Vegetarian Curry (Semi-Homemade)

I made this recipe last Sunday, and it was such a treat. The ingredients I used were vegetarian, but you can always add meat if that is your preference. I think it is delicious without! As fair warning though, this recipe requires a lot of chopping.

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
5 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
1 bag of carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 tomatoes, diced
Several handfuls of fresh green beans, ends removed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 package of fresh, sliced mushrooms
6 cups of water
1 8.4 oz box of Golden Curry sauce mix (available in Hot, Medium, and Mild)

Instructions:

1. Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and place on a burner on High.
2. When the oil becomes very liquid, drop your garlic and onions into the pot and toss them around with a spoon or spatula so that they do not burn. I added a dash of water to the pot after the first minute to help the onions soften.
3. When the onions begin to get soft, add your potatoes and carrots to the pot and continue to stir. The potatoes and carrots take longer to cook than the tomatoes, green beans, and mushrooms which is why they go in first.
4. After about 5 minutes, add the tomatoes, green beans, and mushrooms and continue to stir. The pot might be quite full (mine was!), but you do not need to stir quickly. Instead, gently scoop the bottom vegetables to the top of the pot to allow the vegetables on top to start cooking down.
5. After a few minutes, add the 6 cups of water. Continue to gently stir the pot occasionally.
6. When the water gets to a boil, let the contents cook for 5 minutes.
7. Turn the heat down to low and break the cubes of Golden Curry sauce mix into the pot.
8. Continue to stir the contents. The sauce mix should cause the water to get thicker as it dissolves. Continue to stir the pot occasionally for the next few minutes.
9. The curry is ready to eat! It is wonderful to pair with white/brown rice.

I made a whole pot worth (12 servings) of this curry because it keeps so well in the fridge. Throw it in the microwave over rice or on its own; it is just as delicious and creamy as the day before. The batch that I made fed two hungry 21 year old guys and myself with enough left over for over a week's worth of lunches. This recipe is also great to make with a group because there is lots of chopping, peeling, and prepping to do for the vegetables, and it feeds a lot of people. I know when I was little we always used to help take the ends off of the green beans. Unfortunately, my little helper (my boyfriend) was passed out on the couch. Oh well!

I hope you try this recipe. Please let me know if you do! Also, look for next week's tips on using your SmartPhone to its full potential. These tips work whether you have a BlackBerry, iPhone, or other device as most of them have the same calendar and task list abilities. I will actually be upgrading my BlackBerry to an iPhone in two days, so I might mention any distinct differences in abilities. From what I can tell, for the essential programs, they are comparable technologies. So check back Monday!