Veggie curry with roti. (Credit: Jad Abou Jaoudeh/L'Orient Today)
The word authentic has been beaten into a pulp. There is no such thing as an authentic curry at this point. There are, of course, Indian curries, Thai curries, Japanese curries, Jamaican curries and South African curries. Even the Germans have their currywurst…
There is no one single right way to cook a dish, and that is the beauty of cooking. If it’s made with love, care, intuition and intention, it will be delicious.
This veggie curry recipe gets an additional flavor boost from fenugreek (known in Arabic as halba) and a can of coconut cream (available at most grocery stores). It is served alongside roti, a type of buttery Indian flatbread that can be made in less than an hour and yields great results, even if they might not be perfect on the first attempt.
Serves 4
Time: 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
Roti:
250 grams all-purpose flour
240 milliliters boiling water (it has to be hot!)
Pinch of salt
100 grams of butter, melted
Veggie curry:
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1-4 green chilis (depending on your spice preference), finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 centimeters of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried coriander
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon turmeric
2 teaspoons fenugreek (if whole, pound in a mortar and pestle until broken up)
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
500 grams cauliflower (half a large head), cut into chunks
½ cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 cup red lentils
1 cube vegetable stock
1 red apple, shredded
1 can coconut cream (if you cannot find coconut cream, substitute with two cans of coconut milk, just reduce the amount of water used to cook the vegetables)
1 lemon or lime
Salt to taste
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions:
Start with the dough first. Place the flour into a heatproof bowl. Add the boiling water, the salt and half of the melted butter. Save the other half of the butter for cooking the roti. The mixture will be very hot at first, so use a fork to mix all the ingredients. Once the dough starts to come together, touch the dough to see if you can knead it with your hands. It will be hot at first, but manageable. Knead the dough for 2 minutes. The easiest way to do this is to fold the dough over itself 60 times, and then another 60. Cover the dough with a towel or plastic and set aside for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the curry.
Fill a large pot about halfway with water and add the chopped potatoes and cauliflower. Bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the red lentils.
In a separate pan, add the tablespoon of butter and chopped onions, chilis and bell peppers. Place on high heat and cook the onions until they are translucent and starting to brown. Add the fresh garlic and ginger and sauté for a few minutes. Add all the spices and let them fry in the butter until you can start to smell them. Add this onion mixture to the pot of boiling vegetables, along with the stock cube. Stir to incorporate everything.
Add the can of coconut cream and the shredded apple. The apple will give it some gentle sweetness and round out the coconut flavor. Lower the heat and keep on a gentle simmer for another 20 minutes. This will allow the flavors to come together. Taste for seasoning, add salt or chili pepper as desired. It should have the consistency of a thick stew, but you can add water if you find that it is too thick. Once all the vegetables and lentils have been cooked, turn off the heat and keep covered until ready to serve.
While the curry is cooking on low heat, get your roti dough and divide it into eight pieces on a floured work surface. Make sure your pieces are nice and round, otherwise, they will not roll into round roti. Taking one piece at a time, sprinkle with flour and roll out the piece of dough to a thickness of 2-3 millimeters. Place a large nonstick pan on the stove on high heat. Once the pan is hot, place the dough in the pan and brush with a bit of the remaining melted butter. You should start to see air pockets forming. Once you have a good amount of air inside the dough, flip it to the other side and brush down with more melted butter. Flip again aa sahet al-salameh, as they say. Your dough should be buttered and toasted on both sides now. Place in a dish and repeat the process with the remaining pieces. Once all your doughs have been cooked, you are ready to eat!
Serve the curry in a big bowl, topped with freshly chopped cilantro, and a few extra green chilies for those who like the added heat. Serve alongside the fresh roti. Your heart will glow with the magic of vegetables, spices and coconut.
