This Indian Inspired One Pot Meal Can Be Made With Any Veggies

Do you ever have a fridge full of veggies and no idea what to do with all of them?

Well, that happens to me at least a couple of times a week!

I'm incredibly blessed to live on a farm that produces year round organic veggies and because of that there are always veggies (mostly seconds that can't be sold) flowing into my fridge.

It's my job to make something that everyone will eat out of whatever I have in abundance.

If you have a CSA share or a garden, you might have the same job as me for your family, right?

And what an important job it is: to nourish your spouse, kids, grandkids, and other family and friends.

I have many go-to's that I've developed over the years to help me do this job easily and quickly. Many of which I've shared with you on my blog over the past several years.

And here's a new one for you today!

It seems that every year I pick up something new to add to my permanent veggie cooking repertoire. And this is it for this year, or at least this summer!

This Indian inspired one pot meal can be made with any veggies

I don't think that I liked curry much before I studied abroad in Sri Lanka and India. There I ate different kinds of curry basically every day! Since then I've developed a great love of it.

And now I'm really making it a fixture at my house with this basic recipe below.

But what is curry?

It's basically a dish of vegetables, meat, fish, chicken, or other protein (like tofu, cheese, or pulses like chickpeas or lentils) with a sauce full of flavorful spices. Curry is eaten all over the world, especially in the Middle East, India, and a lot of Asia.  There are endless kinds of curry and no one specific recipe.

Often the spices and other ingredients can vary from household to household!

Curry is typically served with rice, but also goes well with noodles or flatbread.

How to make a tasty curry meal out of any veggies you have

Here's a basic template that I got from our employee Hannah. I now use it with success with any veggies I have on hand, fresh or frozen even!

Any Veggie Curry Meal

• 6-8 cups different kinds of fresh veggies, chopped
• Cooking oil of choice
• 8-16+ ounces protein of choice, pre-cooked
• 2 TBLS peanut butter
• 1-2+ TBLS curry paste (you can also use curry powder if you don't have curry paste, though I do think that curry paste lends a more complex and interesting flavor)
• 1-2 TBLS soy sauce
• Hot pepper, optional
• 1 TBLS fresh ginger root, minced (or dried in a pinch)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic scape)
• salt and pepper to taste
• other spices as desired
• 1-2 cups coconut milk
• water to keep from sticking, as needed
• Juice of lemon or lime, optional
• minced fresh herbs, optional (cilantro, mint, parsley, basil would all be good here)

1. Separate the chopped veggies out from each other based on speed of cooking (see guide below).
2. Start with sauteing the slower to cook veggies until just beginning to soften (approx. 5 min), adding average cooking veggies and sauteing those until beginning to soften (approx 3 min), and finally adding your pre-cooked protein choice, quick cooking veggies, ginger, garlic, peanut butter, curry paste, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and a little water.
3. Cover and cook slowly until everything is very tender, stirring occasionally to check for sticking adding a little more water if needed.
4. Add coconut milk, warm through, and serve warm with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice for each portion.

List of slower to cook veggies (add first)

• Carrots
• Beets
• Turnips
• Kohlrabi
• Onions and leeks
• Fennel bulb
• Radishes (round red, Daikon, watermelon, etc.)

List of average to cook veggies (add second)

• Summer Squash and Zucchini
• Peppers
• Cabbage and Chinese (Napa) Cabbage
• Tomatoes
• Green beans
• Eggplant
• Broccoli
• Peas
• frozen veggies like peppers, broccoli, summer squash

List of quick to cook veggies (add last)

• Greens like kale, chard, spinach, bok choy, beet greens, mizuna, tatsoi summer spinach, purslane, radicchio, etc.
• Herbs like cilantro, parsley, basil, fennel fronds, sorrel, etc.
• Scallion tops and bunching onion tops
• Cherry tomatoes

What is your favorite ingredients for making curry?  Please reply below in a comment so we can all share with each other.  Thank you!