Marrakesh Vegetable Curry

This evening, guest blogger Allison and I got together for a good old-fashioned gabfest, which, when you get the two of us in a room, usually involves enough f-bombs to make a sailor blush. Since she’s been associated with this blog since the beginning, it was only fitting that we make a meal together which could be featured in a post.  After moving to New Jersey, which has quite a large Indian population, I’ve had a love affair with their food, especially curries.  This is a Moroccan twist on a traditional curry, thanks to the addition of orange juice, which provides a surprisingly delicious hint of citrusy sweetness.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 medium eggplant, cubed
  
• 1 green bell pepper, cubed
  
• 1 red bell pepper, cubed
  
• 1 medium yam or sweet potato, cubed
  
• 2 large carrots, chopped
  
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 2 tbsp brown raisins
  
• 1 cup orange juice
  
• 1 tbsp curry powder
  
• 1 tsp. turmeric
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  
• 2 tsp salt
  
• 2 tsp. black pepper
  
• 4 tbsp olive oil

What To Do:

Cube the eggplant, green and red bell peppers, and sweet potato, dice the onion, mince the garlic, and chop the carrots.

 

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat, then add 2 tbsp of the olive oil.  Saute the vegetables for 5 minutes.



While the vegetables are cooking, you can begin to make your spice mixture. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat.  Pour in the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil, then add the cinnamon, curry powder, turmeric, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Use a spatula to evenly mix the spices, then remove them from the heat.

*Note: Not all spatulas are created equal.  I learned this the hard way, by causing a giant FAIL:



Yes, that is my spatula melted into two pieces.  I was wondering why it looked like a piece of pasta had fallen into my spice mix before I realized it was plastic, not dough.  As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Beer Silicone utensils (and bakeware!) are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”  Indeed, Ben.  INDEED.

ANYWAYS.  Back to the curry: Pour your spice mix over the vegetables in the Dutch oven, which should be reducing in size thanks to the time spent simmering.  Add the orange juice, garbanzo beans, zucchini, and raisins.  Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low/simmer, and cook for 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally.



When I opened the pot, I was immediately assaulted with a garden-y, citrusy sensory overload.




The orange juice and spices cook down into a rich, thick sauce that coats the vegetables and was immediately absorbed into the brown rice I served this with. This is an extremely filling dish thanks to all the fiber and protein in the veggies, but none of us could stop ourselves from going back for seconds.  I recommend having some crusty bread or a pita on the side so that you can soak up all the sauce from your bowl once you’re done!  I’m excited to eat this tomorrow as leftovers, as I think it definitely has potential to be one of those dishes that is better after sitting overnight and letting the flavors meld together. You could easily throw in some spinach (mine was a little past its prime, so I was forced to exclude it), slivered almonds, or any other vegetables you might like. The raisins were an interesting inclusion that, in my opinion, could easily be doubled the next time around. I also think this would be excellent with a squeeze of lemon juice to enhance the hints of orange, or instead using a carrot-based juice.  There’s lots of room here for adaptation, and I strongly encourage playing around with the ingredients to suit your own tastes!  Regardless of what you use, you can’t go wrong with such a flavorful, healthy addition to your dinner menu.