by request

[pantryslut]

1. Sweet Potato Peanut Soup, more or less from Sundays at Moosewood

2 cups chopped onions
1 tablespoon peanut oil (or canola, or maybe even corn)
1/2 tsp cayenne or to taste
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups chopped sweet potatoes
4 cups vegetable stock or water
2 cups tomato juice
1 cup smooth peanut butter, natural style
1 taplespoon sugar or to taste, very optional
1 cup chopped scallions or chives, NOT optional

Saute the onion in the oil until translucent. Stir in the cayenne and ginger. Add the carrots and saute a few minutes more. Add the sweet potatoes and the stock/water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes, until everything is tender.

Puree it all in a blender with the tomato juice, in batches if needed. Return to the pot and stir in the peanut butter. Taste and add sugar if needed. Reheat gently (do not boil), thin with water or stock if needed, and serve topped with the scallions.


2. Curry, general, vegetarian, "not authentic"

Headnote: Please don't use *all* the spices and aromatics listed -- pick and choose according to your taste. I haven't measured in so long I can't really describe proportions of the spices, except that turmeric especially tastes nasty in large quantities, so go easy. Think teaspoons or less if you're cooking for two to six.

a. toast your dry whole spices in a heavy saucepan for a few minutes over medium heat. Dry spices may include: cumin seeds, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom, caraway. Stop when they start "popping."

b. add your wet aromatics and your ground dry spices, along with a little oil. Cook until soft and maybe a little golden. Wet aromatics: onion, garlic, ginger. Dry spices: pepper, ground coriander, ground cumin, curry powder, turmeric, probably lots of other possibilities that I've forgotten.

c. add vegetables as you see fit, longer cooking ones first, shorter cooking ones after. Cook 'em until they're tender.

d. add yogurt here, or maybe coconut milk. (Coconut milk can actually be added earlier, with the first vegetables.) Heat through.

e. eat, usually over or with rice.

Comments

[srl.livejournal.com]

The soup recipe is a favorite of mine; I've also enjoyed substituting winter-squash for the sweet potato, and occasionally I add some grilled chicken before blendering the whole thing. mmmm tasty. also, substituting ground chipotle pepper for cayenne is nice if you like something with more flavor and similar heat.

That's also how I make curry, though sometimes also with chicken. Mmmm.

[brooksmoses]

Someone -- auros, I think -- was recently mentioning that he uses almond oil when cooking Indian food, as a substitute for ghee, and that the flavor of the almond oil complements the spices quite nicely.