A sweet potato curry

[redbird]

This is based loosely on the shrimp or chicken curry I used to make, except where I forgot things. With thanks to minnehaha K. for giving me the idea, by posting about an improvised curry she made with sweet potato*. This is halfway between a method and my notes for version 1.1.

Half an onion (or one small onion), diced.
About half a granny smith apple, diced
One sweet potato (not too big), sliced thin and then cut into bite-sized pieces
Frozen cauliflower, probably a bit under 1/2 cup when broken up
A cup of chicken broth, plus some hot water
Peanut oil
Three tablespoons milk

Spices: about 1.5 teaspoon of Penzey's "Singapore spice," a curry-ish thing that gets most of its spiciness from black pepper rather than any sort of red pepper (capsicum), a bit over 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder, a little nutmeg, and a tablespoon of flour to thicken/bind it.

Heat a large covered frying pan, and then put the oil in.
Saute the onion and apple for a couple of minutes, until they're a bit soft.
Sprinkle the spices on the onion-and-olive, stir in, and cook for a minute.
Add the chicken broth, stir, and add the sweet potato pieces. Spread them out in the pan, and add a bit of water to cover the sweet potatoes.
Cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the cauliflower, stir to cover it with the now-thickened liquid, and cover. Total cooking time about 20 minutes, though the sweet potato was probably done in 15. (I'd thought it would need the full 20.)

Next time I will probably reduce the Singapore seasoning (since I have little tolerance for hot spices these days), and maybe increase the nutmeg, and put in some turmeric and cumin (there's some in the Singapore mix). cattitude, who likes things quite a bit spicier than I do these days, added some Sriracha brand hot sauce (which has a drawing of a rooster on the bottle). I should definitely use a bay leaf (I forgot this time), and possibly a couple of cardamom pods. Maybe olive oil instead of peanut.

Something in the umami direction would be good. Maybe just a spoonful of marmite, or get some frozen edamame (or I could start learning to cook with tofu, not just eat it in Chinese restaurants). Or mushrooms, if I'm not cooking for cattitude that night.

If I want to go back toward the recipe this is derived from, I might throw in a handful of raisins or dried cranberries next time—but sweet potatoes already make a sweeter curry than chicken or shrimp did. Also, a tablespoon or so of lemon juice, especially if I reduce the Singapore spice (which is somewhat lemony).

I added the cauliflower mostly for a bit of contrast with the sweet potato; other vegetables might do as well, depending what's handy, or this might work with just sweet potato. I had originally been thinking of a sweet potato and chicken curry, but the chicken didn't keep, and I think the dish was better without it.

Served over long-grained white rice. (If you usually serve curries over some other kind of rice, or some other grain entirely, that should work.)

*Minnehaha reminds me that she used several vegetables in her meal, including radish, but not sweet potato.

(Cross-posting to the LJ community off_recipe)

Comments

[adrian_turtle]

This looks like it would go well with garlic and ginger. Sure, many curries do, but that kind of warmth (rather than heat) feels especially apt for sweet potato. I would sautee minced garlic with the onion, and add a good dollop of ginger puree with the broth. And I'd use coconut milk...I don't think it would be overpowering, in that amount.

It seems to want a little something green. I might add a handful of little peas, but I'm not sure. (I'd definitely taste it before getting the peas out of the freezer.) What do you think about diced bell pepper?

[redbird]

It's not that I think coconut milk would be overpowering, it's that I probably wouldn't think of it in time to have it around. Are you noting that you would use it because you don't eat dairy, or suggesting it in addition, or as preferable even for people who do eat dairy? (I should note that I currently have all the ingredients I used last night, but no coconut milk.)

Ginger puree instead of the powder, or in addition?

I thought about bell pepper and dismissed it because it's too easy to overcook, but it could go in for just a minute or two, after the cauliflower.

[adrian_turtle]

>It's not that I think coconut milk would be overpowering, it's that I probably wouldn't think of it in time to have it around.

As you know, soymilk is my usual substitute for cow's milk. I mainly use coconut milk for curries. I wouldn't buy a carton of it to drink, but the cans have become a secondary pantry staple. More than half of each can tends to end up in a couple of little containers in my freezer. When I ate dairy, I had not really discovered coconut milk, and had relatively little understanding of curries. So I'm working on memory...but I think coconut milk would be preferable to milk.

Ginger puree gives a different than the dried powder. In many contexts, I would use the ginger puree to emphasize the brightness of ginger more than the heat, plus some capsascin for heat. (I'd expect it to need a little salt.) For you, I'd just want both kinds of ginger, and lots of them.

[lisajulie]

Two sources of umami are miso (especially 3-year aged barley) and on a different note Penzeys Smoked Spanish Paprika - which is _not_ hot in a capsicum style, but is rich flavoring.

Also if you use stock that is not commercial (i.e. chicken necks or pork necks) there is a more unctuous feel.

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Yup, I find curries marvelously... expansible. As long as they're attenuated enough in the spice department -- I'm growing less and less capable of dealing with highly-spiced foods, and tend to get (for example) packages of frozen or pouched Indian dishes, then dilute them at least 50% with something totally bland. (With most curries, I'd add a can of (Campbell's) condensed cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup... and dish up just a little, atop a largish bowl of rice.)

[redbird]

Diluting with condensed soup is an interesting thought. Just to complicate things over here, I'm usually cooking for myself and for someone with a higher spice tolerance (Cattitude or Adrian), which means things like last night aiming for something we'd both find basically tasty, and Cattitude could add hot sauce to.

At the moment, though, my difficulty is very specifically with anything in the red pepper/capsaicin direction, so I'm using more black pepper, a lot more ginger, and more of the non-hot spices like cardamom and cumin. (One of my usual lamb dishes is ground lamb, ginger, cumin, and diced scallion or other onion, mixed all together, sauteed, and served with rice and, if I have the energy, some vegetables.)

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Mine was radishes and apples and shrimp. We call Srircha "rooster sauce".

K.