Curried Vegetables with Garam Masala & Panch Poran

This recipe was sent to us by our customers Bob and Barbara Scammell. A while back, Bob and Barbara ordered some of our garam masala and panch poran, and told us they were using it to make curried vegetables with cauliflower, onions, new potatoes, peas, green beans, and gold beets from their garden. It sounded so good that we asked if they’d share the recipe, and luckily for us they were happy to pass it along.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe for “Alu Mattar Sukhe” (Potato and Pea Dry Curry) in “The Complete Asian Cookbook” by Charmaine Solomon.

Ingredients:

4 cups diced raw potatoes
4 cups chopped cauliflower florets
4 cups any other fresh vegetables, chopped (we used garden carrots and yellow beans)
1-2 cups shelled fresh or frozen peas
3 tbsp ghee or oil
2 tsp whole Panch Poran
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint or cilantro, or a mixture of the two
3 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 tsp Turmeric
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
¼ to ½ cup hot water
2 tsp Garam Masala, ground
1–2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1. In a large heavy saucepan, heat the ghee or oil and fry the panch poran seeds on low heat until they start to brown, then add onion and fry gently until the onion is soft and starting to colour.
2. Add herbs and ginger and fry for a few seconds, stirring. Add turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper and stir well.
3. Add all the prepared vegetables, stir well, and sprinkle in the hot water.
4. Turn heat low, cover and cook for 20 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
5. After 20 minutes sprinkle the vegetables with garam masala and lemon juice, stir gently, cover and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Test some of the varied vegetables for “bite”. None of them should be too firm or crunchy; if some are, continue cooking until all vegetables are soft, but not mushy. Add a little water if the pan appears dry.
7. Serve, preferably with any Indian bread or basmati rice. Cucumber raita and mint chutney are good accompaniments.

If you’d like wine with your curry, Bob and Barbara suggest Gewürztraminer, rosé, or Zinfandel (red or white). We had ours with big glasses of pilsner and it was delicious.