Vegetable curry | Diabetes meal recipe

Whoever said healthy meals are boring has clearly never tried this vegetarian Indian curry recipe. Whether you’re vegetarian for life or just looking to get more veggies in your weekly meal plan, this diabetes recipe for hearty, meat-free curry strikes the perfect balance between nutrition and flavor.

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way: this meal is packed with veggies, veggies, veggies! You’ll get tons of flavor from ingredients like onion, garlic and red pepper, but the real surprise is just how filling this dish is. Pumpkin, cauliflower, chickpeas and potatoes give you a good amount of fiber so you’ll stay full for hours to come.

While our vegetable curry is a filling dish when eaten on its own, it’s traditionally served over basmati rice. If your diabetes senses are tingling, don’t worry — basmati rice is considered one of the most diabetes-friendly rices out there! It’s a medium- to low-glycemic food that releases its energy slowly, so you don’t need to worry about a spike in blood sugar.

Keep in mind that dishes like this vegetable curry are most flavorful when you use fresh spices. Before you head to the grocery store, poke around in your spice cabinet. If your ground spices have been sitting around for more than a couple years, consider replacing them to get the most flavor out of this dish!

• 1 tsp canola or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 ½ tbsp crushed ginger
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp curry powder
• ¼ tsp crushed chili, optional
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup water
• 1 large potato, cubed, skin remaining
• 2 cup pumpkin, cubed
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 ¾ cup can chickpeas, drained
• 1 14 ½ oz can tomatoes, drained
• 1 red pepper, thickly sliced
• 4 baby zucchini, thickly sliced
• 30 oz fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)

• 1 tsp “light” margarine
• ½ vegetable bouillon cube, dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup low-fat evaporated milk
• 4 tsp flour

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft.
2. Add spices and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add water, potato, pumpkin, cauliflower, tomatoes and chickpeas.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the red pepper and baby zucchini and simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the creamy sauce.
7. Melt the margarine in a small saucepan. When hot, add the stock, water and milk.
8. In a glass bowl, mix the flour to a smooth paste with 3 tbsp water.
9. When the milk mixture is hot, pour half of it onto the flour paste and stir well.
10. Pour the combined flour and milk back into the saucepan with the other half of the milk mixture and bring to a boil while stirring. Cook until thick and creamy.
11. Add the sauce to the curried vegetables. Add the fresh coriander (cilantro) and mix gently.
12. Serve over basmati rice.

This dish can be made up to 3 days in advance and served cold as a “salad.” Perfect for a quick lunch.

Recipe and picture taken from the low GI, low fat recipe book by registered dietitians Gabi Steenkamp and Liesbet Delport, Eating for Sustained Energy 1 (Tafelberg).