curry centroamericano

i spent the past week (spring break) in panama, working on a paleontological dig for my class on "cenozoic vertebrates of the neotropics" (see pictures here and here), during which myself and a fellow vegetarian had a difficult time finding suitable things to eat. it wasn't necessarily an issue of panama lacking vegetarian food, our group just never happened to frequent these establishments. i spent the week eating toast for breakfast, cheese doodles (or rather, their panamanian equivalent) and pineapple nectar for lunch, and pasta or some combination of fried starches for dinner, usually in the form of yucca or platanos (fried plantains). while this was a fairly cheap way to live, it was by no means healthy or satisfying.

i honestly began to feel like i was getting scurvy.

one night we broke away from the group to check out a few of the vegetarian restaurants along the street by our hotel. we ended up eating at 2 of the 4 that i saw, and both were excellent. the first one, greenhouse, had amazing design and placed an emphasis on recycling and sustainability (basically unheard of in panama). their salads weren't anything to write home about, but they had a wonderful falafel wrap/broccoli soup combo and a refreshing guanabana shake (pronounced waNAHbanah).

the second one, la novena, was closed the first time we walked by, but i'm extremely glad we got to try it. it's completely vegetarian, no meat at all. the entire week all i craved was vegetables, and that's exactly what they served. i ordered the zucchini curry and it was everything i hoped it would be and more. zucchini, potatoes, onions, and corn sauteed in a yellow indian curry sauce.

it was so good, that i replicated the recipe tonight!

zucchini curry a la novena

the original curry wasn't served with rice, but i figured it would be a nice touch. i made my coconut cilantro rice, minus the coconut (so not to overpower the curry). to do this, i substituted more vegetable broth for the coconut milk. as usual, i start the rice before sauteeing and spend most of that time chopping vegetables for the main course.

• one decent sized zucchini, cubed
  
• one medium onion (divided between the rice and the curry), chopped
  
• one can of corn*
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• one medium potato, peeled and cubed
• a teaspoon of minced garlic
• a dash of olive oil
• curry powder, celery salt, crushed pepper, and fresh cilantro leaves, to taste
  

start off with the onion, oil, and garlic over medium heat. boil the cubed potatoes with a little salt to soften them up while everything is heating up. drain the potatoes and add them to the onion mixture, along with the scallions and zucchini. sautee until the zucchini is soft, but solid. then add the corn.

*tonight i used a can of creamed corn because that was all i had, and it worked out fine. the original version used plain old drained yellow corn. play around with both and see what you prefer!

season with the curry powder and other spices and stir. we like our curry make-you-cry hot, so i don't want to misguide you by giving the exact amount i used (plus i don't really follow recipes that way anyway). let warm for a few minutes to develop the flavor of the sauce. serve over rice with fresh cilantro garnish.

ta-da!

<3
k