For dinner today, I thought I was totally prepared to make my easy black bean enchiladas. I took out tortillas and started defrosting my homemade enchilada sauce. I chopped an onion and a green pepper. And then I reached into my pantry for a can of black beans… only to find that there was not a single solitary can. And then I remembered. We had started buying dried black beans in an attempt to be a little healthier and cut down on sodium.
Well. We had bought them but I had never boiled and prepared them! There they were, hard little pearls sitting in their jar on my countertop, taunting me with their inaccesability.
What to do? I took inventory. There was half a head of cauliflower in my fridge, a couple of stray potatoes in the cupboard, the onion and pepper that I had already chopped… It all looked a bit bleak actually. I shrugged and decided on a vegetable curry. I’ve followed plenty of curry recipes before, so this time I decided to just do it my own way.
The result was actually quite good! It makes a spicy vegetable blend in a plethora of creamy orange sauce. While it was cooking on the stove it filled my apartment with all sorts of delicious smells. My fiance even complimented me on a dish well done. Not bad for a last minute dinner solution! This is the recipe:
Last-minute Vegetable Curry Recipe:
about 2 tbs olive oil
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 potatoes (I used 2 medium-sized red-skins) cut into small cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
dash cayenne pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can coconut milk (I advise using full-fat rather than light coconut milk. The taste and texture using “light” just isn’t the same)
1 tbs brown sugar
1 cup frozen peas
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: serve with long-grain brown rice
- Start by heating oil in a large, deep pan. When the oil is hot, add onion and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes or until soft (onions will start to turn translucent). Then add potatoes, cauliflower and garlic. (If you’re serving this dish with rice, now would be a good time to start your rice pot boiling on another burner)
- Saute for about 10 minutes and then add curry, turmeric and cayenne pepper. Stir well until vegetables are coated with spice mixture.
- Add diced tomatoes. Stir, let simmer for about 5 minutes and then add coconut milk and brown sugar. Stir some more. Add frozen peas, garbanzo beans and salt and pepper.
- Cover with a tight-fitting lid and let simmer for 30-40 minutes or until all vegetables are soft and tender, stirring occasionally.
I like to serve my vegetable curry with rice. My favorite is a long-grain brown rice cooked in vegetable broth. I hope you enjoy this recipe! It’s really good for some warmth and spice on a cold winter evening. Please leave me a comment to tell me how yours turned out!