Veggie Curry + A Cookbook Giveaway
Cauliflower Vegetarian Curry is a filling and tasty homemade vegetable curry packed with potatoes, cauliflower, and chickpeas. This is a must try recipe!
Veggie Curry + A Cookbook Giveaway
Jump to RecipeOver the years, I’ve been sent a bunch of cookbooks and I’ve probably turned down many times the number that I’ve been sent just because I can’t read them all!
Anytime I get an offer to check out a new America’s Test Kitchen cookbook though, I always jump at the chance. They write unbelievable cookbooks that combine all of my favorite things: good recipes, excellent photos, and easy-to-understand instructions.
Their latest book, The Cooking School Cookbook, is maybe their best so far. I made this Cauliflower Vegetarian Curry from it a few weeks ago and it was one of the better curries I’ve ever had. Check out the recipe and also see how you can win a copy of this awesome book!
Veggie Curry
- Serves:
- Serves 6
- Prep Time:
- Total Time:
Helpful Equipment:
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This is a filling and tasty homemade vegetable curry packed with potatoes, cauliflower, and chickpeas. This is a must try recipe!
Ingredients
Instructions
1) Toast curry powder and garam malasa in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Set aside for later.
2) Heat vegetable oil or coconut oil in a large sturdy Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it’s shimmering. Add onions and potatoes and cook until veggies start to brown, about 10 minutes.
3) Make a well in the center of the pan and add another tablespoon of oil if the pan is dry. Add garlic, ginger, chiles, and tomato paste to the center and for 30 seconds.
4) Stir in reserved, toasted curry and stir to combine. Add cauliflower and stir to combine. Continue to cook for a minute or two.
5) In a small food processor, pulse diced tomatoes with juice to make a light sauce. Add tomato sauce to pan along with water and chickpeas. Season with a big pinch of salt and stir together.
6) Increase heat and bring curry to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until cauliflower and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
7) Stir in peas and coconut cream. Season to your liking. Serve curry over cooked basmati rice.
Cauliflower Vegetarian Curry
Toasting the Curry
This Cauliflower Vegetarian Curry recipe is actually not hard to make and it all comes together in a single pot which is great. There are a few tricks though to really amp up the flavors in the dish.
Trick number one is to toast the spices, both the curry powder and the garam masala. You can do this in a dry skillet over medium heat and just toast them for a few minutes until they are really fragrant.
Starting the Curry
To kick off the cooking for the actual curry, it’s important to cook the veggies in two groups. Group one is the onions and potatoes. You want to cook these first in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat for about 8-10 minutes so they brown nicely. While the original recipe used vegetable oil to cook in, I used coconut oil to give it some extra flavor.
Once the potatoes and onions are getting nicely browned, make a well in the center of your pot and add the garlic, chiles, and ginger to the center. If the pan is dry, add a bit more oil to the pan. These aromatics will only need to cook for thirty seconds or so.
Then add the toasted curry powder and the tomato paste. It will almost look like the stuff is burning at this point, but it’s really just developing a lot of excellent flavor. Let it cook for another 30-60 seconds like this. It should be a deep, almost orange color.
Ideally, you should add the cauliflower at this point and let that get nicely coated with the curry spices.
I have an inability to follow instructions perfectly so I added the cauliflower along with the diced tomatoes (you should puree the tomatoes if you can), water, and chickpeas.
Stir this all together, bring it to a simmer, then cover it and reduce heat to medium. Let the curry simmer for 10 minutes or so until the cauliflower and potatoes are tender.
Then stir in the peas and coconut cream and season the pot with salt.
This Cauliflower Vegetarian Curry is ready to serve!
This is a completely filling curry. I served mine over rice, but you could also serve this Cauliflower Vegetarian Curry with flat bread. It’ll make your house smell amazing and leftovers reheat wonderfully.
Quick Review and Giveaway!
There are certain cookbooks that are just instant classics and I think this may be one of those books. It has over 600 recipes. Each recipe isn’t overly fancy and is completely perfected by the team of test kitchen cooks that try out the recipes. Most recipes are accompanied not only with ingredients and directions, but also step-by-step photos (the above spread is for the veggie curry I made) and a list of things that can go wrong and tips to prevent them.
