Sweet Corn and Pea Curry

The first time I did this, it was way good, and even better two days later for lunch. And it's hard to beat the aroma of this stuff cooking in your kitchen—like going out for Indian which always smells like I've died and gone to heaven. You can buy the "strange" ingredients here in any Indian store for pocket change and they'll last for years (whole seeds).

Serves 4—I double this recipe to feed 6-8 as a secondary dish (not the main course) and there is a bit left over for a lunch or two.

Preparation

1. Heat oil and fry whole cumin seed until sputtering. Add onion, garlic and chilis. Cook covered with a little water for 5-6 minutes until onion golden and caramelized.

2. Add curry paste (powder) and fry for 2 more minutes to bloom. Stir in remaining spices, salt, sugar and cook 2-3 minutes longer. Add water if too dry.

3. Add chopped tomatoes and paste with more water and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add corn and cook for 5 more minutes. Add peas and cook one more minute. Add more water depending on how thin you want the sauce.

5. Serve with rice and/or a roti of your preparation.

* I make my own curry powder out of garam masala, roasted and ground cumin and coriander, and ground red pepper. I think I added maybe ½ tsp of actual, store-bought curry powder because I decided not to take the time to muck with grinding the truly tedious spices like cardamom and I didn't have any asafetida.

 

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 fresh minced serano chilis (won't be hot; use Thai peppers instead if you want it hot)
1 tbsp curry paste*
1 tsp ground coriander (toast and grind)
1 tsp ground cumin (toast and grind)
½ tsp white mustard seeds (whole—don't grind)
½ tsp black mustard seeds (whole—don't grind)
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
14 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ - 1 cup water
½ bunch chopped cilantro leaves
½ lb frozen corn
½ lb frozen peas