Here is a recipe I created out of a need to use up the rather large volume of yams we have been receiving from our local CSA. This is a challenge of using only locally-grown produce all winter: the selection is narrow, and one ends up with lots and lots of root vegetables. Luckily, this curry is extremely versatile, and once made it can easily be modified each time it is served, in order to keep things interesting.
The curry is designed to be made with store-bought curry seasoning, whether dry or possibly the Japanese-style curry paste. Procedurally, it is based jointly on the basic curry strategy for making things like butter chicken – by starting with a bunch of well-caramelized onions – and on the Vietnamese curry soup flavor profile, which adds more citrus and coconut. By using such an expansive flavor profile, the resulting curried yam stew is compatible with a wide range of possible adjuncts.
This curry is vegan on its own if you replace the butter with vegetable oil. Those who wish to add meat to the curry are encouraged to do so on a serving-by-serving basis, but of course it would also work to stew appropriate cuts of meat along with everything else. It’s likely any sort of meat would take about twice as long to cook as the yams, so plan accordingly and don’t add the yams right at first.
Additionally, vegetables might be added to this curry according to individual tastes. We found that using canned whole tomatoes provided quite pleasingly large chunks of tomato as a contrast to the yam. If it weren’t the dead of winter, we would want to add okra to this curry. If added during the main cooking process, in leftovers okra would come apart; it could also be sliced and sauteed in a pan before adding curry to the pan to heat it up, allowing the okra to have a nice crunchy texture in contrast to the soft yams.
Other garnishes could include cilantro, toasted pepitas, cashews, sliced almonds, feta, fried paneer, chunks of sausage (yam currywurst), etc.
Makes enough for 8-10 servings
Equipment:
• dutch oven, rondeau or other stew pot
• peeler
• can opener
Ingredients:
4-6 ea onions enough for 5-6 cups sliced
1 Tbsp curry powder divided: 1 + 2 tsp
2 lb yams
28 oz canned whole tomatoes 1 large supermarket can
2-6 clove garlic minced
1-2 Tbsp ginger minced
14 oz coconut milk
Procedure:
1. Place the stew pot over medium heat to warm.
2. Slice the onions.
3. Place the onions into the stew pot with a little cooking oil, butter or ghee, and some salt.
4. Keep a close eye on the onions, possibly at a slightly higher temperature, while they cook and caramelize, until they are a lovely medium-brown color.
5. It may sometimes be necessary to pour a small amount of water into the pan to loosen the fond which sticks to the bottom, so that it can mix with all the onions. Use only water to do this, to avoid scorching.
6. Meanwhile, peel and mince the garlic and ginger.
7. Peel the yams and cut them into sizes appropriate for the stew. We were lucky to have some smallish ones and simply cross-cut them. If your yams are really big, it may be necessary to halve or quarter them lengthwise before cross-cutting.
8. Once the onions are ready, add the garlic-ginger mixture, 1 tsp of the curry powder, and the tomatoes.
9. Place the yams into the stew pot, and let everything come to the simmer.
10. Simmer the stew 1-2 hr, until the yams are desirably soft.
11. Add the last 2 tsp of the curry powder, and allow to simmer 15 minutes more.
12. Stir the coconut milk carefully into the curry.
13. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, Tabasco, vinegars, etc.
14. Serve garnished with cilantro, toasted pepitas or cashews, or cubes of feta.
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