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I love Indian cuisine! I’m not ready to eat Indian food with as much heat as a native, but I love the wonderful aroma from all the different spices and the interesting vegetable dishes. This past week, I had a craving for curry and decided to try a vegetable curry. I’m so glad I did as this was one of the best meals I’ve made in awhile. My husband wholeheartedly agreed. Best of all, this was an easy dish to make if you don’t mind chopping vegetables. This was so good, I would serve it to company.

When making a vegetable curry, don’t worry if you don’t have all the vegetables listed or if you want to make a substitution for one you don’t like. If you don’t like chickpeas, try frozen green peas instead. Really, anything goes. Do try using all the different spices though as that is one of things that makes Indian foods so delightful, not to mention healthy. Remember, spices are loaded with antioxidants which do everything from fight cancer to lower blood pressure and blood sugar to relieve inflammation in the body. Studies show that cultures that eat the most spicy foods have lower rates of heart attacks and strokes.

Delicious Indian Vegetable Curry

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp. coriander
1-1/2 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne, or as much as you can handle
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. curry*
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cup light coconut milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cauliflower or broccoli head, chopped into florets or a mixture of both
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium potato, diced
1 cup diced carrot
2 medium tomatoes or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 cups fresh spinach, lightly packed
1 whole lime, juiced and zested
fresh cilantro, chopped

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Add garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute more. Add the spices and tomato paste, stirring until well combined. Add the broth and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes. Add the cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes, regular potato, carrot and tomatoes. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the lime zest, juice and spinach. Cook about 2 minutes until the spinach is wilted and turns bright green. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice, sprinkle with cilantro. Try toasted Naan bread on the side. You can use any kind of rice but basmati or jasmine have a distinctive flavor that pairs well with Asian and Indian cuisine. Makes 6 generous servings.

*Curry is a spice mixture and may contain turmeric, cumin, coriander and other spices. Since the exact composition varies, I added a teaspoon. If you don’t want to buy turmeric or coriander, use more curry.