Vegetable Curry with Punjabi Wadi

Tonight my husband wanted to cook and he decided to make a vegetable curry. He remembered that we had bought some Punjabi Wadi (see top picture) on our last trip to the Indian grocery store. We don't get there often as there aren't any here in Maine so whenever we visit our friends in New York (Dantu & Gowri), we stock up. Punjabi Wadi is a lentil & spice blend. It's hard as rocks, so you have to literally smash it up. I could hear Anand pounding the spice into bits-his weapon of choice?? A rolling pin! He placed the wadi in a ziploc bag and used the rolling pin to smash it up. The curry came out really nice! It was very tasty-lots of complex flavors-but not too spicy.

Ingredients/Directions:

Saute the crushed pieces of one or two wadi in olive oil until aromatic-set aside. Heat approximately 1 T of olive oil in saute pan. When oil is hot, add 1 tsp. mustard seed. When crackling, add 1 tsp. cumin seeds, curry leaves, 1 tsp. fenugreek leaves, and 2 or 3 whole red chilis. Add minced gingerroot, 1 diced onion, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 Cup frozen mixed vegetables, 3 chopped potatoes, 2 Cups Broth, 2 Cans Garbanzo Beans, and previously fried Wadi. Simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes. At the last 5 minutes of simmering, add 2 diced tomatillos and garnish with 2 T chopped cilantro.

Serve over Basmati Rice. Yum!