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You are here: Home | All Recipes | Velvety Green Curry with Green Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms

Velvety Green Curry with Green Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms

January 17, 2009


Bill Maher, the intrepid comedian, once said that the reason he loves his dog so much is because when he gets home, his dog is the only one that greets him like he’s the Beatles. As anyone that loves and has a dog knows, he’s not joking.

Every evening, when I get home, I have a huge welcoming party waiting for me. Tails wag furiously, in fact so furiously that I wonder how they don’t fall off! Opie kisses my face a hundred times, his whole body wagging. Lucy plants a quick kiss on my face and then runs in and out between my legs as if she were a train, rubbing against my knees and rolling over on her back for a tummy rub. Old Freddie, almost blind, a little overwhelmed by all the action and in fear of being unintentionally knocked over by the huge Lucy, stands a foot behind anyway and barks for attention, eager to tell me he’s happy too.

Even the cats roll down the stairs and sit at a slight distance, a little disdainful of all this unbridled doggy excitement, but waiting for a chance to wind themselves around my ankles

The whole show is repeated, blow by blow, when Desi gets home. He usually gets in after me, and the moment the excitement over my return has died down, the dogs sit at the front door, waiting for Desi. Opie, who seems to have an implicit belief that I control when daddy gets home, will scratch my leg with his paw and make huge, appealing eyes at me, imploring me to make him come home immediately.

Animals react with such straightforward emotion to almost any situation. But they are not quite simple creatures. There is a lot I have learned from my animals just by being around them every day.

Lucy, for instance, has taught me the importance of trust, and loyalty to those you love. She is fiercely protective about her family. Sure, as the alpha among the dogs, she will bully Opie and Freddie relentlessly around the house. But she will not let any other dog do that. Once, as we were hiking on a trail, Opie crossed a fairly deep trench filled with water, jumping over it in excitement as he chased a squirrel. The excitement over, he wanted to come back and join us, but this time he wasn’t sure how to get back across the trench. Suddenly, a bigger dog appeared from one of the homes backing to the trail, and stood threateningly and territorially in front of Opie who is as peace-loving as they come and never, ever gets into a fight.

Lucy, who had wandered ahead of us, ran back, and planted herself right in between Opie and the other dog, who suddenly didn’t look so big. The other dog retreated, and Lucy helped Opie return to the rest of the family by navigating him through a shallower part of the trench.

From Opie, I’ve learned the importance of enjoying the world, just as it is. He has an indescribable enthusiasm for just about anything, and to him each walk or each ride or each treat is something to be enjoyed with all his heart. He will greet other dogs he meets on walks with a happy playfulness, and he will chase every squirrel he ever sees with gusto even when he has never managed to get close to one, and never will because he’s just too slow.

From Freddie, I’ve learned to stay young at heart. At 16, which is only 80 in dog years, he’s the most spry old man I’ve ever seen. Sure, he has bad days, but he bounces right back up and gets back to life as usual. And he never, ever complains.

From Pie, my black cat, I’ve learned the lesson of persistence. Once Pie sets her mind to something, it’s hard to get her off it, and usually she gets her way. If she’s hungry, she’ll lobby you relentlessly for food or a treat. If she wants her catnip, she won’t leave you alone until she gets it. And with those huge eyes and beautiful face, she knows she is hard to refuse.

From Pubm, my calico cat, I’ve learned the most important lesson of all: to not let fear control me (although, I’ll admit, there are still times when I have to work on it).

When Pubm — along with Pie — was new to our home, she was obviously not used to dogs and fearful of them, which wasn’t helped by the fact that both Opie and Lucy love chasing small and furry things and were unbearably excited to have two new ones right in the house. Pubm endured a lot of chasing in her early days, and was initially very timid, hiding away for hours after an encounter with Opie or Lucy. But she decided, after a while, that she wouldn’t let them keep her from going around and exploring the house as she wanted to do. So she began to fight back, with a few bats of her paw and a well-timed meow. It was remarkable to watch her, because at 12 pounds, she is less than one-seventh of Lucy’s weight. Soon, the dogs got used to her and started leaving her alone. Now, you can often find her sharing a couch with Opie or Lucy, and sometimes even stealing their treats right under their nose. They, in turn, treat her just like one of them.

Okay, now that I’ve waxed on about my kids, let me turn to my recipe for the day, one of my favorites and a fairly easy one to make.

I got the base recipe for this out of World Vegetarian, although I made quite a few changes, and also replaced the cream with a paste of pistachio nuts, which made it much healthier.

This Green Curry with Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms is deliciously smooth and velvety, and it goes beautifully with some rotis or parathas. The spices in it are fairly mild, so it would be a great one to try if you’re sensitive to spicy food.

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy, everyone!

Green Curry with Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 cups shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed and cut into strips (you can use white or even criminis)

3 cups green peas

1 tbsp grated ginger

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup coriander leaves

2 green chillies

2/3 cup pistachio nuts, soaked for a few minutes in warm water, then ground to a paste.