I’ve never been to cooking school, but I do imagine that many of the techniques and secrets learned there are similar to the stuff in this book. If you are a beginner to intermediate cook, I think this would be a great cookbook to add to your shelves.
I’m giving away two copies of this book because I like it so much! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with what cooking technique you would like to learn!
I’ll pick two winners at random a week from today, Monday November 11th!
Winners Update!
The two winners of the cookbook giveaway are Jamie and Lynn! Congrats!
186 Responses to “Veggie Curry + A Cookbook Giveaway” Leave a comment
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About Macheesmo
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Hello! My name is Nick Evans and I write and manage Macheesmo. I started Macheesmo 11 years ago when I was just learning my way around the kitchen. I love to cook and love everything food-related, but I have no formal training. These days I focus on fast, accessible recipes with the occasional “reach” recipe!
I’ve posted almost 2,000 recipes on Macheesmo. For each one, I do my best to give full explanations of what I did and tips on what I’d do differently next time. I’ll bring up the tricky parts and the easy parts.
I hope you can find something and cook something!
I’ll definitely be trying that curry! I’d love to learn their take on how to stir-fry properly!
That curry looks perfect for dinner tonight, thank you! I would love to learn proper rice techniques – I want to be able to do more than depend on my rice cooker :-)
That curry looks mouthwatering.
Making pie crust is one skill that eludes me. I’d like to learn to make a proper pie crust.
I would really like to learn how to make good hash,
I would love to learn how to make sauteed dishes better!
Great pic of yummy-looking curry, love the green thingy you stirred it with.
As for learning cooking techniques, I have issues with poaching things properly…
I would love to learn how to make tortillas!
Good knife skills. I hope that counts.
I’d love to learn a little more about baking with yeast. I’ve done a lot of practicing, but I just can’t seem to nail it!
I would really like to know more about making good reductions and glazes….there is a tiny slopeside restaurant here that makes the most amazing margherita flatbread and the secret is all in the balsamic reduction.
I avoid anything that calls for a rolling pin but would like to learn.
The technique I most want to master is working with chocolate and sugar
Everything? If I had to pick…I’d like to learn more about using spices and herbs.
Still working to master my slow-cooker – especially when making things like beef short ribs, which always end up a little too oily!
I’d love to learn how to make homemade tortillas and pastas!
i would like to learn more about sous vide
Would like to learn how to work with a candy thermometer to make toffees and the like for Christmas !
I would love to learn how to properly cook a steak.
Looks good! I’d like to learn more about making bread. Whenever I make bread I always seem to have to add a lot more flour than what the recipe called for.
I’d love to learn how to cook with pork. As a student, I tend to cook more vegetarian food since meats take more planning, but am looking to learn to cook a variety of proteins.
Thanks for this giveaway! I love the test kitchen series.
I want to learn how to bake better. Stupid exact sciences!!
Melding spices with appropriate and interesting other ingredients.
Cooking curries are a labor of love but soooo worth it, I could eat em’ all day long :)
I’d like to learn more about dough making. How much kneading, rises, etc. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t like relying on luck and I hate being tied to a recipe. Especially since baking is more scientific and can be affected by things like humidity, altitude, barometric pressure, slight differences in ingredients, etc. I’d like to be able to develop a “feel” for it so that when I’m following a recipe, I know how much kneading to do when it says to knead, and what adjustments, if any, I should make, etc.
I’d like to learn how to make croissants.
Ooh! I love watching the show on TV, but I’ve never paged through/bought one of their books before. I don’t know if it’s a technique issue or what, but I fail at making biscuits every single time. :-( It doesn’t matter how big and fluffy they come out for everyone else, mine are always hockey pucks. Those and pie crusts are my two guaranteed to fail foods. Thanks for the chance to win!
Despite my rather solid baking efforts, I somehow still manage to utterly fail at icing cupcakes. I blame my complete lack of artistic skill (and patience). I’m not going to be satisfied until I learn how to make at least a passably good-looking iced cupcake. :)
I would love to learn how to make a good paella!
Better vegetarian. Mine always seems bland – I will start with the curry.
