coconut curry

karob requested that i post this a couple weeks back...and i haven't forgotten! so here it is.

i think i only vaguely knew of the concept of coconut milk in curries while i was growing up...maybe not at all. it's not used at all in north indian/pakistani cooking (or at the very least, not in my (extended) family). the first time i ever tried a coconut curry was, i think, at a thai restaurant in ottawa a few years back. go figure. (NB: can i reiterate how much i HATE the word curry...i'm really beginning to believe that some english dude named 'curry' (like the actor, tim curry) just decided that any relatively spicy saucy/soupy type thing could be henceforth called curry. SHEESH...there is no semblance of the word 'curry' in urdu/hindi, no translation. and i've never seen anyone in my family actually use curry powder when they make so-called curries. but i digress...)

anyhow, i fell in love with coconut milk on that fateful night in ottawa. and about 6 months ago, i finally tried out a recipe from (you guessed it) How It All Vegan. How It All Vegan contains several culturally-appropriated recipes, some better than others. I've made this several times since then, but with different veggies- and I don't really follow the original recipe anymore. There's also another recipe, in the Garden of Vegan which I like much better this one - a potato-ginger-cauliflower-peas-sesame coconut curry.

you definitely need:

onion, sliced
oil
coconut milk
spices: turmeric, chili powder/cayenne, salt, cumin?, curry powder?
soy sauce

veggies:

brocolli, red pepper (chopped in thin strips), potatoes (cubed), mushrooms, frozen peas

-or-

carrots, potatoes, frozen peas/snow peas, cauliflower, mushrooms

-or-

some other combination.

so first, you saute the onions (along with hard veggies) in oil, medium heat. add the spices after a bit, and keep going till the onions are translucent. if you're cooking with potatoes, you've gotta stir A LOT to avoid having them stick to the bottom (i haven't really figured a way out of this). then you add the rest of the veggies in (except the peas). stir-fry the veggies so that they're slightly cooked, before adding the coconut milk. stir it up and let it simmer for a while, stirring every so often. you might want to cover the pot or saucepan too. the most important, basic objective in this whole thing is to make sure the potatoes are well-cooked, and the coconut milk isn't too watery (it should be nice & creamy). When the potatoes are pretty much done, add the soy sauce & peas and stir. Let it sit till it's reached the desired consistency. stir if you need to.

Serve over rice.