Green Curry
A healthy feel-good dish
We have curry at least once a week at home. Preferably with a homemade curry paste. Not only is it healthier than most shop-bought curry pastes, it is also made as quick as a smoothie. Yes, it actually has a lot of similarities to a green smoothie: all ingredients are pureed raw in a blender and the result is a green cream– which does not taste like a smoothie at all, but rather spicy, hot, salty and lemony. You will ask yourself why you ever used store-bought curry paste at all. Once the paste is ready, making the curry is child’s play: fry the vegetables, add coconut milk, a little water and the curry paste and let it cook. Done!
In this version I used Brussels sprouts. These are definitely not the kind of vegetables that come to mind when you hear the word curry. But sometimes the craziest things go together and turn a meal into a real culinary delight. Besides nourishing your senses, the curry feeds your cells too. Brussel sprouts and broccoli provide a real power source for your health: the secondary plant substance sulforaphane. This is one of the most powerful antioxidants. In contrast to vitamins C or E, that are strong antioxidants too, sulforaphane acts strategically from the background and activates the body’s own detoxification enzymes in the liver in order to fight free radicals and protect the body’s cells. Since sulforaphane has an indirect effect here, it is not spent after activation but stays highly active throughout the body for four to five days.
I don’t know about you, but I personally love the idea of eating something delicious and doing something good for my body at the same time. Incidentally, both effects are intensified: Scientists have found that our body can utilize the vital nutrients in food much better if we like its taste. So this curry is a win-win-win … Enjoy it!
And now my question for you: do you like curry? And did you ever make your own curry paste? Please leave a comment below!
GREEN CURRY
Ingredients
For the rice:
- 150 g basmati rice
- 300 ml water
- 1/3 tsp salt
For the curry paste:
- 40 g fresh coriander leaves and stalk roughly chopped plus a little more coriander leaves for serving
- 2 spring onions cut into large pieces together with the greens
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 tbsp peeled and coarsely chopped ginger
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- some chilli powder or chilli flakes optional
- grated zest of 1 organic lemon
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the vegetables:
- 1 small broccoli
- 200 g Brussels sprouts
- 3 medium-sized carrots
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 200 ml water
- Salt and lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- Wash the basmati rice in a sieve, place in a saucepan with a suitable lid and add water and salt. Bring the whole thing to a boil with the lid closed. As soon as the water boils, turn the heat up to the lowest possible temperature and let the rice steep for about 15 minutes until it is cooked through. If necessary, switch off the stove completely so that the rice does not burn.
- In the meantime, prepare the curry paste. To do this, puree all the ingredients in the Hexler or in the food processor until they are creamy. If the mixture is too dry and doesn't blend well, add a little water.
- For the vegetables, cut the florets from the broccoli. We don't need the stalk for the recipe*.
- Wash the Brussels sprouts, cut off the stalk and cut in halves. Wash the carrots thoroughly and cut them into slices.
- Heat a large and deep pan or saucepan. Pour in olive oil and fry the broccoli, Brussels sprouts and carrots for 2 minutes while stirring. Deglaze with coconut milk and water and add the green curry paste. Simmer over medium heat with the lid closed for about 15 minutes, until the Brussels sprouts are firm to the bite. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice.
- Serve the curry with the rice and some freshly chopped coriander.
Wellcuisine-Tipp
