Recipe: Vegetable Korma

I love Indian Food. I never thought I did, and there are certain tastes I don't care for, but I do now! My husband and I used to go to this great little Indian buffet near my midwife when I was pregnant I became seriously addicted. Of course, it's filled with meat and dairy. It's pretty far away so my husband found this recipe for chicken korma which I LOVED when he made it. I was really missing this dish, not because of the chicken but because of the flavor. So why not make it with veggies instead of chicken. With a few substitutions here and there, I now have a fabulous (and simple!) vegetable korma recipe that tastes just like my husband's original.

Vegetable Korma

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• one bag (16 oz) frozen okra, steamed just a bit
• one bag frozen broccoli, steamed just a bit
• one can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
  
• 1/2 c water
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala, or to taste
• 6-7 oz rice milk (or your milk sub. of choice)
  

Saute the chopped onions on a medium-high heat until the onions are soft and slightly brown. To do this without oil, just add a little water as needed to keep from sticking/burning during the process. I add a small amount, wait for them to start getting brown, then add a tiny bit more, and keep that process going until they are "fried" enough for my liking. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 or 2 minutes. Add the salt, turmeric and ground cumin.

Turn up the heat and further cook for another 1 minute. If things start to stick too much, add a little of the water here. Then add your lightly steamed vegetables and chick peas. It is very crucial that the spices are mixed within the pan at this point and stirred to ensure that the veggies and beans cook with texture and flavor. Add water after stirring the veggies/beans into the spices. Turn down the heat slightly and stir in the garam masala and rice milk. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over brown rice.

Adapted from The Food Network

This will totally be a weekly occurrence at our house. I love this recipe and I generally have every single one of the ingredients on hand at all times. You could also sub different veggies and whatnot.