1 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

Place the green chillies, ginger, garlic and coriander leaves in a blender and puree with just enough water to make a smooth paste.

Remove the paste to a bowl.

Place a cup of the green peas in the blender and using enough water, blend into a puree.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the cumin seeds and, when they sputter, add the mushrooms.

Stir the mushrooms in the oil for a minute. Then remove them and set aside.

To the saucepan, add the green-chilli-ginger-garlic paste and saute for two or three minutes.

Add the mushrooms back to the pan along with the 2 cups of green peas, the green-pea puree, and some salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and add the pistachio paste.

Add enough water for a slightly loose but not watery consistency.

Let the curry simmer on low heat about five minutes.

Season with salt to taste.

Serve hot with rotis or chapatis or any flatbread.

(C) All recipes and photographs copyright of Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes.
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Filed Under: All Recipes, Healthy Vegan Recipes, Vegan Curry Recipes

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Comments

  1. Mahimaa's kitchen says

    January 18, 2009 at

    wow looks so velvety. bookmarked to try.. and pistachios in gravy? so different and unique.

    Reply
  2. vidhas says

    January 18, 2009 at

    Green peas with mushrooms sounds great. Your picture is inviting. I have never added pistas in gravy, sounds yum

    Reply
  3. Sharmila says

    January 18, 2009 at

    I know what you are saying … I had a dog once and she was my baby. 🙂
    The curry looks good. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Bex says

    January 18, 2009 at

    Aww your furry family sound wonderful. I love to see animals communicating and taking care of each other like family. I wonder about adopting a friend for our kitty Mac but I’m not sure. He’s so weird about who he considers a friend cat (most are not friends) but he’s so energetic it would be good to have someone around his own size he could play with.

    Reply
  5. Sunshinemom says

    January 18, 2009 at

    Curry looks scrumptious and I know they are tasty reading the way its done!

    Love your animals stories, as always! There is something to learn from each living creature – it is just a matter of ‘have you opened your heart and mind to imbibe what is being transmitted’, and sometimes like you I too find it difficult to practice but being an idealist helps!

    Reply
  6. DJ Karma says

    January 18, 2009 at

    Loved reading about your kiddies! I feel the same way about mine… and the curry I MUST try- I sounded like Yoda just then (haha!) I like the pistachio idea!

    Reply
  7. Priya says

    January 18, 2009 at

    WOw thats looks to creamy, never tried pista while making gravy…no doubt it will be very tasty…

    Reply
  8. Soma says

    January 18, 2009 at

    Loved to read about ur fur friends. I just adore dogs, & really they do make u feel so special.

    Never cooked shitake mushroom, & also a nice twist with pista.

    Reply
  9. Miri says

    January 18, 2009 at

    That was such a beautiful ode to your furry friends – straight from the heart! The gravy looks amazingly smooth!

    Reply
  10. Preety says

    January 18, 2009 at

    the curry looks perfect & yum..

    Reply
  11. Gita's Kitchen says

    January 18, 2009 at

    The curry is very creamy..adding pistachios in the curry is very intresting…

    Reply
  12. Uma says

    January 19, 2009 at

    what a lovely kids you have! enjoyed reading about them Vaishali! A well written post. The curry looks so colorful, rich and delicious. Did I mention so healthy? 🙂

    Reply
  13. Mihl says

    January 19, 2009 at

    Aww, your dogs are adorable!

    I love the bright colour of this dish. The combination of peas, criander leaves, and pistachios sounds so fantastic. I adore your recipes.

    Reply
  14. Rajani says

    January 21, 2009 at

    I loved your post – aaah to be surrounded by doggies and a few kitties – i miss that the most about being away from home. i know what you mean by learning something from each animal – for me my pets have always been an extension of myself – my first dog – she is no more she was the most passionate, loving, understanding and loyal soul! its only recently that I have made peace with her passing on!

    the curry looks yummy, and pistachios in the curry caught my attention too!

    Reply
  15. Anonymous says

    February 7, 2012 at

    My husband is a foodie and a big critique at that too. so finding something that makes his eyes sparkle is a huge success for me. He doesn’t tolerate average tasting food. And i wanted to tell you that when i made this yesterday night(substituted pistachios with almonds) he was dazzled. I thought I won a big prize in form of his raves and to top it off little mess and no clean up. Thanks to you this will be a regular in my kitchen now! Loved the way you describe about your kids~ it makes my childhood memories of my dog come alive 🙂

    Reply
    • Vaishali says

      February 7, 2012 at

      Anon, glad you and you husband liked the curry– thanks for the feedback!

      Reply
  16. kinkywaves says

    January 22, 2016 at

    I made this dish this evening. I am generally not a big fan of peas, but a dish I once had from my mum’s Bengali neighbor made me think to look up a recipe on your website. I ended up adding ground pistachios to the garlic/ ginger/ chili paste and this dish is truly AMAZING. Perfect for the snow storm hitting DC this weekend. Giving thanks for your blog and this deliciousness.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Vaishali!

I cook and eat simple, tasty and nutritious plant-based food in my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. More about me >>

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