If you’ve pledged to eat more veg this year, try this Calcutta-style vegetable curry! Dairy-free and vegan, it’s built on an aromatic mustard oil base with loads of fresh curry leaf and other good stuff. You’ll begin with black mustard seed that you heat ‘til it’s popping, then come the curry leaves, sweet cinnamon stick, bay leaf, clove and cardamom, plus paprika, golden turmeric, ginger, garlic, shallots, green chili, garam masala, coriander leaf & coconut milk.
And of course: The vegetables! I made mine with parsnip and carrot, oven roasted to caramelly tenderness, but this recipe would work with squash, peas, and potatoes, too –whatever your healthy heart desires. You can also vary the heat of the curry by using a hotter or milder chili pepper.
To make the dish, I peel the carrot and parsnip first, then gather and measure all the spices, (laying them out in order of usage) while the vegetables roast. When the curry is nearly done, I get a pot of long grain basmati rice going so I can be sure to serve everything as soon as it’s ready.
Vegetable Curry Kolkata
Ingredients
- FOR THE ROASTED VEG;
- 4 good sized carrots, peeled, halved, and sliced into 3-to-4-inch lengths
- 3 parsnips, peeled, halved, and sliced into 3-inch lengths
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Sprinkling of salt and pepper
- FOR THE CURRY:
- 2 Tbsp. mustard oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- Large handful of fresh curry leaves (about 20)
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cardamom pods, crushed a bit with a mortar & pestle
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 fat garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch piece of fresh, peeled ginger, minced
- 1 fresh green chili, seeds and stem discarded, minced
- 1 Tbsp ground turmeric powder
- 1 ½ 13.5- to 14- oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp coconut flour (optional)
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Salt to taste
- FOR THE GARNISH:
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped to make 2 Tbsp
Instructions
- ROAST VEG: Preheat oven for 350F. Toss peeled and sliced carrot and parsnip sticks with vegetable oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Spread on a ½-sheet rimmed baking sheet and place in the center of oven. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender and nicely charred in spots. Set aside.
- MAKE CURRY: In a large sauté pan, heat the mustard oil over medium-high heat. Stir in mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, reduce heat and add the bay and curry leaves, cardamom, clove and cinnamon. Stir for 30 seconds. Add shallots and cook until soft—about five minutes. While shallots cook, place garlic and ginger in a mortar and pestle and smash well to make a paste. Add this paste, the minced green chili and the turmeric to the pan and stir. Add the coconut milk and--if you want a thicker curry, add the optional bit of coconut flour. Stir in the reserved roasted carrot and parsnip. Simmer for five minutes. Stir in the garam masala and season with salt to taste. Spoon curry into bowls and top with sprinkling of chopped cilantro leaves. Serve hot on its own, or with fluffy, long-grain basmati rice.
No Comments