Beautiful summer vegetables in full swing

I saw this recipe for summer vegetable curry and I thought, what better way to round out the summer than to make a dish that uses lots of summer vegetables that are in full harvest right now. You can either go to your local farm stand or farmers market to load up on these vegetables.  Or, if you are talented enough to grow your own vegetables, then a short trip to your garden will probably do it.  Take the vegetables and add the curry spices found in this recipe, and you’ll have a dish packed with flavor.

This is a simple recipe.  All you need to do is prep the veggies and mix the spices first.  Then, it’s just a matter of throwing things in from longest cooking time to shortest. You can serve over brown rice or quinoa. And definitely have a chutney on hand. Or, I used this amazingly good tomato chile sauce that I found at the farm stand where I bought the vegetables.  But, whatever the topping, you’ll feel like you’re maximizing summer for all that it has to offer.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion (2-3 cups sliced)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground fennel
½ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp cayenne 
1 cup sliced carrots
3 cups sliced zucchini or summer squash
1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
4 cups chopped kale or baby spinach
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Method

Before you begin to cook, shuck the corn and steam for 10 minutes.  Let cool and cut kernels off the husks.

To prep the onion, slice in half end to end and cut into half inch thick slices. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger. Then cut the carrots into 1/4 inch thick rounds, then halve or quarter depending on the diameter of the carrot. Same with the zucchini. Chop the pepper into roughly ½ inch pieces.

In a large skillet or soup pot, warm the oil over medium low heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and add the spices. Stir for a minute or so. Add the carrots and 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 3-4 minutes. Add the bell pepper, zucchini, and kale, stir well, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in tomatoes, cover and cook until the tomatoes release their liquid. Stir in the corn and cook covered for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro, stir, and serve right away with chutney or tomato chili topping.