Yams, Zucchini and Cashew Curry

Blog's Category:  International, My Own Fast and Easy, My Staple Food

Yams, Zucchini and Cashew Curry

Intro

This week I was so into Indian food. I've made idli with peanut chutney (just the latter was really tasty but idli were so-so). I have made also gun powder, this special south-indian ground spice mix with overwhelming aroma which I use now on all my rice and other sides as topping. Actually gun powder deserves its own place in my blog and I'm planning on posting it. But this post is all about dish that come along as a "satellite" recipe to my main, idli, chutney and gun powder, recipes of my Indian Food weekend. As it often happens to me, this curry, carelessly made by "one left hand" come out as exceptionally balanced and delicious treat. And healthy too!
With a winter still here, this sunny, just slightly hot curry (you see - hot..sunny) is the best what you could eat to warm lovely yourself up.

- Theoretically, any vegetable will work here but I like this particular (random to start with) combination. So I would recommend to stick to ingredient list - there are not that many items on a list anyway.
- I didn't use any fresh or dry herbs, but I think they won't hurt, especially fresh ones. 

Taste Description

Interesting that taste of the curry has fully developed just the next day. Let me explaine: the curry was nice and tasty right after I cooked it and served at our "extended" family dinner last weekend. I was pretty pleased with bright, a bit spicy curry. It balanced out my somewhat mediocre idli I put on a table at the same time. Although the very next day, this same curry tasted twice as delicious as was day before - flavors developed , multiplied and become one, whole, organically married union. My biggest concern were green chili that, I afraid would overpower with a hit but surprisingly they were not spicy at all and actually become my favorite ingredient in this curry. Some awesome transformation happed overnight!

Couple notes
-There are curry leaves in this curry that are not edible here - just put them aside while eating the curry - it's not that hard. I have a feeling that they play a key role in that mysterious "overnight curry development".
- Some elbow grease involved in the curry eating process such as, just mentioned, tossing out curry leaves, pulling out chili peppers by their stems before eating them. All this work I see rather as a fun, just keep plenty of napkins handy to wipe beautiful yellow sauce stains from your cheeks, fingers and may be even nose :)

How to Serve
As it takes time for flavors to develop, cook this curry a day before. Serve very warm with a side of plain jasmine rice. Curry will keep in a fridge for a 3-4 days.

Yams, Zucchini and Cashew Curry 

• 1 large yam (sweet potato,) peeled and diced
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1.5 - 2 cups raw cashew pieces
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 3-5 green chili
• 1 tbs cumin seeds
• 1.5 tbs turmeric powder
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1/2 cup fresh (frozen) curry leaves
• 1 tbs sugar
• 3-4 tbs olive oil
• about 1 tsp salt

- In a large skillet, on a medium heat, dry-cook cashew and green chili, stirring constantly, until cashew begin to become beige. Be careful not to burn them.

- Add cumin and mustard seeds and cook stirring for a couple more minutes.

- Add olive oil, onion, garlic, yam, zucchini and turmeric, cook for a two more minutes.

- Add about 1 cup of water, salt and cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally.

- When yams are completely cooked and soft, add both tomatoes, chopped and canned one, curry leaves, stir. Cook for about 10 minutes or until tomatoes reach desired tenderness. Add sugar to balance-out tomato acidity. Taste and adjust seasoning (salt, sugar).

- Turn heat off - it's done! Enjoy! Then enjoy the same curry even more the next day!

*********************************************************************************************************************************

IN PICTURES

As you can see, I didn't bother myself cutting off chili pepper stems. Later on, eating a curry, I actually counted it as a fun pulling chili by the stem before biting on it.