Ever since I discovered the Indian cuisine I have been hooked to its amazing and well-balanced flavors. As a plant-based muncher, it's a challenge to create dishes that aren't bland-tasting since meat or fish add a lot of taste to a dish.
While in many western countries, the vegan or vegetarian cuisine is definitely improving, I often think that they lack flavor coming from herbs and spices.
Though their fancy looking dishes and creativity always inspire me, eating out as a plant-based muncher is often a disappointed since I am used to adding so many fresh or dried herbs and spices to my meals. However, you can't say bland-tasting when it comes to Indian restaurants, they remain my absolute favorite and a great source of inspiration.
And sometimes - if you kindly ask - they tell you their secrets. And one of them I used for the first time in this recipe and oh man... this tasted as good as going to an Indian restaurant.
The new discovery, cooking onions and spices prior to blending them to make the curry paste. I always blended the onions and herbs first and them lightly cooked them. This little trick makes a huge diffrence! Believe me.
Ingredients (serves 3)
1.5 cup sliced onion
1 tbsp roughly grated ginger
3-4 chopped cloves of garlic
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 lime, juice only
2 cups finely chopped green beans
3 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups sweet potatoes, chopped
3/4 cup cashew nuts, roasted
1 cup water
1/2 cup chopped parsley or cilantro (garnish)
Dry herb mix
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder or more taste
Black pepper and sea salt to taste
Directions
- Heat cooking oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5-7 minutes. Stir regularly.
- Add garlic, ginger, and herb mix. Stir well to coat the onions with the herbs. Stir in fresh mint and lime juice. Cook for a few minutes.
- When ready, add the onion mix to a blender or food processor. add a little water as needed to form a paste.
- Combine green beans, cauliflower, sweet potato, blended onion mix, and water In the same pot you used to cook the onions. Stir well and cook covered for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water while cooking if needed. Last 5 to 10 minutes add roasted cashew nuts.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro.
Bon Appétit
ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL!
PICTURE(s) TAKEN WITH FUJI X-M1
This recipe is very delicious. Until I finished reading I was already hungry 😊
Hehe! Thanks @allesia. Sorry for making you hungry ;)
Is that the long green bean @amy-goodrich? If so, oh my, I love it so much! I love eating it raw :-D Anyway, your dish looks amazing.
That's right @ikaputri3! I love them too (cooked and raw) and they are local, Normal green beans are so expensive here. Thanks for your comment ;)
It's the opposite here. The long beans is way too expensive and green beans is quite cheap :-D I like to make stir fried long bean with tofu and tempeh as well. Oh my, now I'm craving for some :-D
Shall I bring you some when we come to Brussels? They have to survive a few days Finland first though hehe.
I'd love to but it will be complicated for you bringing fresh vegetables. It's okay. I can still find them in Asian Store ;-) Thanks for the offer, it's very kind of you @amy-goodrich!
Yum! That both looks & sounds delicious! The different textures & flavors going on seem intriguing. I adore collecting recipes with turmeric. Did you know pepper increases the bio-availability of the curcumin in turmeric by 2000%? Crazy awesome right?!
Thanks for the yummy recipe share!
Two of my favorite spices. Adding a healthy oil (such as coconut oil) to the dish also helps to increase the bioavailability. Not as much as black pepper, but it's good to add both. Thanks for your comment. Have a lovely day!
Wow! Today you cooked indian food, really nice, you know that the indian cooked lot of vegetables, and they put many spices on food, that's why their food looks tasty.
Thanks @creativewoman! We love Indian food. It's so delicious. And the spices are super good for us. Have a great day ;)
Our cuisine here in Mauritius is very much influenced from Indian cuisine, such a tasty cuisine indeed!
I still remember all the amazing gravies we were preparing for our Indian restaurant, this is the main secret of Indian food! We were cooking some gravies for over 5 hours to achieve the max of taste!
Lovely recipe! Soooo mouthwatering!
Another reason to come and visit gorgeous Mauritius. You are a man of all cuisines it seems. love it!
Love curry.
Same here! So yummy. Would eat them every day hehe.
Looks very healthy, I especially like the fact that it has green beans in it.
Thanks for your comment @azfix! the green beans work out very well in this recipe.
looks really good!
Thanks my friend! Was really good indeed.
Nothing beats a good curry, when cooked properly. Lovely recipe with good attention to the all important masalla!
Thanks @eco-alex for your comment!
That looks really tasty :)
Thanks @samuel-earp-art! I sure was yum ;)