Hello everyone.

I'm looking for a recipe for a particular dish I enjoy at a local restaurant, actually a Hare Krishna restaurant. The only thing is, I can't search by ingredient here as too many results are returned. Perhaps you can help.

It's a mixed vegetable curry. The vegetables change regularly but usually include cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, potatoes. The curry is coconut milk based with mustard seeds and turmeric for a little colour.

This Vegetable Bhaji is the closest thing I've found, but my dish doesn't have any dal in it.

http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10495

I know I could just leave the dal out, but does anyone know of any other recipe which might be closer to my original?

Many thanks.

Have you had a look on their website - there are recipes on it.

http://www.harekrsna.com/practice/prasadam/recipes/wsabji15.htm

Hello Patrick

I am sure each person makes their curry slightly differently in each Hare Krishna temple.

Here are a few suggestions;

First of all, did it have onion/tomato based gravy? If it did, you can use any vegetable curry recipe, something like this;

http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13375 . Replace the cumin seeds with black mustard seeds and add creamed coconut towards the end of cooking time.

Alternatively, ask them the recipe, they are usually very helpful. They used to have their recipe leaflets, not sure of they still do them.

Mamta

When I was in Australia was given a free cookery book by HK = it is brilliant and also went to their restaurant in the city centre.

Good lunch time meal for about 6 dollars

Sydney HK was 20 dollars and no where as good as Melbourne

The food at hare-Krishna temples is usually prepared by volunteers, who vary from city to city, not only in their abilities but also in where they come from. So food is different.

I was looking at their website (Kare Krishna) just now. The recipe names sound regional Indian, from different states of India. The one closest to the one you describe is this one; Sri Lankan Hoddha (Coconut Milk curry). You have to scroll down the page;

www.harekrsna.com/practice/prasadam/recipes/wsabji21.htm

Mamta

When I worked in Kentish Town I recall the Hare Krishna van coming round weekly serving their 'prasadam' food. After the street homeless had their fill, the rest of the curry was given away in return for donations towards the temple.

This was PDMK (pre-discovery of Mamta's Kitchen) for me, but as I remember the curry was not unlike a wet multi-vegetable samosa filling: potatoes, cauliflower, peas, carrots, spinach (certainly your 5-a-day there) plenty of black mustard seeds, a garam masala base with presumably asoefetida (no onions or garlic) and a slight sweetness (from coconut?)

Served with lots of popadoms it was by the best take-away in town that day!

Winton

Hello Patrick

You have not been back to the forum since your query. I had a mix of vegetables from the garden and my curry patta 'tree' is doing well, so I decided to make the Mixed Vegetable Curry, with a south Indian style tarka, minus the lentils. It was quite nice. I did not add coconut, but creamed coconut can be added quite easily towards the end. You can make it 'dry' or with gravy, as you wish

Mamta

Hi Mamta and All.

Thanks for your helpful replies. The HK recipes website is excellent, I discovered it a few months ago, but it can difficult to search for particular recipes on it.

Mamta, I think I'll use your Veg Curry as a base and add some creamed coconut, or maybe some coconut milk and allow the veg to simmer in it and reduce to a thick sauce (coconut milk is more readily available to me).

I'll report back when I have some success!

Thanks again all.

P.

Hello all, I finally got around to making this "Hare Krishna" style vegetable curry. In the end, I "free-styled" it rather than following a recipe.

I fried mustard seeds and cumin seeds before adding fresh chilli and garlic (both of which are forbidden for HK devotees). I added some courgettes and peas along with half a teaspoon each of turmeric and garam masala. I then poured in 150ml coconut milk and simmered gently for about 5 minutes. Then some salt and pepper. The result was fantastic, just like the dish I get in the restaurant. A bit yellow though, I'll probably reduce the amount of turmeric to a quarter teaspoon next time.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks.

That is great Patrick. The yellow colour is due to the coconut milk, don't worry about it. Adding anything white, like milk or yogurt, also make a curry look yellow.

the yellow colour is surely from the turmeric, and it looks deeper in colour because the coconut milk is rich in coconut oil, inwhich the yellow colour (curcumen) dissolves more readily than water based liquids.

...the yellow colour is surely from the turmeric.

Yes of course Lapis, LOL! What I meant was that adding things white to a curry which has turmeric, will give it a 'poster yellow' or sunflower like yellow colour, rather than the usual orangy colour of a curry.

Just goes to show that unless I explain better, people don't know what picture I am seeing in my head ;-)!!

but if you added fat free curds, it wouldn't look very yellow, because the colouring (curcumin) is not soluble in the watery curds.

Same principle for beta carotene from peppers and other veg, the beta carotene only dissolves in oils and fats, so without oil the curry would appear brown, not red, or at least, not very red.

It is really nice to have you here Lapis, you explain the scientific reasons behind things culinary :-).

When I make the north Indian dish Kadhi, I sometimes use skimmed milk yoghurt. This dish has yoghurt, water and besan as its base. It gets that poster yellow colour (I generally use semi-skimmed or full fat milk yoghurt for cooking, because skimmed milk yoghurt can sometimes split on cooking/boiling).