August 4th 2011 ~ Veggie night !!!

Looking in the fridge tonight, the shelves are a little bare save for a half eaten pot of natural yoghurt, some bits and pieces of veg ~ carrots, onions, potatoes ~ and a very tired looking cabbage that is almost screaming at me to get him eaten! Not in the mood for soup, I have trawled through all my recipe books and decided to cook a Cabbage, Carrot and Pea Curry with some healthy home made flat breads. There are several versions of a cabbage curry online, but I have made it to my own tastes with spices that suit my family. Feel free to experiment yourselves! So a hot and spicy supper for 2........

Ingredients:

FLATBREAD

11 ml Water
42 ml Natural Fat Free Yoghurt
1/4 tsp Dried Yeast
92g Strong Plain Flour
1/4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

CURRY

1/2 tsp Asafoetida ~ if you can`t get this, just leave it out
1 tbsp Mustard Seeds
4 Birds Eye Chillies
10 Dried Curry Leaves
3/4 Small Cabbage, shredded
1 Onion, sliced
1/2 Cup Peas
1 Carrot, chopped
1 Green Chilli, chopped
1 tbsp Chilli Powder
1/4 tbsp Turmeric
1 heaped tsp Madras Powder
Fry Light

Steps:

1) Put the yogurt in a bowl and add the yeast. Add the flour, combine well and cover with a tea towel. Leave alone for 25 minutes to "prove".

2) After proving, add the oil and mix well into the dough. Put back in the bowl as before and leave for at least an hour whence it should have doubled in size! Dough lasts in the fridge for 3 days if wrapped properly, so this could be done on a weekend in advance.

3) Bash the air out of the dough, and roll out thinly either in 1 large bread shape or 2 smaller ones depending on the size of your frying pan. Make sure your surface is disted with flour or you make have a "sticking" disaster!

4) Heat the frying pan on a moderate heat (no oil) and spray the bread/s with fry light. Cook them for about 3 minutes each side. If they look like they are cooking too fast, then turn the heat down and cook for slightly longer. Serve hot!

Now to the curry!

1) Steam the cabbage, carrot and peas to your taste......I do mine for 15 minutes which leaves them soft but not soggy! Leave to drain in a colaner.

2) In a pan or wok ( whichever you prefer ~ personally ~I am the Queen of woks!) add 8 sprays of fry light and the asafoetida, mustard seeds, birds eye chillies and curry leaves. Cook until the mustard seeds snap, crackle and pop! Add a little bit of water, and put the onions in. Mix thoroughly and cook until the onions are soft.

2) Add the green chilli, chilli powder, madras powder and turmeric. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the veggies. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes covered. Serve!

TIPS:
Asafoetida can be found in all large supermarkets alongside the jars of spices. It is a pale yellow in colour and has a very pungent smell, but when cooked adds a lovely flavour of cooked leeks to the dish. Just use sparingly or as the recipe suggests!

Make a large batch of dough and freeze it! It will last up to 3 months as long as it is properly sealed from air, otherwise it could suffer freezer burn!

If you have time make the curry in advance as this really allows the flavour to infuse, but is still ab fab when eaten immediately.

Use whatever you have in your fridge as the veg, the recipe will work with any combo you may have!

Experiment with spices. There`s no Garam Masala or Cumin in this because I personally, don`t like them. If you do though.....just throw it in and play around with blends! If it doesn`t work, then you`re one step closer to finding what does!

Calories            : 437
Fat                   : 7g
Sat Fat             : 1g
Veg Portions     : 2.5