Clever Crow Farm Vegetable Masala Curry (when you are not in a hurry)
This recipe makes a large pot of curry, full of a vegetables, aromatic spices from Clever Crow Farm, a thick tomato sauce,  and meat (if you are using).  You can vary the vegetables depending on what you have on hand. You could add cauliflower, yams, Celeriac, potato, and big handfuls of Spinach.  Instead of Delicata squash, try butternut, acorn, or kabocha varieties. Nothing will be wrong. Use what you have.  Throw in some of those garden tomatoes you lovingly stored away in your freezer. They will cook down and taste so good! You could also sneak in a handful of the chopped zucchini that surely is hiding in your freezer, waiting for a rainy day. We like to serve this with Basmati rice and some type of flatbread. A spoonful of thick plain yogurt on the side is nice too. If you don't like rice, make a pot of creamy mashed potatoes or cous cous to serve with it.  Comfort food!
  • Difficulty: Medium
Servings: 6 yield(s)
Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 120 mins
Total Time: 145 mins
Ingredients
  • 1600 ml canned Diced Tomatoes (2 large cans, Italian is best.)
  • 1 cup Yellow or white Onion, diced
  • 2 cup Delicata Squash, peeled, seeded (cut into small chunks. Butternut and Kambocha squash will also be fine to use.)
  • 2 cup Carrots, peeled (sliced into 1cm rounds)
  • 01 tbsp Fresh Ginger, peeled (mince.)
  • 4 Garlic Cloves (minced. We love garlic!)
  • 01 cup Celery (diced)
  • 01 lb stewing stye protein, cut into chunks (goat, pork butt, beef chuck, wild game.)
  • 2 tbsp Clever Crow Vadouvan curry spice
  • 2 tbsp Clever Crow Ras el Hanout curry spice
  • 1 tbsp Black Mustard Seeds (do not use yellow mustard seeds.)
  • 1 tbsp Sea Salt (you can always add more at the end. Use Kosher brand salt if you want it a little less salty. But you do need to season curries with salt. It helps to enhance all the other flavours.)
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper, ground
  • 1 Whole Cinnamon Stick (do not substitute ground. This is an optional ingredient.)
  • 2 tbsp Olive or Sunflower Oil (I usually free pour the oil. A couple of good glugs for a curry of this size.)
Instructions
  1. Vegetable Curry: Heat up the olive/sunflower oil in a deep pot, like a dutch oven or a hefty soup pot, on medium heat. Add all the spices and the salt into the hot oil and stir for 30 seconds. Add all the chopped vegetables, but hold back the garlic and the ginger for 10 minutes (they burn easily). Stir well, mixing all the spices into the vegetables. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add in the ginger and garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the 2 large cans of diced tomatoes. If they have a lot of water in them, they will take longer to reduce into a thick sauce. If you only have whole tomatoes, just mash them a bit before adding them. You could also use a litre or more of tomato Passata. Bring up to a slow boil. If you are adding meat, now is the time to add it. You could also stir in a small can of drained white beans or lentils, or a cup of cubed, firm tofu. Simmer, with a lid on the pot, for about an hour. If there is not enough liquid, add some water. You need enough liquid to cook the vegetable until they are soft, and to tenderize the meat if you are using. After an hour has passed, taste the curry. Are the squash and carrots tender? Is there enough salt? Do you like it? If you have added the stewing meat it will need another 30 minutes or more. If the curry is too liquidy, then remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes or so. Stir from time to time. Serve with Basmati rice, Naan bread, pompadoms, roti bread, or even mashed potatoes. Garnish with some chopped up fresh cilantro or green onions. This curry freezes well for future quick dinners.
  2. Adding Meat? Because this is a slow cooked curry, using less expensive (and tastier in my opinion) cuts of meat, are ideal. I have used stewing cubes of goat, pork butt and shoulder, lamb shanks, and beef chuck with great success. The trick is to brown the meat well, with a little salt and oil, in a frying pan. Then add it into the curry, once the veg and tomatoes have had a chance to meld and bubble. Make sure the meat is submerged into the liquid, and covered for at least an hour. It will probably need another 30- 60 minutes longer of simmering, uncovered until it is tender and delicious.
Recipe Notes

You can find Clever Crow spices at our Farm store in Black Creek, BC or order by emailing clevercrowfarm@gmail.com and we'll instruct from there. Visit the following awesome retailers: Edible Island Whole Foods, Courtenay, BC or The Mustard Lady, Courtenay, BC, or Discover Foods (Oyster River or Willow Point locations), or Salish Sea Market, Bowser, BC, or The Olive Station, Duncan, BC, or Urban Oasis, Victoria, BC