When I made this curry, I knew I wanted something warming and though I was excited by my pot of ginger infusion in theory, I wasn’t drinking it, so into the curry it went. Adding herbal infusions to food is a great way to consume herbs besides having them by the glass. Cooking in soups and stews is another type of infusing, but making a separate infusion increases the strength of the herb/spice by letting it steep four to eight hours or longer.
Ginger is an easy one to start with since it can flow between sweet and savory foods and gets better as it sits (with proper refrigeration). Try using your dried culinary herbs and spices in herbal infusions for cooking in the winter when fresh options are less available. Start with a small amount of infusion, one or two cups, to get a sense of potency, and do taste it before adding to what you’re cooking. The general ratio is 1:4, 1 part dried herbs to 4 parts water.
Ginger gets things moving as a circulatory. It can be warming in the winter and cooling in the summer. It increases blood flow to the extremities, warming up cold fingers and toes, arms and legs that could use a shake. Ginger can help relieve winter aches and pains through its anti-inflammatory action. It helps ease menstrual cramps, nausea, and stomach aches. In this recipe it helps the digest the many spices. Note that the drying, heating action of the spices is balanced by cooling, moistening coconut oil and milk to make it optimally digestible and enjoyable for a wider range of palates.
Swap out other vegetables for whatever you have and do cook the denser tougher veggies first, adding more delicate veggies later. Serve with brown rice, or wild rice for extra protein. Add in your protein of choice: beans, tofu, plant-based meat substitutes, chicken, or fish.
One last thing: read the recipe ahead of time for timing cues so the infusion is ready when it’s time to cook.
Serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
4 inches organic ginger root
2 cups water
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 large onion, large diced
1 large bunch kale, rough chopped
1/2 large head of cauliflower, cut into 2-inch chunks
8 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced, stems chopped
1 cup green beans, trimmed, cut in half
10 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped to a rough mince
2 tablespoons dulse seaweed flakes
2 cans coconut milk
2 tablespoons vindaloo spice blend
1 tablespoon rogan josh spice blend
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
1 teaspoon fine salt
Ground black pepper to taste
Protein of choice (for example: 1 pound cod or fish, or 1 package tofu, cubed)
Procedure:
1. Eight hours ahead or the day before: make ginger infusion:
Slice four inches washed organic ginger root into 1/2 thick pieces. Cover with 2 cups water, bring to boil, turn down to a simmer. Let simmer 15 minutes. Cover and let steep. When it’s at room temperature, move to refrigerated storage. After steeping, pour off 1 1/2 cups ginger tea for the curry. Add more water to the ginger root and repeat the process to make more tea to drink at leisure.
2. Preheat oven to 425F. Wash, cut and prepare all vegetables.
3. In a large roasting pan or other deep pan, approximately 10 x 14 inches, add coconut oil, prepared onion, mushroom, cauliflower, and kale. Stir to mix. Bake for an hour in the middle of the oven.
4. Remove pan from oven, turn oven down to 350F.
5. Stir veg in the pan, then add green beans, garlic, dulse, spices, salt and pepper. Stir to mix.
6. Add coconut milk, ginger infusion, and protein.
7. Bake for 45 minutes, giving enough time for protein to cook thoroughly and flavors to meld.
8. Adjust salt to taste.
9. Serve over brown or wild rice.
