Comments on: How Low Can You Go? Potato-Peanut Curry

By: Reinder Dijkhuis

Reinder Dijkhuis — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:56:49 +0000

I had it with just the couscous – no extra vegetable. With hindsight, it does need one, either stirred in or as a side. Luckily, I’ve got three servings of th stuff left!

By: Pascale

Pascale — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:35:07 +0000

I love peanut butter with savory items.

For a quick snack, I love putting a bit of peanut butter, two slices of tomatoes, a few leaves of spinach or basil on a piece of bread. It’s pure bliss. Comforting and fresh. :P

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:53:09 +0000

Just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed this recipe. I added cauliflower and green beans to the curry itself to round it out with more vegetables in the one dish.

I enjoy your blog!

By: kate

kate — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:53:28 +0000

I’ve bought sesame seeds in bulk and made my own tahini. It’s delicious. Sometimes store-bought can be a little bitter. I keep the sesame seeds in the freezer.

I agree with adding chickpeas to the recipe. And, you could top it with some fresh cilantro and maybe some yogurt.

By: kristine

kristine — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:36:54 +0000

Had this tonight, with alterations.

It is fine to use crushed tomatoes in lieu of diced. You can also forgo both tahini and tumeric, and instead just use more PB, and hot curry powder to taste.

We added a pound of wilted spinach into the sauce, and canelli beans.

It was great!

By: Marcus Ward

Marcus Ward — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:20:23 +0000

Had this for dinner tonight, it was awesome!

I made tahini by getting roasted sesame seeds, adding 2 tbsp of sesame oil and the seeds in a small food processor and grinding them up. Took a while but saved me a ton of money. Great recipe!

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:34:44 +0000

Easiest, tastiest way to use tahini: Toast 2 pieces bread, drizzle tahini on one and honey on the other, optional banana pieces in between for a delicious sandwich. Better for you than peanut butter!

By: kristine

kristine — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:36:58 +0000

We are making this with the addition of white beans, and a ton of spinach. This will add the protein and greens needed to make it a one-dish meal!

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:41:36 +0000

I find that different batches of cayenne (or any powdered chili pepper) vary a lot in how spicy they are. If there’s a limit to the amount of spiciness you can handle (as for most of us there is), it’s not a good idea to blindly use the amount called for in a recipe like this. Instead, you should gauge the amount to use based on how spicy your particular cayenne is, and how spicy you like your food.

If you do make something that turns out to be too spicy for your tastes, you can fix it by adding a little sugar, stirring it up real well, and sticking it in the fridge for a day or two.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:42:13 +0000

I made a double batch of this last night and loved it. Very spicy and delicious. I put it over couscous and topped it with a dollop of plain yogurt. I think this would be really good with some chick peas and cauliflower also. I may try that next. Definitely a recipe I will make again.

By: Kandace

Kandace — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:50:41 +0000

I made this tonight for dinner and agree with commenter #57 that it was too spicy for my husband. He ate cereal while I had two helpings. Will definitely try it again but cut the cayenne in half.

I also put in a cup of cooked chick peas. Would also be good with some chopped peanuts on the top.
This is a keeper and could have many variations to keep the spice up without the heat intensity.

By: Sarah T

Sarah T — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:39:55 +0000

I see you’ve already learned about homemade hummus, which is dirt cheap if you already have tahini sitting around. You can also make tahini dressing (there are a gajillion recipes available online; I like Epicurious because it has recipe reviews) for green salads.

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:40:01 +0000

This was delicious! I would recommend foregoing the tahini altogether, and adding peanut oil (a staple in our house), rather than vegetable. It came out to a delicious, filling vegetarian meal last night!

By: KK

KK — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:36:37 +0000

We tried this recipe this weekend. It was a huge hit with the kids & I. It’s a bit spicy for my husband so next time I make this I’ll take that into consideration. Great series on frugal cooking.

By: orwell

orwell — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:06:51 +0000

Why don’t you buy sesame seeds and prepare the paste.(instead of using tahini)

By: mellen

mellen — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:02:03 +0000

Johanna, thanks for the tip, I’ve been wondering how to make homemade hummus creamier.

As for this recipe, I wish I could try it but peanut butter is not good for me :) I do curry with coconut milk usually so maybe next time I make it I’ll try to incorporate some tahini (which I consider a staple) and potato of some sort. I don’t know if “curry” is even the right word for this dish, it’s only got tumeric; I’ll probably do some cumin as well and some white pepper. I like my curry with a little more punch.

Has anyone ever tried to make homemade tahini? I’ve been thinking about it lately especially since I ran out the other day and didn’t have time to run to the store. I’m thinking toast the sesame seeds and use a mortar and pestle to smash them up. If I try it, I’ll let you know how it goes. Oh, and if anyone knows why I can’t get my roasted eggplant to come out right, I’m open to suggestions. It’s too dry to make good baba ganhouj (probably spelled wrong but all you spelling nazis lay off).

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:54:58 +0000

A variation, of sorts, on the hummus recipe: I find that if I first blend together everything but the chickpeas (garlic, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and sometimes some olive oil), and then blend in the chickpeas bit by bit, it comes out creamier.

By: melissa

melissa — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:06:17 +0000

I have to agree on the hummus comment – my husband & I buy one of the HUGE (10#?) cans of garbanzo beans for $3.50 at the Costco Business Center near our home and use it to make the stew Trent posted earlier in this series, as well as batches & batches of hummus (the “recipe” earlier in the comments is exactly how we do it – I prefer extra garlic, tahini & lemon juice). Then I make home-made pitas and we have several meals, plus healthy snacks for an extremely low cost per meal! Especially great for those hot summer nights when no one wants to cook – add some feta and olives and a green salad, and you’ve got a refreshing Mediterranean-style meal that doesn’t require heating up the kitchen; although we will often brush the pitas with olive oil and heat them on the grill.

By: jdmitch

jdmitch — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:01:16 +0000

Ha! I actually tried that recipe this week as well. Picked it up off of http://cookforgood.com/, it’s been there for a while. Coincidentally, after cooking it, I was actually wanting more peanut flavor. We keep tahini on hand for hummus. Next time I make it, I’ll probably sub for PB… or just double the PB.

By: littlepitcher

littlepitcher — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:05:52 +0000

Rather than using tahini for curries and hummus, I purchase the darkest and most flavorful Chinese sesame oil I can find. A small bottle will seldom run over two dollars. If you intend to use the oil for salad dressings, fruit salads, and Oriental cooking, a gallon can may be a better deal for you. Because of its strong flavor, you can use much less of it. If you want the nut-butter texture, throw some sunflower seeds in the blender, and add the sesame oil. Far cheaper.