Your Greek Spinach Quesadillas won our hearts! Thanks for the fab recipe. I’d like to learn how to wrap egg rolls so that they are full and don’t fall apart.
I’d love to learn the proper techniques for making sauces, seems to simple but I’m always somehow “winging it”. A proper Alfredo is on my list!
I’d love to be better at grilling, for that I typically rely on my family!
Dough’s are my weakness. They always turn out meh and not worth the time I spent on them.
I can’t make a decent gratin. I fall for the gooey-perfectly-balanced pics every time.
I would love to learn how to become a better working with pastry.
Some better sauce techniques!
i’d be interested to learn their take on any and all baking techniques!
I would love to be able to make the 5 mother sauces…every time.
In the coming year I am hoping to learn to make tortillas and curries.
Honestly, I have terrible knife skills. I’d love to spend some time improving those.
I would love to learn better knife skills- and some basics that my kids need to know so they can start dinner!
I would love to learn more about making dumplings..I hope that counts as a technique :)
I would love to learn more trick on how to cook meat properly and tenderly
Love this version of veg curry and will try it soon! As for learning…most importantly I want to better my knife skills and also learn how to make hollandaise.
This curry looks amazing!! I would love to be able to make gravy that is consistent. Sometimes it’s lumpy, sometimes it’s bland. Yuk
how to properly carve a chicken! I can never seem to do it right…
I’d love to learn how to make a tomato based sauce with depth, mine always seems to be missing something.
I’d like to take on pastries.
I would like to learn how to make a good pie crust
I like awesome cook books!!
I would love to learn more about Indian food, so this recipe is a great start!
I would like to learn how to cook Thai and Chinese food better. I do not have very much experience in these two food groups, but I really enjoy eating both of them.
I’d really like to learn how to poach an egg perfectly. I know this is supposed to be a really easy thing to do, and I’ve managed to poach eggs before, but I don’t feel like I’ve actually ever done it really WELL. I’d like to perfect this technique so that I feel comfortable cranking some out whenever I have a craving (read: all the time)!
I want to learn how to make Swiss and Italian meringue buttercream–and bagels. Thank you.
I would love to learn how to get yeast to actually work for me. I’ve tried and tried. I have a good thermometer. I have years of watching my grandmother who could get yeast to rise just by looking at it. But, I need help!!
It may not be a cooking technique, but I’d like to get good at inventing my own salad recipes.
I’d love to learn good frying techniques!
Would love to learn better bread techniques!
Braising! No matter what I try to do, I end up with dry, tough, over cooked meat.
I would like to improve my choux pastry. Curry looks great!
Would like to learn how to make a good gravy. Thanks for the giveaway.
I love to bake, but frostings often escape me. I’d love to have a foolproof way to do some new ones!
I’d love to learn how to poach an egg. It’s intimidating even watching someone else do it!
I’d love to learn what the heck “sweating” something means, and why the heck I ‘d do it. I also can’t poach eggs to save my damn life. Or flip an omelette. Ok, so now I can tell I’m hopeless?
Yip. This looks like a keeper. I loved your curried roasted cauliflower recipe you shared!
I would want to get better at using my knives
I have had a beautiful tangine for a couple of years and I would love to know how to use it. I keep envisioning all the wonderfully flavored soups and meals from Morocco.
There are so many things I want to learn…techniques for efficiency in the kitchen is something I have been trying to learn on my own but tips are always welcome!
Frosting cakes. I can make a good tasting cake, but not a professional looking one.
Yummm I love curries, I will have to add this to my menu next week! I would love to be able to make a decent homemade hollandaise sauce! Ive finally perfected the poached eggs but cant get the sauce right.
I would like to perfect real authentic Mexican cooking techniques. I have tried chile rellenos, and they were good, but not the same as real Mexican food. Flautas & tamales would be at the top of the list of things I would like to learn the proper technique to cooking.
This looks great!! Not sure if it’s actually a “cooking technique” but would love to bake bread well! Thanks!
I am going to try this curry. Sounds delicious. I would like to learn how to grill lamb chops correctly.
This curry looks like a good one for me to start with. I’ve never tried one, never eaten one, but I love tasting new foods! I want to learn more about herbs and spices, which work together and with what other flavours.
