Monday, November 17, 2008

Indian inspired Vegetable Stew and Homemade Naan


Check out our updated (11/29/12) recipe  for Vegetarian Mulligatawny HERE.


Last week our friends Kelly and Michael (of Midtown Stomp) invited us over for dinner. It is an invitation that we never turn down. They are our very good friends, and Michael can cook up a storm. He told me that he was going to try his hand at mulligatawny, a dish I had made for them some time back. I have to admit, his was way better. For the most part his recipe is typical of most that you will find. The really different and delicious part is the addition of dried cherries instead of currants, and tons of cinnamon. It was awesome, and It went perfectly with the homemade naan bread that I brought over. I begged him to share the recipe and some leftovers.
Cooking implement needed: one large cast iron pot or dutch oven.

Saute one medium red onion in olive oil until tender, meanwhile start a pot of water to boil.
Add 4 cloves of chopped fresh garlic & saute until aromatic, approximately 30 seconds
Add 1 1/2 cups of white wine & cook for approximately 1-2 minutes. Add one cup of french lentils to the pot of boiling water.  Boil until tender, approximately 5-7 minutes.
Add 1 32oz can of organic crushed tomatoes to the onions, garlic & wine.  Fill that empty can with water & add to the pot.
Add 1 16 oz can of organic vegetable broth.
Add 3 medium carrots, diced.
Add one head of cauliflower cut into florets.
Drain the cooked lentils & add to vegetables.
Add approximately 4 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 3 tablespoons toasted & ground cumin seeds & salt & pepper to taste. 
Simmer for 30-45 minutes.  Add one can of drained organic garbanzo beans & one can of drained organic sweet peas. 
Dice one small hot chili (or half a super hot one, like a bolivian which is off the skovil(sp?) scale) & add that to the pot. 
Add one can of coconut milk (liquid & solid).  Simmer until the milk is all incorporated. 
Add one large handful of dried cherries & one large handful of whole cashews, taste & adjust for seasoning. 

Serve with plain white rice & a chilled bottle of dry or off dry riesling.  If you would rather red wine, I would recommend a dolcetto.  

6 comments:

Bianca said...

I have been having serious Indian food cravings lately...unfortunately, I don't have many available cooking days until after Thanksgiving...going on vacation this week and then well, there's Thanksgiving.

Michael Hughes said...

Thanks for posting my recipe! I'm glad you liked it. It was even better reheated & served over wheat berries.

Anonymous said...

Hey...what do you mean by a sweet pea? here in scotland the only way we'd use that term would be to refer to the pretty flower. I wonder if you just mean a garden pea or petit pois. Either way, this recipe sounds yummo!

Bette said...

Thanks for this wonderful idea! I'll make it with my favorite naan recipe from recipezaar: http://www.recipezaar.com/Naan-203261

Michael Hughes said...

Helen-

What we refer to as as "sweet pea" would be an "english pea" or petit pois over there. I hope that helps.

synthetic grass said...

Cooking and eating Indian food are something I look forward to every weekends. This vegetable stew will be a great addition to my Indian recipes. Thanks!