Tuesday 18 September 2012

WHB Spicy pea curry

Oh joy when Pinterest inspires a meal that is as delicious as the photo is pretty!  Especially when it is a curry.  I just don't make enough of them.  This recipe for Spicy Pea Curry was a simple matter of cooking peas in a puree of tomatoes, onions and spices.  I made it more complicated.  Yet it was still fairly straight forward compared to other curries I have made

Dinner needs to be simple when I am distracted by a wet Dolly and a bold Sylvia who thinks she is old enough to stand on a chair and stir the curry by herself.  Even so, I had dinner made by a reasonable hour.  I served the Spicy Pea Curry with Aloo Jeera (cumin potatoes) and quinoa.  The curry was a little sweet on its own.  (When I re-read the recipe I saw that I had used less salt, but I suspect the real culprit was too much coconut milk.)  With these sides it was brilliant.  E adored this meal.  He said it didn't taste like an Indian curry.  Not your bog standard curry!

Not only was tonight's dinner deliciously spicy and taste, but Sylvia delighted me by enjoying her quinoa.   I insisted she taste some.  We had talked about the clumps looking like flowers.  She  took a mouthful and told me it was 'yucky' but took another when I asked her to and again it was 'yucky'.  After a few spoonfuls she asked for more.  Hurrah!  Mind you, I have had her refuse it on other nights so possibly she will refuse it again.  However when she makes a small step with food tasting, it gives me hope she will eat a yummy curry like this one day.

I am sending this curry to Siri of Cooking with Siri who is hosting this week's Weekend Herb Blogging #352, the weekly event coordinated by Haalo and founded by Kalyn.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Gleegan blueberry cake pops for a potluck
Two years ago: SHF Chocolate Crackle Top Biscuits
Three years ago: MM Heirloom Ginger Fluff Sponge
Four years ago: Fridge Door Confessions

Spicy Pea Curry
Adapted from Love Food Eat
Serves 4

1-2 tsp oil (I used canola)
3 medium shallots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 heaped tsp chilli paste
400g tin of diced tomatoes
270ml lite coconut cream (I might use half this next time)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp stock powder
2 cups fresh or frozen peas

Heat oil and fry shallots and celery for about 5 minutes.  The celery wont be soft but the shallots should smell great.  Stir in garlic, turmeric, cumin and chilli paste for a minute.  Add tinned tomatoes, coconut cream, salt and stock powder.  Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add peas and simmer an additional 20 minutes.

On the Stereo:
At the Movies: Ennio Morricone

12 comments:

  1. yeah, get Sylvia into curries whilst she's young : ) Looks lovely, like the kind of curry you'd get at an Indian on Brick Lane. What is the chlli paste you're using by the way? Nice to make it healthy with the quinoa. We usually have white rice on Theresa's insistence, though more authentically Indian, lacking in nutritional quality...

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    1. Thanks Adam - I would get Sylvia into curries if she would taste any stew - though she is also wary of spicy food so I am sure it would be a challenge - but I think it helps to have those around her eating curries because it normalises it.

      I use a chilli paste that is like a sambal oelek - it is far milder than my chilli powder or cayenne powder, so I use a lot more than I would if I used ground chillis.

      I used quinoa because the meal didn't seem to have a lot of protein. I did consider adding some lentils or tofu or ground almonds to the spicy peas but I quite liked the simplicity of it - I only added the celery because I had some that needed using.

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  2. I love how you fancy-up dishes, despite wet dollies and bold children under foot :) I also love that this has actual peas rather than split peas, which is what I initially assumed it would be. Serving it with quinoa sounds like a great match.

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    1. Thanks Kari - I think my fancy-up of dishes is due to my search for ways to use up stuff in my kitchen and also in an attempt to eat healthy food. The quinoa really tasted great with the peas and potatoes

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  3. LOVE peas - so this just sounds perfect!

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    1. Thanks Lisa - the three dishes were a perfect match!

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  4. Yummo - this looks delicious!!! Why was Dolly wet?

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    1. Thanks Cakelaw - dolly was lying on the sink which I suddenly realised had water on it - I had thought it was dry.

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  5. I've added this recipe to my Pinterest board - you've made the big time now! It sounds scrummy. I've pinned your tatter recipe too.

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    1. Thanks Mel - I had a look at your pinterest board and did a bit of pinning - great to see mine there (though the post where I found the recipe had far prettier photos)

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  6. Curry sounds delicious! My Sylvia's favorite word at the moment is 'yuck', luckily she doesn't always mean it :)

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    1. Thanks Kate - I think my Sylvia enjoys saying yuck but it doesn't always mean it - she also loves to tell me she is teasing me :-)

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