Campfire Curry

About This Recipe

Whenever I am camping with my daughter, our meals are not typical camping fare. First of all, we are both good cooks and love going gourmet style over a campfire. Secondly, my daughter is vegetarian so that means if we have hotdogs, they are plant based. Actually, they are tasty when covered with a good mustard and caramelized onions. After all, anything tastes better cooked over an open flame. The trick to planning a menu for our camping trip is to do as much pre-cooking as I can in the comfort of my home kitchen to then bring to the campsite. For our big Saturday night supper, I created this recipe aptly titled “Campfire Curry”. Full of veggies and warm flavored Indian spices, it was a hardy dish to enjoy over the fire - which was a good thing as it had been pouring rain all day. Luckily, we had set up a canopy over the fire pit and our seating area to be protected from the deluge of rain and to stay dry and to keep the fire burning. I was especially glad that I had pre-prepped a lot of the meal for ease in cooking on site especially under those rainy weather conditions. For another cooking hack, I used store bought jarred sauce for the base of the recipe. I have a special connection with the Patak's brand as it is a family business of a dear friend and all of their products are delicious.

Ingredients & Instructions

4 small potatoes roughly chopped or sliced with skins
1 small zucchini chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes with chilies
2-3 stalks of green onion thinly sliced for garnish
1 small onion finely chopped
½ of bell pepper finely chopped
1 cup peeled and cubed sweet potato
1 cup peeled and chopped turnip
1 cup peeled and chopped butternut squash
1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
½-1 cup chopped green beans
1 cup baby spinach
2 tsp turmeric for parboiling potatoes and sweet potatoes, turnip and squash combination, divided evenly between the two pans
Kosher salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
2 tsp Garam Marsala for seasoning mix
1 tsp red pepper flakes for seasoning mix
1 tsp curry powder for seasoning mix
1 tsp turmeric for seasoning mix
1 jar of Patak's Mango Curry Simmering sauce
2 tbsp butter
⅓ cup chopped peanuts, toasted for garnish

Prepare the seasoning mix. Combine Garam Marsala, red pepper flakes, curry powder, 1 tsp turmeric and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Set aside to be used for roasting veggies.
Put ⅓ cup chopped peanuts in pre-heated skillet and lightly toast for a few minutes. Set aside to cool. (This step was before we left for camping. You can store toasted peanuts in a jar for a few weeks.)
Fill a pan ⅔ full with water, heavily seasoned with salt and add remaining turmeric and potatoes. Bring to a boil on high heat. Parboil the potatoes for 8-10 minutes. Once the outside is soft but the inside is still raw and firm, you're then ready for the second step of roasting. (Parboiling step was done in advance of camping trip.)
Spread parboiled potatoes on an oiled grill rack and liberally sprinkle on seasoning mixture. Place over the fire and roast till crispy and golden. The turmeric adds to the color. (Grill rack was placed on 2 bricks placed on top of the campfire rack to elevate food from the flames for a more even roasting.) Cook 15 minutes, stirring the potatoes to make sure they do not stick.
Repeat same parboiling and roasting steps 3 & 4 with combination of turnip, sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash, all in one pan. (Parboiling step was done in advance of camping trip.)
Add finely chopped onions and peppers to a piece of heavy duty tinfoil. Add a few tablespoons of butter. Firmly wrap up packet and place it on the grate to the side over lower flames. Cook 15 minutes.
Add jar of Mango Curry to iron skillet that has been oiled and preheated on the campfire grate.
Chop up zucchini and add to the skillet along with chopped green beans. Cook 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add all parboiled and roasted vegetables to the sauce. Stir to coat the vegetables.
Remove pre-cooked onions and peppers from tinfoil packet and add to the skillet.
Open can of diced tomatoes and chillies, drain and add to skillet and heat to warm through.
Add baby spinach and cook until just wilted.
Top with green onions and chopped peanuts for garnish.

Tip: This dish, as prepared, is vegetarian. After the meal was cooked, I added chopped up leftover cooked chicken to my bowl for a little protein.