We experienced a midrange tragedy last week. Our oven broke down. I know, I know, it’s the middle of summer and normal people don’t even go near their ovens, much less do they turn them on. Well, we aren’t really normal and we have stuff roasting a couple of times a week. On really fun days, it’s even a couple of times per day. Luckily, our stovetop is still fully functional, so I decided to whip up this quick and easy curry to last us a few days, until the oven is fixed and the crisis is resolved.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 6 servings / 0.81 EUR per serving / 4.87 EUR for all)

2 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.03 EUR)

2 onions (0.20 EUR)

4 garlic cloves (0.13 EUR)

1 bell pepper (0.20 EUR)

2 tsp curry powder (0.13 EUR)

1 tsp turmeric powder (0.07 EUR)

1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika (0.07 EUR)

1 tsp garlic powder (0.07 EUR)

1 tsp dried oregano (0.07 EUR)

½ tsp dried red pepper flakes (0.03 EUR)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper (0.03 EUR)

1 tsp salt (0.01 EUR)

2 tbsp tomato paste (0.27 EUR)

3 roasted red pepper fillets (0.80 EUR)

4 cups veggie broth (0.27 EUR)

1 head of cauliflower (1.33 EUR)

1 cup red lentils (1.00 EUR)

2 tbsp dried parsley (0.13 EUR)

1 bay leaf (0.03 EUR)

METHOD:

Peel, wash and chop up all the vegetables. Don’t throw away the cauliflower stalk either, just chop it up finely. Rinse lentils under running water in a colander. Add the oil, onions, garlic, bell pepper and cauliflower stalk to a large pot on high heat and saute for about 5-10 minutes, until everything is slightly caramelized. Add in curry powder, turmeric, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt. Give a good stir and cook for just a minute so the spices become fragrant.

Remove the pot from head, then dump in tomato paste, chopped roasted peppers (I used store bought ones) and veggie broth, then pulse with an immersion blender into a smooth paste. Add in cauliflower florets, lentils, parsley and bay leaf and return the pot on heat. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat and simmer with a lid cracked open for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and add a splash of water as needed. Serve over cooked rice and with a dollop of sour cream (or its vegan alternative). Some fresh chopped herbs on top would also be nice, but we unfortunately didn’t have anything at home.

This curry reheats very well and will keep refrigerated for up to five days.

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Prošloga tjedna nam se desila osrednja tragedija. Riknula nam je pećnica. Znam, znam, usred ljeta normalni ljudi ni ne gledaju svoje pećnice, a kamoli da ih slučajno pale. Ali mi baš i nismo skroz normalni, pa nam se nešto cvrlji i peče barem nekoliko puta tjedno. Za specijalno veselih dana, to zna biti i po par puta dnevno. Srećom, ploča za kuhanje nam je i dalje funkcionalna pa sam odlučila smutiti ovaj brzi i jednostavni curry da nas hrani narednih par dana, dok pećnica ne bude popravljena a krizno stanje otklonjeno.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 6 porcija / 6,07 kn po porciji / 36,41 kn za sve)

2 žlice suncokretovog ulja (0.20 EUR)

2 luka (1,50 kn)

4 češnja češnjaka (1,00 kn)

1 paprika babura (1,50 kn)

2 žličice curry praha (1,00 kn)

1 žličica kurkume u prahu (0,50 kn)

1 žlica slatke crvene paprike (0,50 kn)

1 žličica češnjaka u prahu (0,50 kn)

1 žličica sušenog origana (0,50 kn)

½ žličice sušenog čilija u pahuljicama (0,25 kn)

½ žličice svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,25 kn)

1 žličica soli (0,01 kn)

2 žlice koncentrata od rajčice (2,00 kn)

3 fileta pečenih crvenih paprika (6,00 kn)

4 šalice povrtnog temeljca (2,00 kn)

1 glavica cvjetače (10,00 kn)

1 šalica crvene leće (7,50 kn)

2 žlice sušenog peršina (1,00 kn)

1 lovorov list (0,20 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Ogulite, operite i nasjeckajte svo povrće. Nemojte baciti stabljiku cvjetače, već i nju sitno nasjeckajte. Isperite leću u cjediljci pod tekućom vodom. Stavite veliki lonac na jaku vatru pa u njega dodajte ulje, luk, češnjak, papriku baburu i stabljiku cvjetače. Kuhajte 5-10 minuta, dok se povrće ne karamelizira, pa onda ubacite i curry, kurkumu, slatku papriku, češnjak u prahu, origano, čili, papar i sol. Dobro promiješajte i kuhajte samo minutu, da začini zamiriše.

Maknite lonac s vatre i dodajte u njega koncentrat rajčice, nasjeckane filete paprike (ja sam upotrijebila kupovne) i temeljac. Dobro sve propulsirajte štapnim mikserom dok ne dobijete glatku smjesu. U to ubacite cvjetiće karfijola, leću, peršin i lovor, pa vratite lonac na vatru. Pustite da zavrije, smanjite vatru i kuhajte sa odškrinutim poklopcem 30-tak minuta. Povremeno promiješajte, a prema potrebi dodajte i mrvicu vode. Gotov curry poslužite preko kuhane riže i sa malo kiselog vrhnja (ili neke veganske zamjene). Malo svježeg nasjeckanog začinskog bilja posipanog po svemu bi isto bilo super, ali mi smo doma baš ostali bez svega.

Ovaj curry se super podgrijava, a u hladnjaku će držati do pet dana.