Panaeng veggie curry

A delicious, warming curry for a drizzly winter evening: use your favourite vegetables if the ones below don't appeal, and serve with a mound of fluffy white rice. Perfect!

Recipe

1 tsp oil
1 small onion, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced lemongrass
1 tsp minced galangal
2 tsp minced red chillies or sambal olek
1 tsp shrimp paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground blade mace (optional)
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp palm or brown sugar
2 tbsp tamarind paste or puree
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 cups mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 medium beets, cooked and sliced
1 cup oil tofu (deep fried tofu), cut into bite sized pieces

Heat the oil in a large pan, and add the onion and cook a couple of minutes, until it starts to go translucent. Add the garlic, lemongrass, galangal, chillies, shrimp paste, ground spices and peanut butter. Cook a minute or two more, until fragrant. Add a small splash of water if the spices appear to be in danger of catching.

Add the carrots and mushrooms, cook another minute or two, and add the coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, tamarind, lime leaves, and a little water. Simmer several minutes  (maybe 5-8, depending on thickness) until the carrots are mostly done. Add the beets and tofu, and simmer 2-3 minutes more, until the vegetables are done and the sauce is reduced and thick (Panaeng should be quite a dry curry).

Serves: 2-3
Preparation and cooking time: 15-20 minutes