I have always been a big foodie. I tasted mixed vegetable curry for the first time when I was in college. Being from a Brahmin family, we were not allowed to cook recipes that had garlic or onion in them. Things changed once I grew up, as my mom started using garlic and onion on a day to day basis, but she never got to experiment much.
During my first year of graduation, on the day of the Freshers Party, I was permitted to have lunch with my friends. That was the time when I had mixed vegetable curry with garlic naan. Soon after I roughly told my mom how the curry tasted, and she made this the very next day.
To date, this is one of my favourite recipes of all time. I can eat it over and over again with just plain white rice. Pair it up with roti or jeera rice, and the taste is just heavenly. You can also add a few potato chips by the side if you are planning to have it with rice.
There are various ways to make this amazing dish, and this here is one such method. You can call it the simplest and easiest way to make mixed vegetable curry that tastes amazing with both roti and rice, especially jeera rice.
Mixed Vegetable Gravy Curry
If you do not have a lot of time to make a detailed recipe with roti, naan, or flavored rice, try making this mixed vegetable curry. This can be made with the most common vegetables we have in our house like potatoes, carrots, capsicum, beans, and peas. I have added fresh paneer to this, and you can replace paneer with tofu if you are vegan. The same gravy also tastes amazing with chicken. However, I am a vegetarian, so I make this using the veggies that are available in my fridge at that time.
Origins of Mixed Vegetable Curry
The spiced mixed vegetable curry can be seen in almost every part of India. Most of the dishes like mixed vegetable gravy curry can be dated back to 2600 BC. It is interesting to know that even during the era of Mohenjo-Daro, there was mention of using mortar and pestle to make spice powders and pastes to flavor food. The word curry itself is derived from the Tamil word “Kari” which means a sauce or gravy. It is also said that most of the curries in India were also from the Mughal era. The making of curries was also influenced by the trade of potatoes and tomatoes in 1510. Also, every sauce-based dish was generally called curry, however, with changing times, we get to see more localized and improvised versions, each unique and flavourful in its own way.
Ingredients
- Cauliflower – 1 Small
- Carrots – 2 Medium
- Beans – 10-15
- Cashew – 2 tbsp
- Curry Leaves – Handful
- Paneer – 200 Grams Block
- Oil – 2 Tbsp
- Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp
- Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp
- Garam Masala – 1 tsp
- Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Juice of 1 Lemon
For Gravy
- Onion – 1 Medium sized
- Cashew – 1 tbsp
- Tomatoes – 3 Medium
Instructions
- Cut all the vegetables and keep aside.
- In a pan, add oil and add the vegetables one by one once the oil is hot. Do not add paneer yet.
- Sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes, and add cashew. Mix it well.
- Cook for another 5 minutes with lid on.
- Remove the lid, and add turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste.
- Cook till the raw smell of ginger garlic paste disappears.
- Next add the paneer cubes, and mix it all well. Put the lid on.
- Cook for another 7-8 minutes till all the vegetables are soft.
- Now add the red chilli powder, and garam masala powder.
- While the vegetables are cooking, make a fine paste using onions, cashew and tomatoes.
- Add it to the vegetables, and mix it all well.
- Add salt, mix, and cover with a lid.
- You need to cook the vegetables with the gravy until the raw smell of onions and tomatoes disappears.
- Once is all cooked, the gravy looks a little thick. This is when you can add a little water to adjust the consistency.
- Check the salt after adding water, and add if required. Those who love to eat spice and add cut green chillies at this stage. Two green chillies can be slit in half and added.
- Cover the lid, and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Once you remove the lid, you should see the oil on the sides. This shows that the curry is ready.
Mixed Vegetable gravy curry tastes amazing when served hot. You can even add a dollop of butter on the top, along with some fresh chopped coriander leaves.
Additional Information
Indian Style Pudina Potato Rice with Cucumber Onion Raita
