Korma, Curried Garbonzos, and Savory Coconut Rice

I'm really excited about this post. What few Indian dishes I've had, I've really liked. Mostly those have come from the frozen section of the grocery store. While those frozen meals are pretty good, and even healthy (thanks, Amy's Kitchen!), they are pretty expensive to have routinely or to serve a family. So, naturally, when I found out how easy cooking delicious Indian dishes can be, I couldn't wait to share!

This meal consist of three dishes, but don't worry, all three are super easy and will cook up in less than an hour. Korma is a stew-like dish with a silky, coconut milk sauce. This korma is, of course, bursting with veggies. There's also savory coconut jasmine rice and curried garbonzo beans. As always, serve up some fresh fruit for dessert to satisfy that sweet tooth. Tonight, I chose sliced mango.

Let's talk a little bit about the ingredients here since some of you may not be familiar with them. The coconut milk comes in a can, usually found on the "ethnic" food aisle. I use the light milk so there isn't as much fat. Be sure not to buy coconut cream because that's something different, but it'll probably be right next to the milk.  Just to be clear, neither dish is sweet. I know it is hard to think of coconut without thinking of dessert, but the coconut milk just makes the rice and korma rich, flavorful, and creamy, not sweet at all.

The jasmine rice comes in a bag and looks just like regular rice. You can either find it with the Asian foods or with the rice.

You can either use pre-mixed curry powder like I did (usually cheaper), or mix your own (often tastier) if you're so inclined.

For the veggies, you can pretty much throw in whatever you have on hand. This is a good recipe to use up some leftovers. I used a lot of frozen veggies in mine; just use whatever kinds you like. Just be mindful of cooking times--fresh veggies usually need a little more time to cook than frozen.

To make this meal, you'll need:

•  2 onions
• 1 white potato
• 1 sweet potato
• 3-4 carrots
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro
• fresh fruit of your choice
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1/2 cup of chopped bell peppers
• 2 cups frozen mixed veggies
• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
•  2 cans of light coconut milk
• 3 small cans (or boxes) of tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons oil
• curry powder
• cinnamon 
• ginger 
• salt
• pepper
• cayenne pepper

 Begin by chopping the onions--one is for the garbanzos, and one is for the korma, so divide accordingly. Next, chop the white and sweet potatoes and the carrots.

 Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small pot for the garbanzos and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot for the korma. Add one onion to the small pot, and the chopped veggies to the large pot. 

The potatoes, onion, and carrots for the korma.

 When the onion in the small pot is tender, add one clove of minced or pressed garlic. Then add the can of garbanzo beans, 2 cans of tomato sauce, 1 teaspoon of curry powder and a dash of cayenne. Cover and let simmer.

These are my garbanzos after simmering. Notice how the sauce thickened up nicely.

 When the veggies in the korma pot are softened and golden, add 3-4 cloves of minced or pressed garlic. Then add the frozen veggies, one can of tomato sauce, and one can of coconut milk. Next, add 1 1/2 or 2 tablespoons of curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Soft and golden.

 Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens up, about twenty minutes. Now, start the rice. Pour 1 1/2 cups of jasmine rice, one can of coconut milk, one clove of minced or pressed garlic, 1 1/2 cups of water, and about a teaspoon of salt into your pot or rice cooker. Cook as you would normally cook rice. Chop about 1/2 or 1/3 of the bunch of cilantro.

Here is my thickened korma.

 After everyone's mouth waters over the aroma coming from the kitchen and the rice is done, stir a small handful of chopped cilantro into the garbanzos, and a larger handful into the korma. Taste and adjust the spices, adding salt and possibly more curry powder.  Slice your fruit for the dessert, and serve!

I could've presented this better, but I was just back from a long run and starving. I'll get a better picture next time.

Bon appetit!