Chickpea - Cauliflower - Fennel Red Curry with Madagascar Pink Rice (No Added Fat)

I had red curry paste leftover from Monday, as well as several cups of chickpeas that I had prepared a few days ago. Because my daughter loved the red curry dish so much (surprisingly!), I decided to make another red curry dish. We purchased some fennel today, and that made a nice complement to the chickpeas. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 cups cauliflower florets (I used frozen, but fresh would be fine, instead)
• 1/2 cup onion cut into approx. 1/4" x 3/4" pieces
• 1/4 cup fennel bulb cut into approx. 1/4" cubes
• 3 t Thai red curry paste
• 1T water
• 1/2 cup (1 small or medium) tomato, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/2 t (or to taste) salt

Process

1. I put all of the ingredients except the tomato and salt into a large stock pan, mixed, and cooked in a medium stock pan, covered, over low heat for about 20m.
2. I mixed in the tomato and salt, and served with Madagascar Pink rice that I had made (1 part rice to 1 1/2 parts water, plus a vegan bouillon cube, cooked for 20m), and a salad.

Results

Dinner was good, though my daughter and wife seemed to enjoy it more than I did. I personally thought that the fennel was just a bit too much in this recipe, and I would have cut it into smaller pieces. But, overall, it was a tasty and good meal.

Ideas for the future

I would use 1/8 cup of fennel for a more subtle taste. Greens would have gone great and added nicely to this dish. Perhaps a packed cup of kale added at the beginning for a cooked-in taste, or added near the end for a more fresh taste and texture, or even a more delicate green like baby spinach added after the heat is turned off and just mixed in and allowed to sit for half a minute would be good.

Speaking of greens, we did get greens with our dinner. I found fresh pineapple on sale for a great price at Weaver Street Market Coop today. I blended all the core (not otherwise edible, but it blends great) and some of the rest of the pineapple with some organic strawberries that were also on sale, a little coconut water, a bit of vanilla, and kale. That was our refreshing drink that went along with dinner.

It's easy to make a red curry paste, but I also like the convenience of using a vegan prepared one. Typical ingredients in the paste include cumin seed, green chilis, garlic, onions or shallots, lemongrass, salt, and lime zest. Ginger is also an ingredient, but in Thailand "galangal" is usually used, a Thai ginger with a peppery heat to it. The ingredients are simply ground together slowly with a mortar and pestle. I found a recipe online that uses a food processor instead.