Curried Cauliflower, Mushroom, Carrot and Beans over Yellow Rice

(pictured: Curried vegetables over yellow rice that you can't see)


(pictured: yellow rice)

Please don’t let the long list of ingredients keep you from trying this recipe. The vegetables and sauce come together in the time it takes to cook the brown rice. This is a quick one-dish meal. It contains lots of veggies and whole grains and is low in fat. Not to mention high in fiber and protein. This is one of those meals that will keep you full for hours.

I like to include Indian food in our meal rotation as often as I can because so many health benefits have been linked to turmeric. The one I care most about is its ability to potentially kill cancer. Additionally I have read that turmeric is more bioavailable when it is sautéed in a little oil with a generous quantity of black pepper. So, that is how I use turmeric to maximize the health benefits.

Tonight’s dinner was flavorful as well as filling. Everyone enjoyed it, even the omnivores. Here is what I made tonight.

Curried Cauliflower, Mushroom, Carrot and Beans over Yellow Rice
Makes 4 large servings

Rice Ingredients:

1 teaspoon oil (canola or olive)
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon coriander seed
1 ½ cups brown basmati rice
3 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
2 black cardamom pods
2 bay leaves

Curried Vegetable Ingredients:

½ tablespoon oil (canola or olive)
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
14 ounces diced tomato
2 cups almond milk
4 cups cauliflower, broken into small bite size florets
6 cups mushrooms, cut into bite size pieces
6 large carrots, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup cooked beans, garbanzo (would be best, I used mini favas)
1 pinch of kosher salt
1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, more if you like heat
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in water
3 green onions, finely chopped
½ cup bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced
cashews for garnish – optional

Directions:

Sauté the turmeric, black pepper, and coriander for a few minutes. Then add the rice, water, cinnamon, cardamom pods and bay leaves and bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling reduce it to a simmer and cook until the water is absorbed (about 40 minutes).

Allow the rice to remain in the pot uncovered for 10 minutes after you turn off the heat.

Remove the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and cardamom pods and then fluff it with a fork before serving.

While the rice is cooking make the curried vegetables. Heat the oil and cook the spices (turmeric through garlic) for a couple of minutes until they smell aromatic.

Now add the ingredients listed above tomato through salt and cook until the vegetables are as tender as you like. I cooked mine about 15 minutes. If the vegetables are done before the rice turn off the heat cover the pot and return when the rice is resting off the heat.

To finish the dish, thicken the sauce with the cornstarch slurry. Add the remaining ingredient just before serving. Stir them into the vegetable mixture. Save a little cilantro for the top. If you choose to add the optional cashews place them on top.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 578.58
Calories From Fat (13%) - 73.27

Total Fat - 8.46g
Saturated Fat - 1.09g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 263.17mg
Potassium - 1890.52mg
Total Carbohydrates - 107.63g
Fiber - 21.06g
Sugar - 13.91g
Protein - 21.81g

Comments:

This is not a traditional Indian dish; it is something I threw together from what I had on hand. Traditionally I have seen this dish include potatoes and not be served over rice. I was more in a brown rice mood tonight so I went with that form of starch instead.

I intentionally made this meal a little on the bland side since my elderly parents were coming for dinner tonight. If there were made just for Dan and I there would have been a fresh jalapeno or Serrano in this dish.

Each serving of this dish contains more than 21,600IU of vitamin A, 200mg of calcium, 240mcg of folate, 50mcg of folate, 600mg of phosphorus, 220mg of magnesium and 50mcg of selenium. A fairly healthy dish I would say.

Unrelated note:

I need to get moving, literally. I have gotten back on the exercise bandwagon and need to do a little more exercise before I call it a night. There is a bosu ball calling my name that I need to get back to, as it were.

I hope you are all having a good evening and are doing something fun, unlike me.