I’m not sure this is a technique but I’d like to learn how to look in my refrigerator and create a meal from whT I find there. Also I’m looking forward to try on this curry dish.
I’d like to learn more veggie based recipes that serve as main dishes.
I would like to get better at making gravy. Thanksgiving isn’t far away, and this would be a great time to become masterful with classic pan sauces. I wonder if that cookbook covers it…
I would like to learn to make gnocchi.
Sauces..I would love to be able to have the knowledge and confidence to create amazing sauces of all kinds!
The cooking technique I’d like to learn is how to make sauces….Béchamel, Hollandaise, Mornay, Soubise, etc.!
I’d like to develop my skills with special pastry – pie crust and laminated doughs.
I need to learn how to grill properly. I know some basics, but there is still room for improvement. Thank you for the giveaway!
I’ve been wanting to make a curry at home – this recipe sounds wonderful! As for cooking techniques, I’d like guidance with knife skills, poaching, and dough work. Oh, and how to evenly cook fish without simply breaking it into pieces! Thank you for the recipe, and the chance to win!
Hey Lynn, congrats! You won the cookbook giveaway! I’ll be in touch. :)
Thank you so very much, wow! This totally makes my day. My future dinner guests thank you!
Id love to learn to make a really good curry. My husband is a huge fan of Indian food.
Oh and actually make my own pie crust for once instead of chickening out and buying store made.
I’d like to be able to make delicious, flaky biscuits properly. Mine always turn out dense and boring :(
I would love to learn how to make a decent pie. Pie crust seems to be totally beyond me!
I am intimated by yeast. Had a bad experience years ago and thought my whole dining room was going to be eaten up by some blob that was spreading all over the dining room table. We were trying to make zappole for a school fair, made the dough and left it on the table until time to cook. What a nightmare… Have never made anything with yeast again. Would love to learn how make some nice breads.
I would like to learn the correct way to do braising,
Better knife skills, always valuable and proper knife steel usage.
I would love to learn to make croissants, and pie crust. AND I also need to learn to cook meat! I was vegetarian for years in my 20’s, so I never learned to actually cook chicken or beef :)
I would like to be more comfortable and learn more about grilling thick cuts of meat.
Don’t know if it’s covered in the book, but I would love to learn how to make pasta from scratch. We’ve done it once or twice but could definitely stand to hone our techniques.
I would really like to know how to make a good pie crust–mine always turn out tough!
I’ve tried to make bearnaise sauce twice – both times, it tasted fine, but the texture . . . not so much. I know I’m doing something wrong, but I’ll be darned if I can figure out how to do it right!
I need to learn how to stir fry .
How to make really good bagels that are nice and puffy, NY style. Mine always end up rather flat!
I would love to learn more about poaching meats and such – LOVE cookbooks, there is no such thing as too many at my house!
If I could learn to make the perfect steak…I try but I never seem to get it right.
I’d like to make sauces
I want to know how to make a perfect burger
I’m a dessert lover, but not a great dessert maker. I’d love to learn how to make an easy, yummy, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Thank you!
That curry looks amazing! I know what we are having for dinner tonight! As for learning, I need to learn how to use the broiler properly. I have never been successful with it, and I am tired of avoiding recipes that use one!
I am a basic household cook. But now that the kids are gone I’d like to kick up my cooking skills to make meals more exciting and differant for me and my husband. Curry is one of his favorite spices too, that is what attracted me to the recipe.
Looks great!
I would love to have step by step instruction for making pasta. Seems like it shouldn’t be that hard but I just can’t seem to get it right.
I’d really like to learn some hearty vegetarian recipes, especially Indian food.
I would love to master sauces and gravies!
I have a dough-o-phobia that I’d like to cure – pie crusts, bread, pizza dough, etc.
I would love to learn how to make perfect, fluffy rice every time. Mine always comes out mushy or crunchy or watery.
Now that it’s colder, I’d like to work on braising.
I would like to learn how to get pears to ripen perfectly and how to use them in baked desserts.
I’m a pretty good savory cook but I really need to learn how to make a perfect pie crust.
