Lately I have really been liking the challenge of making Indian Cuisine at home. After looking around the internet and digging through hundreds of blogs I have come to the conclusion that there is almost no need for curry in a jar. You can pretty much get the same flavors minus the salt and at half the price. I guess I am lucky. Living in Plano gives me some serious access to stores that will cater to various ethnic groups. And not just specialty shops. Even at Walmart, and there are like 2000 near me, I can hop over to their “ethnic” aisle. Now I know purists will yell and complain that I’m not getting the authentic ingredients or the true flavors. But I can yell back and say im not buying the Happy Desi in a Jar curry mix and I’m learning how the flavors work together. I think its quite an adventure to see what else I can use Garam Masala in and how exactly pan toasted Cumin seeds can improve tons of other dishes. So I may not be going to the Indian Market or the spice area in the Asian Market but I am taking the steps to gain those skills and its one hell of a trip.

Left over spices are a bad habit of mine. I have tons of not quite finished spices and I need to throw them out but I keep thinking im gonna use them someday. I have the tiniest piece of saffron that I cant justify throwing away but I know it will serve almost no purpose in anything I have coming up… One day oh special spice that I got for free, one day…

I made some Curry Potatoes and Peas recently and was able by going deep in the spice reserves, crank it out with no jarred mixes.
I got the recipe from the Teany cookbook by Moby. A simple recipe that took not much time at all.  Umm the measurements are for the math impaired and those who cook like Eskimo Hip Hop… RANDOM.

1 lb fingerling potatoes
1 cup frozen sweet peas
Garam Masala
Cumin
Allspice
Minced Garlic
Minced Ginger
Green onions
Coconut Milk
Cayenne Pepper
Lemon Juice
Turmeric

I start by boiling the potatoes until when I pick them up with a fork they fall back off with little help and leave the skins on. This helps them stay together for cooking later.
In a heavy bottom skillet I take the dry spices, Masala, Cumin,Allspice,Cayenne Pepper and kind of toast them on low heat. I do this until I can really smell them.*  After they are smelling pretty good I add in chopped green onion, garlic, ginger  and little olive oil to prevent burning. I stir this and cook until softened and then add the Turmeric. I find it burns to easy to add at first. I then add the coconut milk. I used this instead of milk or heavy cream because I like the sweetness and Soy Milk is still a hit or miss thing to me. I take the somewhat cooled potatoes and kind of mash them a bit jus a few times to break them up a bit and keep them mainly whole. I add them in and let them simmer for about 10 minutes uncovered. Then I add the frozen sweet peas and cover and simmer for about 7 minutes or so. To let them unthaw and get vibrant green. It turned out very good and not too spicy. I could have used a bit more spice and next time will go a bit harder on the cayenne.

I served this with some frozen tilapia and lentil salad I got from the same book. I love that Lentil salad but it deserves  a post of its own.

This post is tagged curry, indian, peas, potatoes, vegetables, vegetarian