Brussel Sprouts Curry

There are very few vegetables I don’t particularly enjoy eating, and they generally tend to be curries made with cabbage or brussel sprouts. I guess it is perhaps because sometimes they are over cooked to make them tender, which in turn makes them bland. We once had this conversation with my sister in-law and I about how our mothers tend to over cook certain vegetables and even foods like pasta and noodles just to make sure that we don’t eat food that is half cooked or raw. By over cooking you loose out on the taste, nutrients and texture of the food, however, if cooked properly and with a good blend of spices, then even these foods are bearable 😉

Wikipedia has this about brussel sprouts:- Whatever cooking method is employed, care must be taken not to overcook. Overcooking releases the sulphur smelling glucosinolate, sinigrin. This is the reason many people profess to dislike Brussels sprouts; only ever having tried them overcooked with the accompanying sulfuric taste and smell. Generally 6–7 minutes boiled or steamed is enough to cook, without overcooking and releasing the sinigrin.

So I guess the key is to cook it like as if stir frying, i.e. fast cooked food to ensure that the nutrients remain as well as the taste 🙂

There are many inventive ways of making curries out of brussel sprouts and spicing up this vegetable a little; this is just one suggestion. Another alternative is rather then cooking with tomatoes is to cook it like a stir fry  with some ginger and garlic and the normal spices and just before serving, squeezing some lemon juice.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 10 mins          Cooking time: 15 mins          Serves: 2

15o g Brussels Sprouts with the ends trimmed and the ends removed

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1/4 tsp each of mustard seeds (rai) & cumin seeds (jeeru)

1/8 tsp asoefatida (hing)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder (hurdur)

1 tsp chilli powder, salt and cumin & coriander powder (dhana jeeru)

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp of bharelu shaak masala

Method

1) In a medium heavy based pan on a medium heat, heat the oil. Once it is heated after a few seconds add the mustard seeds (rai), cumin seeds (jeeru) and asoefatida (hing).

2) Once they start to pop add the brussel sprouts and the remaining ingredients apart from the bharelu shaak masala if using, and cover and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Check to see if the brussel sprouts are cooked, they should still be slightly firm. If using the masala then add it at this point and cook for a further 5 minutes. Once done you can switch off the stove and you are ready to serve, if not then cook for a further few minutes until done.