by amvandenhurk | Curry, Indian, Meatless Mondays, Plant-Based Eating, Vegetarian
Indian Fried Cabbage and Peas Breaks the Cabbage Image
Cabbage. This vegetable has an image problem. Cabbage, like many vegetables, has a bad reputation. It has been cooked to death without much thought to flavor. It is known as dreary, boring veg that is served in gulags. It was a poor person’s food. Easily available and cheap. Plenty of butter and salt makes it ok to eat. Back in the day, spices were a luxury, but it is 2019 and spices are abundant. So let’s move away from cabbage boiled to mush. There are other ways to prepare cabbage where you will want to eat it. Without being threatened that there will be no dessert until you finish it.
Sometimes I just buy veg at Aldi on a whim and cabbage was my most recent purchase. I do like a challenge. I had an idea to use a recipe out of the Thug Kitchen for roasted cabbage, but I decided to go South Asian with a curry base. Indian Fried Cabbage and Peas breaks the cycle of bland and boiled. While it is soft, it is bursting with flavor and color. If you are trying to cut down on rice, then this is a good substitute in texture if you chop it finely enough. I used my food processor. It was efficient getting the pieces to a perfect size for quick cooking.
Kitchen Gadgets
While I love kitchen gadgets, none of my kitchens have been big as well as moving a lot, I have had to be very selective with my gadgets. My Kitchen Aid food processor is twenty or so odd years old and I am glad I have it. It is a workhorse making hummus, sauces, and shredding veg. Gadgets have to have a purpose and used weekly for me to keep them in the kitchen or at all. Guess I am the Marie Kondo of kitchen stuff. My list of must-have for the kitchen is electric tea kettle, slow cooker, toaster oven, stand mixer, air fryer, and food processor. I do not own a hand mixer, an electric can opener nor juicer.
Fried Cabbage and Peas
Back to the Indian Fried Cabbage and Peas. This recipe was quick and simple. Cabbage, cumin seeds, coriander, paprika, salt, pepper, fresh ginger, and green peas. All should be pantry items. I use fresh ginger in a bottle. It is just great to have on hand ready to go into a recipe. Same with bottle minced garlic. All the flavor without the fuss.
While Indian Fried Cabbage and Peas can be the main dish if you add another veg dish such as Okra Tomato Curry. Instead of rice, I served this with Coconut Cilantro Curry Grilled Chicken.
Indian Fried Cabbage and Peas
Ingredients
- 1 Cabbage, shredded or finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive or veg oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin Seeds
- 1 inch ginger, grated or a tablespoon of squeezable ginger
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 cup frozen or fresh Green Peas
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
- Heat oil in a pan over med-high heat and add cumin seeds and ginger sautéing for a minute
- Add cabbage, paprika, coriander powder and salt mixing well
- Add 1/4 cup water.
- Cover the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes till the cabbage is tender.
- Add in the green peas and cook for another minute or too.
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https://wellwornapron.com/indian-fried-cabbage-and-peas/ 
by amvandenhurk | Chicken, Curry, Dinner, Indian, Slow Cooker
Simple and Tasty Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
This recipe of slow cooker butter chicken has become a staple in our house when we fancy an Indian curry meal. It is simple and tasty. And it is good enough to serve to company.
In fact, that is what I served recently. We were having a gathering of twelve for dinner at our house to celebrate my son’s birthday. What to cook to feed a crowd of foodies? And is not going to exhaust me in the process? We had a mix of meat lovers and vegetarians. Indian food was the answer. It is an excellent choice. To add to the meal, how about trying, Quick Vegetarian Cauliflower Chickpea Curry.
Slow Cooker Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
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Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
Preparation
- Heat olive oil over medium-hight heat.
- Brown chicken on all sides in batches, about 2 minutes. Once browned, remove chicken to slow cooker.
- Cook onions until soft.
- Add garlic, garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, ginger and salt cooking for another minute.
- Add onion and garlic to slow cooker.
- In a large bowl, whisk together tomato paste, yogurt, coconut milk and sugar.
- Pour coconut milk mixture over chicken and onions.
- Cook for 5-6 hours over low heat.
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https://wellwornapron.com/slow-cooker-butter-chicken/ 
by amvandenhurk | Curry, Dinner, Indian, Meatless Mondays, Vegan, Vegetarian
Vegan Eggplant Chickpea Curry
Chickpeas are one of my favorite ingredients. And I adore eggplant. Put them together with a curry base and you have eggplant chickpea curry. Pretty good, right?
The base of a curry varies. This curry is tomato-based with ground cumin, yellow curry powder, ground turmeric, garam masala, and salt with a little water added to create paste. From there you can add various vegetables or meat to it as well as broth or water.
People are often afraid of cooking Indian or other Asian food. They are afraid of all the spices. They should not be. Once you have the basic ingredients such as ground cumin, yellow curry powder, ground turmeric, and garam masala in your pantry then you can create a diverse meal of dishes. Indian and Asian spices are now becoming common in many supermarket chain’s spice aisles such as Food Lion. I would suggest if you are going to make a lot of Indian or Asian dishes that you find an Asian grocery store. For me, I need to travel between 60 to 90 minutes to a good Asian grocery store, but it is worth it to get large quantities of spices for a lot cheaper than your local grocery store. Plus, it is a wonderful cultural experience.
Need other dishes? Try my recipe for Lazy Vegetable Korma or Slow Cooker Aloo Gobi.
