Our Veggie Kitchen

A week in, and I'm already behind. That just means I've got lots to post. I'm making 'turkey' gravy, I've got a condensed mushroom soup recipe I need to get written up, and my kids' new favorite burger recipe. And I've got a cookbook give away to start. . . and I'm already drooling over some of the recipes. And on to today's post: Italian Indian food!

A while back, I made cabbage kofta in a delicious sweet curry sauce. Kofta are tasty for sure, but they're a little bit of work and they're deep fried. So, they're kind of a treat. I've been working on a baked spinach kofta so I could avoid the deep frying. In the mean time, here's that same sauce paired with linguine. It's a flavor you don't expect with pasta . . . or a pasta you don't expect with curry. And I really like this curry sauce. If you're doing kofta as well, double the sauce.



Linguine in a Sweet Curry Sauce
1 lb linguine
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp fenugreek seed
2 tsp mustard seed
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tbs ginger
2 Serrano peppers, seeded & chopped
4 cups shredded & chopped mustard greens (3-4 ribs)
2 1/2 cups plain soy yogurt
1/3 cup almonds, ground
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp amchoor (or a squeeze of lemon juice)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Drain in a colander, reserving some of the water. Add the pasta to boiling water about the same time the onions are done cooking.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan, over medium-high heat. Add the fenugreek and mustard seed and cook until they begin to pop. Add the onion and saute, stirring often until the onion caramelizes and turns brown. Add the garlic, Serrano peppers and ginger. Cook until aromatic, about half a minute. Add the mustard greens, a handful at a time, and continue to cook until they are wilted. Stir in the ground almonds, turmeric, chili powder and amchoor, then stir in the soy yogurt. Bring just to a boil, stirring to incorporate the yogurt and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, adding water to the sauce, if necessary. Salt to taste.

Substitution Notes: Amchoor is powdered green mango and imparts a tart flavor. You can substitute lemon juice, if you wish. Fenugreek adds a distinctive flavor to the sauce. If at all possible, use fenugreek. If you can't, you can substitute curry powder. Use mustard greens, other greens will not substitite well.

5 Servings: 513 cal (15g fat, 79g carbs, 18g protein)