What's For Dinner? - Vegetable Curry

I am loving all the fresh winter vegetables around at the moment, cauliflower has definitely become a new love.  I bought 2 at the market last week and have all sorts of ideas for them.  There is a great section in the current issue of Donna Hay Magazine that gave me a few ideas.

Yesterday we picked up a lamb from a friend and I used all the bits and pieces to make a fiery lamb curry for Monday night's dinner but I knew I wanted something much lighter to accompany it so this vegetable curry was born.  Whilst the lamb curry was delicious I would have been more than happy with a big bowl of the vegies with brown rice topped with a dollop of natural yoghurt and a few cucumber slices all on their own.

Vegetable Curry - Serves 4 (185 calories/serve, add a 1/2 cup of brown rice for another 105 calories)

Ingredients

1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets

250g (handful) green beans, washed and ends trimmed

3 carrots, peeled, halved and sliced on the diagonal

1 medium-large red capsicum cut into chunks

1 brown onion, sliced

About 3-5cm green ginger, peeled

1 long green chilli

100g cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2-1 tsp dried chilli flakes (depends on how hot you like it)

200 mL light coconut milk

1 Tbs rice bran or vegetable oil

Method

Pop the ginger, green chilli, garlic, tomatoes and spices into a whizzer and whizz it all upinto a paste, you could use a mortar and pestle if you are in the mood for a good pounding.

Heat a large saucepan with the oil then add the onion and cook until it starts to soften.

Tip in the paste into the saucepan and fry it off a little.

Add the carrots and capsicum and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the cauliflower, beans and coconut milk and pop the lid on for another 5-10 minutes until everything is cooked but not sloppy.

Serve with brown rice and whatever other curry condiments you like.  Mango chutney is always the biggest hit in our family and I'll zap some puppadoms in the microwave, I don't even spray them and some natural yoghurt for dolloping is a must, if you have cucumber...even better.

I'm linking up with Veggie Mama for meatless monday, she is serving up some delicious disney chilli this week!

What's your favourite winter vegetable?  Do you lean more towards cauliflower or is broccoli more your thing?  Or do you just avoid trees on the plate altogether?

Tatum xx