This is week #15 of the plant based challenge where I have chosen cauliflower as the main ingredient.
One of my favorite curries is Massaman curry. It has all the things in it that I like. It seems to combine the far east with south east Asia.
I like to make my own paste rather then use ready made. The flavors just pop more when you grind it up from scratch. Also I can control the spice. Massaman curry is generally mild in spice. I add more hot chilies then usual. I like it to have a punch.
Massaman curry paste
4 or5 kaffir lime leaves
2 tablespoons minced galangal root
Soaked dried chilis (I used around 8 or 9 for a hotter curry)
3 tablespoons lemon grass
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3 cardamom pods
3 cloves or 1/4 teaspoon clove powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg ( didn't have whole nutmeg to grate)
1/4 peanuts or peanut butter ( I used peanut butter)
Juice of a lime
7 or 8 dates
1 tablespoon miso paste or fermented soybean paste (fish paste substitute)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
4 or five cups vegetable broth
Toast the spices dry or with oil (just did it dry). Put in a spice grinder after removing the seeds from the cardamom pod. Remove the cinnamon stick and the star anise to add later.
Blend the dry spices with the rest of the ingredients until smooth. You can use a mortar and pestle if you have one and have the patience.
Toast cashews to add to the curry and add a few to the paste when grinding.
If you have a lousy blender like I do, you may add water or vegetable broth little by little while mixing in the blender or food processor.
Fry 1 onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger then add around a cup of curry paste.
Meanwhile boil 2 potatoes, 1 carrot, and one head of cauliflower in the vegetable broth. Save a few florets for garnish. Add star anise and cinnamon stick.
Cook and simmer for a while then add the paste mixture and 1 can of coconut milk.
I chose to bread and fry some cauliflower florets to add on top of the curry for some added fun. The florets were taken from the water before they were cooked through, to maintain some texture.
I made a flour, tapioca flour and water paste to coat the florets, then I tossed them in bread crumbs that I made from leftover dry toast.
Since I didn't add a protein I opted for the breaded cauliflower to give a meaty chewy texture.
For plant based massaman curry you can use whatever you like. I usually use some kind of root and/or tofu. I usually add something sweet like raisins which I did in this dish, and dates or brown sugar. Some people add pineapple or other fruits. If you don't like a sweet and spicy curry you could omit the sweeter items.
For this kind of curry, I like to accompany with jasmine rice. I'm sure it would be good with some kind of roti or flatbread as well.
Thank you for stopping by!
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