Gravy. Sheesh, why can’t I ever make a decent gravy?? Tastes good, but lumpy. Smooth, but bland. Too peppery. Too salty. And on and on…
I would love to learn how to stir fry….I have tried several times. part of it is either overcooked or undercooked…so now if just order it to go….
would be nice if I can make it myself and save some money..
I’d love to learn about wok cooking in the home kitchen!
Learning more avenues of cooking with vegetables, bringing healthier dishes to our table. Then there is the fact that I love cookbooks, a book store is like a candy store for me. Thank you for your generous offer of a book for two lucky winners. Good Luck to all and have a great day.
I would love to try curry. I have never had it before. The one thing that I would love to learn and master is pie crusts. I would love to be able to make one that is flaky and flavorful.
I want to perfect roux’s! Lack of patience makes me burn them.
And I love curries of any kind, preferably the hotter the better.
Love Curry!
for some reason if a recipe calls for cutting butter into flour i immediately click the X or turn the page. i don’t know why i have such a fear of this! yeast-no problem. creaming butter and sugar-no problem. i’d like to learn how to not fear cutting butter into flour. it just seems like it cant work!
I’d really like to learn more sauces! In particular I am interested in reductions and glaces.
Also, YUM this curry looks amazing! I’m a HUGE fan of all curries. :)
I love love love the whole ATK family. Their recipes are always great, you should try the chicken fajitas with poblano and onions Yum! I would love to learn once and for all how to make whipped cream, I have made every level from watery to making butter, I need help!
Awesome! Your curry looks wonderful.
The curry looks amazing. I’d like to get over my fear of the pressure cooker.
Sissy and I watched a demo about enpapillote cooking…I even bought parchment paper…and now I am too chicken to try. Heah, steamed chicken! yummm.
I’d love to learn more about braising techniques
Most Asian cooking techniques elude me…stir fry, dumplings etc. Thanks for the chance to win!
I would like to learn proper knife techniques, not my way of doing it:)
Indian curries are my absolute favorite! I love trying new recipes, but they are often so time consuming and still never turn out quite the same. I would love to learn more tips like you showed us here–toasting the spices, cooking the veg in batches…I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hey Jamie, congrats! You won the cookbook giveaway! I’ll be in touch. :)
I can’t wait to make this curry recipe! I want to learn how to make Paneer.
This curry recipe seems like almost a complete meal by itself.I would like to know the easiest way to take a regular yeast bread recipe and convert it to bread machine.This would be easier for me because I have arthritis in my thumb joint and find it very painful to knead dough by hand. I don’t have a mixer with a dough hook or else I would try that.
I would like to win the cookbook and try the Curry Recipe along with other recipes.
I would love to learn if there is an easy way to make homemade pasta.
a risotto!
I’ve been cooking for years and year…I’m grandmother to 3 grandsons! But they say you CAN teach an old dog new tricks, so I’d love this book. I feel the same way you do about America’s Test Kitchen (I even gave my eldest grandson their Science of Cooking book.), so anything new I can glean from this book will be wonderful for me and for my family. Thanks for giving the books away! :)
I need to learn how to cook meat (steak/pork chops/lamb) without a outside/inside grill.
I know how to cook leather and dry meat without help after many years.
I’m now ready to learn the right way while I still have a few teeth left
BTW, the Curry Veggie looks awsome.
Thanks
I’d love to learn how to make a good roux! Mine never turn out well…
I would like to learn how to cook many more Asian foods, as I Love them!! Asian foods are one thing which I am trying to master and I keep having some issues with!!
My foods are ok, but I need some help with them!!! :-)
I’m not sure which cooking technique I’d want to learn. (I just learned knife skills and wow, what a difference!) I’d like to learn how to properly steam dumplings and make pho.
I love curries. Especially veggie ones. Have you tried making your own paneer? Super with spinach and fenugreek seeds. I would like to learn how to make risotto. My rice never seems to soften up enough.
Here ya go Pat. :)
https://www.macheesmo.com/2012/08/saag-paneer/
Your vegetable curry dish sounds yummy! I would like to learn proper knife skills as well as better baking skills. Especially breads.
This is pretty lame but I really want to learn how to make pancakes and biscuits! I LOVE both but can’t make either one worth a darn!
