize my onion mixture using my Slap-Chop, or you can blend with a food processor. Heat oil in pan. Add onion mixture and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add spices and cook for 3 minutes more. In the meantime, mix coconut cream with boiling water until dissolved. I'm using light coconut milk and using a little less water. Add vegetables to pan and toss until coated with spice mixture. Add coconut milk and water and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes while I prepare the rest of my meal.