Eggplant Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
- 1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes, draining some of the liquid beforehand
- 1 14.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- A bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped
Preparation
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the onion cooking until tender.
- Add the garlic cooking until fragrant.
- Stir in the cumin, curry, turmeric, garam masala, and salt, as well as a few tablespoons of water, mixing together and create a paste.
- Add the eggplant, tomatoes, chickpeas, and broth.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce it to a simmer covering for 15 minutes.
- Uncover the curry and cook it for another 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced and the eggplant is soft.
- Add cilantro leaves.
Serves 4-6.
Serve with naan or rice. Or both.
by amvandenhurk | Dinner, Indian, Meatless Mondays, Plant-Based Eating, Slow Cooker, Vegetarian Slow Cooker
When someone mentions a slow cooker, the first thing for many that comes to mind is a meat and bean chili. Or maybe a pulled pork. That was me until a couple of years ago. I always thought of chili or some sort of pulled meat in a sweet sauce. I never would have thought of a slow cooker aloo gobi or any other vegetarian meal.
Turns out the slow cooker is ideal for vegetarian meals. You can make tasty, healthy meals from a slow cooker.
Slow Cookers
I used that Faberware Slow Cooker until it went kaput this week as I was walking out the door. Lucky I checked it before I left or we would have had a disappointing dinner.
I quickly ran to the local Walmart to purchase a slow cooker not wanting to waste my ingredients I had just chopped. Especially that onion that caused me to tear up like a Folgers commercial. Who knew there were so many types of slow cookers? Well I now do. I like to keep things simple. My idea is less can go wrong. I settled on a Hamilton Beach Programmable 5-quart Slow Cooker. (Affiliate link to Amazon.)
Slow Cooker Aloo Gobi
This curry is one of my favorite Indian dishes. It is so good and so simple. Cauliflower, potatoes, and tomatoes are the stars of the dish. It is a flavorful curry with wonderful spices of ginger, garlic, jalapeño, cumin seeds, turmeric, and garam masala. More and more ingredients such as cumin seeds and garam masala are becoming easier to find at chain grocery stores allowing this dish is becoming more accessible. Chop vegetables, measure spices, dump, and stir in the slow cooker. You can prep the veggies the night before then dump into the slow cooker in the morning. I use canned tomatoes, baby yellow potatoes, bottled minced garlic, and squeezable ginger to make it easier on me. I recommend this short cuts.
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower, cut into small pieces
- 2 handfuls of yellow baby potatoes cut into quarters
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced small
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1 Teaspoon of squeezable ginger
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1-2 jalapeño peppers, stemmed and chop them small (remove seeds if you do not like it very spicy)
- 1 Tablespoons cumin seeds
- A pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
- 1 Tablespoon garam masala
- 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon kosher salt, depending on taste
- 1 Teaspoon ground turmeric
- 3 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Preparation
- - Prepare the vegetables except for the cilantro.
- - In a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker, combine all ingredients except the cilantro.
- - Stir well making sure the spices are well combined.
- - Cook on LOW for at least 4 hours, stirring once or twice, if you're around.
- - Mix in the cilantro just before serving.
- You can serve the Aloo Gobi with rice or naan.
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https://wellwornapron.com/slow-cooker-aloo-gobi/ 
If you are looking for slow cooker recipes with meat, click here for some favorites of mine.
by amvandenhurk | Dinner, Indian, Meatless Mondays, Plant-Based Eating, Vegetarian
Lazy Vegetable Korma
Yes, you read that correctly: lazy vegetable korma. Indian food can be time consuming with all the vegetable and spice preparation. That can be a turnoff to many. Let’s be honest, even the most avid cook gets lazy sometimes. Me, included especially when I am running around all day running a business, household, and being a parent. There are times I just do not feel like cooking. I know I must since the alternative is either unhealthy take-away or fast food.
It also doesn’t help that once you have good Indian food, you will want it again. At least it is for me. I often crave Indian food. When that craving for Indian hits, you just have to satisfy it. And unless you live in a larger town or city having an Indian restaurant near-by, you need to make it yourself. That’s what I have done.
No worries, I’ve got you covered with this recipe. Vegetable Korma is a creamy curry. What makes it creamy isn’t dairy, but coconut milk. This is a vegetarian and vegan recipe. Good for the body, mind, and soul.
Simple ingredients are the key. Remember this is lazy vegetable korma. This is a 30 minute recipe. First action is to defrost the frozen mixed vegetables in cool water. As the oil is heating up in the pan, chop the onion as well as peel and dice small the potatoes. Then start cooking in order. Make sure the potatoes are cooked. Serve with either rice or naan bread. The recipe serves 4 or 6 depending on how greedy everyone is that night.
Lazy Vegetable Korma
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion yellow diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 5 cloves minced garlic
- 3 russet potatoes cut into cubes
- 2-3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables defrosted
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 can unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
Preparation
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Stir in the onion, and cook until tender.
- Add ginger and garlic cooking until fragrant.
- Add salt and curry powder.
- Mix potatoes, defrosted frozen mixed vegetables, and tomato sauce
- Cook 25 minutes covered, or until potatoes are tender.
- Stir in coconut milk into the skillet.
- Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes
Hello! I'm Ann Marie and I wear the well-worn apron. Join me as explore plant-based eating while I live on an island off the U.S. state of Rhode Island.