Lemon filling from scratch for pies
I would like to learn how to make meat (steak, roast, chicken) well done but not dry.
That looks amazing! I would love to learn how to use a pressure cooker.
I made this recipe for the first time a few years ago when it appeared in Cooks Illustrated. It has become my stand-by – hands down the best curry recipe I’ve found, and very easy to make. And yes, toasting the spices fills your kitchen with an amazing, exotic perfume. Really wonderful.
How to make proper dough in any or all of its many forms. I keep trying and trying and trying and I can never, EVER seem to get my dough to rise or behave in any way that recipes suggest that they should. *sad trombone*
I am an Indonesian. I have been learning to cook and to bake since I moved to America a year ago. I have seen many processed food in the store that really surprised me, but I prefer to make everything by myself, so I really need to learn a lot more how to cook in western way since I wasn’t used to grill or to bake (I got to admit, the food from my country mostly deep fried) and I would like to learn how to make Indonesian dish by cooking it in western way. By the way in my country we call “curry” as “kare” :), and I always love it.
my baking skills need improvement
I’d like to learn to cook with a tagine
I’d love to be able to do a great stirfry.
I want to learn how to make a really good, restaurant style Naan. I could eat naan all day long. Also garlic naan or cheese naan or spinach naan. So yummy!
I love curry and so does my toddler! I learned to bake at sea level but now I live in the mountains, so I need to learn high-altitude baking techniques.
A great and cheap high-altitude baking book is “The High Plains Sifter: Retro-Modern Baking for Every Altitude”. Over 325 recipes with a photo of each one.
I would like to learn how to bake cakes and cookies using recipes that I have made up. It is nice to have someone else give a recipe but to be able to sit and think what type of cake and the right ingredients and right amount of ingredients to use would be divine!
would love to learn to make tortillas. the corn ones we can get at our local store aren’t very good.
I’d love to perfect roasting big pieces of meat!
My mom has an amazing lemon meringue pie recipe that I’d love to re-create. However, my pie crust skills are really lacking, so would love some pie-crust confidence!
Pasta and homemade noodles. My grandmother made awesome noodles but I have never gotten the hang of it.
Have thoroughly read your review about the book (and your curry looks yum!), as a fan of ATK, the book is very interesting. If the book became mine, I’m gonna flip to the roasting section first. I’d like to learn how to make perfect roast beef, one with moist and beautiful pink inside. Thank you for reviewing a nice book for us all. Please keep working Nick :)
Baking! I would love to perfect my pizza doughs and flatbreads!
Grinding meats
I’d love to learn proper knife skills, mine are pretty sad.
This looks delicious! I’d like to learn sous-vide techniques.
I would love to learn more about making various sauces.
I just receive a food processor for my birthday. What can I do with it?
I must try this!
eggs! so simple but for the life of me i can’t fry an egg properly.
Thank you for posting this. I do want to learn how to make curries! I also want to be able to make some basic well-spiced chicken soups.
I usr curry I fail. I only hope I can do this
How about risotto
I’d live to win the cookbook! ATK rocks!
I would love to learn how to make homemade vinaigrette. The emulsion technique on cooking tutorials seems like it should be easy, but it’s not!
Also, I ate a full spaghetti bolognese for dinner and the site of the curry on this page has me salivating! Looks delish!
I’ll echo someone’s comment above about making good hash. I would also like to make a killer chorizo (many dishes could flow from that). I would also like to introduce my family to curries.
I’d like to learn how to make casserole dishes without a recipe, while maintaining a good level of moisture.
Chopping an onion like the pros… Leeping it all together until the last cust when it falls into a perfect dice.
Definitely about the science of making the perfect dinner roll. Also caramel making too.
I rarely look to any other source besides America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country. Christopher Kimball and his staff have perfected just about every recipe there is. We’ve never been disappointed! I use the app all the time, but would love a cookbook!
Dude. Nick, this was delicious. We made it a few weeks ago, and it’s the best curry that we have ever made at home.
Awesome Laura! Glad it worked out for you!
I’ve just found your website
And because you use Americas test kitchen cook books
I will read your blogs
Believe me there recipes are fantastic..xx
Great post! Thank you for sharing your experience with us!