Vindaloo Vegetables

I'm a big fan of one-pot meals. If I can put a lot of veggies and some beans into a stew and serve it over a whole grain, it's less work for me to prepare the meal and less clean-up for my husband, so we're both happy.

Last night I fell back on one of our favorite one-pot meals. It's an adaptation of a recipe from Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. Slow cookers are fine when you are organized enough to set them up hours before you want to eat, but I can rarely think ahead 10 minutes, much less 10 hours. So I changed this recipe to eliminate the need for the crock-pot. I've also increased the seasoning and changed the way in which the ingredients are combined. And--naturally--I've taken out the oil. For the sweetener, I've substituted a date for the brown sugar the recipe originally called for; I find it gives the sauce a better flavor, and it's a less processed form of sugar.

Vindaloo Vegetables
(4-6 servings)

3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp. ginger, peeled and chopped
1 small date, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
2 small carrots, thinly sliced
1 sm. green or red bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 cups small cauliflower florets
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans (or one 15.5 ounce canned beans, rinsed and drained)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
Water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (salt is optional)
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, ginger, date, coriander, cumin, mustard, cayenne, turmeric, vinegar, and 1/2 cup water; process until smooth and set aside.

Heat a large non-stick pot or wok over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots and one tablespoon of water, cover, and cook until softened, stirring often and adding more water as necessary to prevent burning--about 5 minutes.

Add the spice paste from the blender and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper, cauliflower, zucchini, and kidney beans. Cover and turn heat to low.

Put the tomato paste and 1 1/4 cup water in the blender and blend thoroughly. Add the tomato paste mixture to the vegetables, season with pepper and salt (if using), cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy, about 20 minutes.

Add the peas and allow to heat through for about 5 minutes. Serve alone or over basmati rice or other grain.

(I always think the veggies are so much prettier before they're cooked so I had to include a shot of them here.)

If you're interested in the crock-pot version, you can see my fat-free adaptation of it on the Fatfree Vegan website. Fans of this recipe from the site may note that today's version contains extra cumin and coriander and a new ingredient--cardamom. What can I say? I'm always fiddling around with recipes, even old favorites. :-)



Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free