African Vegetable Curry

I'm not a huge fan of curry in restaurants, mostly because it's either too spicy or too rich (or both). But I love this recipe -- it's incredibly healthy and very flavorful. You could use almost any vegetables in this recipe, but mine is based on my purchases at the farmer's market this morning! But you could also put in carrots, spinach, celery, or even cauliflower.

You could make this dish with or without the coconut milk -- without it, the recipe has much less fat, but it's still very tasty from all the spices. With it, it's rich and equally delicious. Also, I didn't use any cayenne pepper, but you could add a teaspoon (or more) if you like your curry spicy. As is, the recipe is very mild.

African Vegetable Curry

INGREDIENTS:

1 small eggplant, cubed

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 white onion, diced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 large cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 bay leaf

1 19 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained

1 small zucchini, sliced

1/4 cup golden raisins

1 cup vegetable broth (can replace with chicken stock if desired)

1/2 of an 8 oz can coconut milk (if desired)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan or stock pot, place eggplant, peppers, onion, and one tablespoon olive oil. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent.

2. In a small saucepan place 1 tablespoon of olive oil, garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, and salt (and cayenne pepper, if desired) and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes.

3. Pour spice mixture into the large pot with the vegetables. Add the chick peas, zucchini, raisins, bay leaf, and vegetable broth. Simmer 25-30 minutes, uncovered, until about half the liquid has reduced.

4. Remove from heat, remove the bay leaf, stir in the coconut milk, and serve.

Serves 4-6.

If you're curious, here's what it looks like without the coconut milk: