Cauliflower-chickpea-potato curry ala Lili

I have already made many different versions of this curry. The one on the top picture is from the summer and the one below is from yesterday. This time I used much more chickpeas, no tomatoes and it turned out very tasty :) The soup tastes as well somehow better during the winter times. It is very warming and somehow satisfying to munch on it, while looking outside the window on the snow. You can imagine it right? Nice and cozy place, spicy soup is warming you up from the inside :) I love these times during winter.
I call this recipe "ala Lili", because I can't really call it an Indian curry :) I leave that up to my Indian friends :)
The ingredients seems like a lot at a first glance, but actually this soup is very easy to make and takes the same time until your chickpeas are cooked in a pressure cook.
You could add some fresh cilantro on the top just before serving. I didn't have them at home.

So let's start, shall we? 

here is what you will need:

 
- 1 small head of cauliflower
- 1 kg potatoes
- 1 cup of dried chickpeas
- 100 ml tomato sauce 
- 2 tomatoes (optional)
- 1 purple onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 heaping tbsp coconut oil (un-melted)
- 1 tablespoon mom's vegetable broth
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 heaping tbsp curry powder
- a pinch of chili
- 1/4 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
- water previously boiled 

Method:

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight (10-12 hours) in at least 3-4x more water (they will soak up the water very fast).
   The next morning discard the water from the chickpeas and rinse them with fresh water
2. Put the chickpeas in a pressure cooker and cook for about 15-20 minutes (3x less time as stated on the package).
3. Meanwhile, wash and cut the cauliflower and potatoes (and tomatoes, if used) into smaller cubes and set them aside.
4. In a  big pot heat up the coconut oil and add the onion. Add the garlic by pressing it through a garlic press. Saute for about 5 minutes, until onions get a bit translucent.
5. Add the curry powder and mix it with the onion and garlic. Cook for half a minute, then add the cauliflower and potatoes (and tomatoes, if used). Mix everything well together. This should take another half a minute or so.
6. Add the tomato sauce to the pan with a little bit of boiling water. Mix in the salt, pepper, vegetable broth, chili, turmeric and coriander. Bring the water to boil for a moment, then turn the heat to medium.
7. By this time the chickpeas should be cooked. Remove them from the pressure cooker and rinse them with water. Add the chickpeas to the pot with all other ingredients. Pour in as much hot water, so that the veggies are sticking out a little bit. 
8. Cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat, covered.
9. Serve hot alone, or with flatbread :) Sprinkle on top some black sesame seeds.

Enjoy :)

Sweet potato mung curry

Hi there :) This time I have for you a very easy curry recipe. Again, I am not an expert on curries (I hope one day I will learn it properly), but I like how this dish turned out :) And I love curry, so I gotta make it at home :) You can eat this curry as it is, or together with rice or flatbread.

What will you need: 
- 1 cup mung beans - soaked at least for 12 hours 
- 3 medium sweet potatoes

- 2 tomatoes

- 1 red onion

- 2 cloves of garlic
- 200 ml coconut milk

- 1 cm ginger (or 1 tsp ginger powder)

- 1 tsp turmeric

- 1 tsp cumin powder

- 1 tsp curry leaves

- 1 tsp masala powder

- 1/2 tsp spicy curry powder
- salt, according to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil, or coconut oil (if you are not vegan, you can use ghee) 

1. Start with washing the sweet potatoes and tomatoes. Cut them into cubes.
2. Chop the garlic into small pieces, dice the onion and grade the ginger.
3. Heat the oil in a medium size pan and add the onions. Sauté for a few minutes until onions become translucent.
4. Add garlic and ginger and sauté together with the onion for a few minutes.
5. Add cumin, turmeric, masala, curry powder and curry leaves. Sauté for 30 seconds.
6. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
7. Add sweet potatoes and mung beans. Add water so that it just covers all ingredients.
8. Bring to boil then turn the heat to medium. Cover and simmer for about an hour.
9. Check if mung beans are cooked. Add coconut milk and salt and bring to boil once again. Turn off heat. 
10. Serve on a bed of brown rice or flatbread. Garnish with cilantro. 

 

Enjoy :)

Chickpea-avocado curry spread

I make something out of chickpeas almost every week. I soak a whole pack in water for a night, cook them the next day and think about different ways to use them up :) This time I came up with a combination of chickpea and avocado spread, which was inspired from a spread I had in a restaurant before :) 
Here comes the result: 

What will you need:

- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 medium avocado
- 2 small or 1 medium tomato
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 heaping tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- a bit of cayenne pepper (according to taste)
- salt and pepper, according to taste 

Place all ingredients to food processor and process until a smooth paste is formed. Serve with bread,  sweet potato chips, on faltbread or next to a salad :)

Enjoyyy :) 

Red lentil (dhal) curry with brown rice

 This is an Indian inspired dish. I am not an expert in Indian cooking, however I just love the spices, and I mix them up from recipes I find:) If you have any suggestions how to improve the Indian inspired recipes, please let me know :)

This is an easy dish, as usual, which is ready in 30minutes.

This is what you will need: 

- 500g dry red lentil
- 400ml coconut milk
- 2 tbsp of cold-pressed sunflower seed oil  (you can use coconut oil or olive oil)
- 1 smaller yellow bell pepper
- 1 smaller red bell pepper
- 1 small red onion
- 2 cups of dry brown rice
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp cardamon
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala mix
- salt and pepper according to taste

Start with preparing the rice according the instructions on the package. Usually un-soaked brown rice takes about 40-45 min to prepare. Tip: soaking the rice for a night will reduce the cooking time to half. 
While the rice is cooking, cut the onion and bell peppers into small cubes. Start with heating the 2tbsp sunflower seed oil, add onion and sauté until glassy, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and cardamon powder, and sautè for 30 seconds. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and the bell peppers. Add the red lentils and mix in the garam masala. Simmer for about a minute. Add coconut milk. If you need, add a bit of water, just until it covers the red lentils. Cook for 20 minutes on medium heat. Add salt and pepper according to taste and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Bring to boil and tralallalalalal. The dhal curry is ready:) Serve on a bed of rice. 
Ladies, the portion of rice is only 1 cup for us, and 2 cups for men :) The portion in the picture is for the gentlemen ;)

Enjoy :)