May 11, 2009

One Pot Dinners: Vegetable Curry

I'm a big fan of the Crock Pot. It offers not just nostalgia, but an efficient way to cook a delicious and low-cost meal. The last one pot recipe I posted was Hunter Chicken, and if you want to read that post where I waxed rhapsodic about all things Crock Pot-related, you can click here.

Crock Pot dinners satisfy all my basic requirements of being easy, nutritious, economical, and delicious. And this is my favorite vegetarian recipe. It comes from Prevention magazine again, with a few changes and additions. You can assemble it in about 20 minutes in the morning, and it's ready when you walk in the door at night. Or when you walk into the kitchen, if you didn't leave the house.

VEGETABLE CURRY

1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 Tbsp mild Indian curry paste (I actually use Patak's hot curry paste)
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 med Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 med onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" slices
1 half cauliflower head, cut into florets
8 oz green beans, cut into 1 1/2 " slices
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 lg red bell pepper, quartered and cut into 3/4" wide strips

1. In Crock Pot or large slow cooker, whisk coconut milk, flour, curry paste, curry powder, and salt until smooth. Add potatoes, onions, carrots, cauliflower, and pepper. Toss to mix. Place beans on top.
2. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or until vegetables are tender. Stir in peas.

Serve over basmati rice. Garnish with fresh chopped cilanto, red pepper, and toasted almonds, if desired.

This recipe is healthy and low-calorie. Once again, I don't even use the fresh garnishes, but I'm sure they make it even better. I get the curry paste at Ralph's, and you can use any kind of potatoes, although Yukon Golds are very good.

That's my humble Crock Pot offering. And if you haven't discovered this blog yet, check out A Year of Crockpotting, which offers a recipe a day. There are so many I want to try that I can't keep up! Please tell us about your favorites in the Comments section.

5 comments:

Ellen said...

It seems like this recipe doesn't go overboard in terms of servings--I like that you're only cooking for two, so I might be able to make some of your dishes without having to eat the same thing for a month. I'll definitely have to give this a try! Thanks for teh referral to the Year of Crockpotting blog too.

Jill said...

Oh yes - I love coming home after a long day and the house smells great - AND dinner is made - yahooooo!

Thanks for the recipe.

Anonymous said...

I made the Hunter chicken from your earlier post and it was delicious!

Thanks for sharing this recipe and I hope to make it soon.

I love my slow cooker!

Angela said...

Ellen- This one was for you! You requested a vegetarian choice last time. It actually makes quite a bit, so if you don't like eating something more than 3 or 4 times, you could halve the recipe. I hope you like it! It's very similar to Indian yellow curry.

Jill- Yes, exactly- the house smells good AND dinner is already made. Double good.


Lala- I'm so glad you enjoyed the Hunter chicken. We love that one. And thanks for letting me know!

Alison Wiley said...

Hi Angela,

I'm with you on only wanting recipes that are easy, nutritious, economical and delicious. But I also want my cooking to have a low carbon footprint (I see that you care about that, too)-- AND to involve community. Picky little thing, aren't I! :)

So I finally had an all-around success when we had our neighbors over and they raved about the dinner I made that was just $1.56 per person. (The ample leftovers brought the real cost below that.) Here's the story: http://www.diamondcutlife.org/my-cheapest-tastiest-healthiest-dinner-menu/