Potato & Carrot Sweet Yellow Curry with Bulgur

There is an Alcoholics Anonymous idiom that goes, "If you hang out in a barber shop long enough, sooner or later you're bound to get a haircut."


This is what came sailing out of my subconscious when I joined my friends at - of all places - Northcenter's annual RibFest yesterday evening. If you have ever had the pleasure of being within inhaling distance of smoked barbeque pork ribs on a summer night, you know what I mean. And RibFest is about a 3/4-mile-long corridor of just that.

I made this delicious curry for dinner, filling up on purpose before I went to the festival. But there's a reason you don't find many priests roaming around whorehouses: temptation. Since I am a FLEXitarian after all, it wouldn't have been the end of the world if I'd tried a rib - as it turned out, I only had enough money for a Bud Light, and this time, alcohol won out over rib meat as the Eden's apple of my Friday night.

That said, this is a delicious, filling, and simple curry recipe that would be delicious with beef, chicken, tofu, or anything else you want to add to it. I think when I reheat the leftovers, I'll add the bit of broccoli that didn't go into my veggie-stuffed mac 'n' cheese (rest assured, the recipe for that is coming soon).


POTATO & CARROT SWEET YELLOW CURRY WITH BULGUR

INGREDIENTS

1 baking potato, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into medium pieces
1 red chili, seeded and cut into smallish pieces
1/2 red onion, cut into chunks
1 medium tomato, cut into large chunks
2 T. olive oil
2-3 T. sweet yellow curry powder
2 T. brown sugar
1 can lite coconut milk
2 T. smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 c. white wine (optional - can replace with water)
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. bulgur, according to directions on package (basically just simmer it - 2 parts water to one part bulgur - until it's chewy but not mushy; season with a little salt)
salt to taste

STEP ONE:

Par-boil the potato and carrot until tender, but not mushy. Drain and set aside.




STEP TWO:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and chili until softened. Add the tomato, seasoning all this with a little salt, cooking until the tomato starts to break down, about 3 minutes. Pour in the white wine and stir, letting it boil until the alcohol evaporates. Add the curry powder and stir to combine.



STEP THREE:

Add the potato and carrot, coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, and water. Stir to combine. Bring the heat to a low boil and let it cook until the curry thickens a bit. Serve over the cooked bulgur. Enjoy!




Thanks for reading! More soon...