Potato Pea Curry

This weekend I was thinking about making a curry for dinner since I had some Thai basil from the CSA, along with some potatoes and an eggplant. While I was searching for recipes I came across one on Allrecipes.com (not a place I would usually look) for Potato Curry. Instead of curry powder, it called for a mix of spices I knew I had in the cupboard and it used yogurt for creaminess instead of coconut milk or cream. I made the recipe quite nearly following the directions- I just used 6 smallish potatoes instead of medium, and tossed in the remainder of the bag of frozen peas in the freezer without measuring. Also- since this is me, I cut down on the amount of fat and used 2T of butter in place of the 3T ghee the original recipe called for. The last change I made was to stir in some silken tofu at the end to add some protein to what otherwise would have been a carb-fest dinner.

The curry turned out really well- creamy and tart from the tofu and yogurt with a good mix of spices (though maybe a little bit to much cayenne; I used a full half teaspoon). It's so simple to make and takes only about 10 minutes of active time in the kitchen. It was also a really good way to use potatoes, since I usually end up just boiling or sauteeing them and would make a good side dish to an Indian meal.

Potato Pea Curry
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
Serves 4-5 as a main course

2 T. butter
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. turmeric
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. salt
1/2 t. mustard seed
1/4-1/2 t. ground cayenne pepper (or you can leave it out for a completely mild curry)
6 small potatoes, diced into 1cm cubes
2 C. water
1 C. low-fat plain yogurt
1.5 C frozen green peas
1 C. silken tofu, cut into cubes

- Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet, add all spices and salt and toast for 2-3 minutes to bring out the flavors. Add the potatoes and stir to coat well with spice mix.

- Add water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. The water will evaporate and reduce down to a thick sauce during cooking.

- Stir in the yogurt, peas and tofu and bring back to a boil. Serve immediately.