Vegetable Tempeh Curry.

Last night we watched Darjeeling Limited, again. The colorful images gave me the travel bug. So tonight our cuisine attempted a trip to India. It turned out very good, but I would have made something incredibly different had we invited a true world traveler to dinner.
Anyway, here it is:

Vegetable Tempeh Curry:
*1/2 package tempeh, cut into 1 inch cubes
*2 Tbsp butter or olive oil
*1 small to medium sweet onion, cut into half moons
*2 celery stalks, cut diagonally
*1 carrot, cut on the diagonal
*2-3 small gold potatoes, cut into semi-thin wedges
*3-4 cloves garlic, minced
*1 1/2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated
*4 large button mushrooms, quartered
*1 cup frozen or wilted fresh spinach
*1/4 cup frozen peas
*1/4 cup golden raisins
*1 1/2 cups coconut milk
*2 Tbsp Indian curry powder (Frontier makes a good one)
*4 cardamom pods
*2 bay leaves
*1 tsp sea salt
*1/2 tsp ground pepper
*3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
*1 lime, cut into wedges

In a large skillet, heat butter to medium temperature. Add onion, celery, carrot and potatoes. Saute for 5 minutes stirring often. Add garlic and mushrooms. Continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Add coconut milk, curry, cardamom, bay leaves, ginger, salt and pepper. Simmer until all veggies are tender about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tempeh and raisins. Cook for a few minutes before adding spinach and peas. Cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Add cilantro. Serve over brown rice. Squeeze lime over top. *You can serve with a side of whole plain yogurt.

Happy Travels!