Curry Vegetables

When I was growing up in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, our curry vegetables were cooked in coconut milk made from scratch. We’d grab sun-dried coconuts that had fallen from the trees, remove the husks, and crack the nut open. Then we’d grate the pulp with a hole-punched piece of metal, mixing with water, squeezing, and straining it to make coconut milk. These days, I rely on the canned stuff (Native Forest for aroma and consistency and Trader Joe’s for its concentrated coconut flavor) to make this Caribbean-style curry with a mix of vegetables: zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, okra, mushrooms. It’s got a brilliant yellow hue from grated fresh turmeric (or ground turmeric in a pinch), an assertive curry flavor (look for Chief or Lalah's brands), and a little heat. But if the music is playing a bit too loud and you want to turn it down, that’s what coconut milk does. It balances out sharp, intense, or spicy flavors. —Rawlston Williams