Simple Veggie Curry (Vegetarian)

Member Name: Cosmokat

Product:	Vegetarian
Date:	18/09/09 (125 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, good for you and simple to make.

Disadvantages: ?

Curries in all their variety, richness, and amazing flavour have got to be my favourite kind of food. I like cooking too, but to make a decent curry can take a long time, which is fine sometimes but I kept trying out different recipes looking for a decent, quick to make, recipe that I could knock up after work with no hassle. I ended up making up my own recipe to fill this gap and here it is.

Ingredients (serves 2 hungry people)

1 Onion, thinly sliced
1 Green Pepper, cut into chunks
Corn Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
1tsp each: Mustard Seeds, Ground Ginger, Cumin, Coriander
½ tsp Ground Turmeric
1 Bay Leaf
1 Red Fresh Birdseye Chilli, finely chopped
2 Handfuls Red Lentils
Handful of Peas
5 Fresh Tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 Pint Vegetable Stock
Seasoning
Handful Flaked Almonds, toasted
Handful Fresh Coriander, chopped

Method

Heat a generous splosh of oil in a large frying pan.

Gently fry onion, pepper and garlic until softened.

Add the powdered spices, chilli and the bay and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring.

Add the tomatoes, lentils, peas and stock. Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer for ½ hour stirring as needed until you have a thickish sauce.

Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Garnish with the almonds and coriander and serve with rice and bread.


Result

I would say this has enough flavours without being overly complicated, and heat-wise would describe as medium, 2 chillies gives a nice extra kick if you prefer hot curry. This smells great while cooking. I find this lentil curry and flavouring makes a good base and can obviously be altered depending on taste, mood or what's in the fridge or garden. A spoonful of crème fraiche would probably work well too if you like creamy curry.

This recipe contains plenty of nutrients and won't cost a lot to make, especially if you use spices often, and the quantities can obviously be easily increased to cater for more people.

Summary: A satisfying basic curry.