Pumpkin Curry

A throw-it-together, use-what-you've-got kind of meal. It's easy to vary the spices, add more vegetables, add in beans or nuts, use coconut milk, etc.!

Pumpkin Curry
oil
diced onion
minced garlic
cubed pumpkin (pre-cooked until tender but not mushy)
curry powder
paprika
ground ginger
ground cloves
pumpkin puree
almond milk

Sweat the onion and garlic in the oil. Stir in the cubed pumpkin. Add the spices, pumpkin puree, and almond milk. Bring to a boil, stir, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over rice.

Eggplant Curry

Eggplant Curry
2 large eggplant, large dice
salt
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 large onion, diced
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 minced green chile pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste

Place the eggplant in a large colander and sprinkle liberally with salt Let stand fr at least an hour to allow the water to drain out.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and sauté until softened. Add the spices and sauté until aromatic. Add in the eggplant, then the tomato and simmer until eggplant is softened. 

Curried Pine Nut Pasta

Curried Pine Nut Pasta
1 cup semolina flour
3/4 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 cup pine nuts, finely chopped (toast first for more flavor)
2 teaspoons curry powder
pinch salt
1 large egg
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup cold water

In a small bowl, mix together the flours, nuts, curry, and salt.
In a separate small bowl, beat together the egg, oil, and water until combined.
Mound the dry ingredients on a wooden table or board. Make a hole in the center. (Alternately you can do this in a bowl, but it is not the traditional way of making pasta). Carefully pour the wet ingredients in the center, then gently work the flour in with your hands to form a stiff dough. Knead until smooth. Form into a ball, wrap well in plastic wrap, and let rest for at least an hour or so.

At this point, your pasta may be put through a pasta machine, or rolled out and cut by hand. Then it may be cooked for a few minutes in boiling salted water until tender, or dried for storage. Fill as desired. Fresh filled pasta can be refrigerated or frozen for later use. This pasta can be made into any pasta shape possible.

This isn't a traditional pasta formula - but my own recipe that gets more color from the curry powder. The use of some semolina flour makes the pasta firmer and gives more color as well. I will share the entire pasta dish I created with this pasta dough tomorrow. 

Fall Vegetable Curry

This is a quick and nutritious one pan meal that tantalizes with its spicy aroma. This is a vegan recipe, and is chock full of vegetables and lean protein. It is perfect served over a bed of rice. It is not too spicy, so increase the amount of spice if you wish. You can also add more tomatoes or broth if you like your curry to have more of a stew-like consistency. 

Fall Vegetable Curry

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes

½ large sweet potato, cubed

½ head cauliflower, chopped

½ small white onion, chopped

2 teaspoons curry powder

½ cup vegetable broth

½ can chickpeas, rinsed

½ can diced tomatoes, drained

cilantro, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the tofu and sweet potato and sauté for three minutes. Add the cauliflower, onion, and curry powder and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in the broth, chickpeas, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer for ten minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Makes about four servings served over a bed of rice, couscous, or quinoa. 

Pumpkin "Curry"

This is what I made for dinner last night. I call it Pumpkin "Curry", because I left out most of the spices that would normally categorize a dish as curry in order to adapt the recipe to suit my family's taste preferences. Nevertheless, it was very good! I came along the recipe in a cooking magazine, and it sounded very intriguing. Although pumpkins are most commonly associated with carving, followed by baked goods, they also work very well in main dishes as they are very similar to any other squash. Obviously fresh pumpkin must be used in this recipe, because it is kept in pieces and not pureed. I used a fresh pie pumpkin (or sugar pumpkin). When choosing pumpkins to eat, the smaller the better in terms of taste and texture. The recipe called for stir-frying the pumpkin with onion, and then adding some spice, tomato paste, and chicken broth and simmering into a sauce. Since the pumpkin was only cooked for a total of less than 20 minutes, I decided to wrap it up in foil and bake it for an hour beforehand at 350F, and then dice it. Without this step, I don't think the pumpkin would have been tender enough, as even now it was not the least bit mushy. The recipe did not call for chicken at all, but I decided to add some for extra protein. I prebaked the chicken breasts with the pumpkin, but instead of dicing and adding directly to the sauce, I just served it on the side with a drizzle of the sauce. It was much easier and less time consuming. Serve the curry over rice, and you've got yourself a delicious, hearty fall meal! 

P.S. Don't forget to save the pumpkin seeds for roasting. I did mine with a little olive oil, salt, and paprika for 25 minutes at 350F along with the pumpkin. Makes a great appetizer!