Cauliflower, Potato and Garbanzo Curry

Last night I made curry, I cannot remember the last time I did so. After seeing the kids reactions it made me realize it had been to long and that they needed some more spice in their lives.  It is amazing when you have one child how you introduce them to so many more things, but if they come quickly then they don’t get the same introductions.  Our oldest was eating spicy foods or hot sauce by 8 months old, and now at 12 still loves spice.  My middle two children at 4 and 5 years old are both bland food eaters, and going through the not going to eat anything phase. Fortunately the 5 year old is coming out of it and willing to try more.  But as I step back and observe my 2 year old eat, I see much more variety in his diet. Probably because there isn’t a younger sibling distracting me from giving him foods. I wish I hadn’t missed this step with the middle two.  At 2.5 years old he happily asks for hot sauce on his eggs or in his soup, and devoured the curry last night. 

The basic concept came from Food Network, but like most recipes I find, it wasn’t right for me as written.

 

Cauliflower, Potato and Garbanzo Bean Curry

1.5# potatoes, peeled and diced

3 cups cauliflower, broken into small florets

kosher salt

canola oil

1 ½ teaspoon yellow curry powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 15ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup fried onions (this idea was from FN, I thought it was weird, but I tried it and it worked)

Topping

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2-3 Tablespoons lime juice

½ cup sour cream/vegan alternative or plain Greek yogurt. (This is where you need to decide, I prefer the non dairy alternative when I can, but I didn’t have any when I made this, I used sour cream for the rest of the family)

Directions

Combine the 3 items for the topping, mix well and set aside in the refrigerator until its time to eat.

Place the potatoes, cauliflower and salt in a pot with enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until almost tender.  When done, drain, but reserve at least 1 ½ cups of the cooking water.  Set aside. 

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add the potato and cauliflower mixture and cook stirring occasionally until golden.  Add the curry and cayenne and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. You will begin to smell the spices.

Add the garbanzo beans, fried onions and half of the reserved cooking liquid.  Cook and stir over medium heat and start mashing the mixture with a spoon (heck I grabbed my potato masher).  Just don’t go crazy with it, you don’t want a gluey mess.  Continue stirring until it is heated through, it will only take about 3 or 4 minutes.  Keep adding cooking water as needed, it will evaporate quickly. 

Serve immediately with a dollop of the topping.  This is a meal in a bowl, you don’t need anything else.