Jamaican curry with Jerk Seasoning

On our recent trip to Jamaica, got to enjoy Jamaican food which was so full of flavor. Most of the vegetarian dishes we tried were cooked in coconut milk, curry powder or jerk seasoning. Jerk seasoning was new to us.  It is a mix of the spices consisting of  Jamaican pimento, Onion Chips, Garlic, Paprika, Ginger, Celery, Mustard, Crushed Pepper, Salt, and Sugar. In one of the restaurants they served this spice mix soaked in oil as an additional flavoring for the curry. It was super spicy but very tasty.  The Chef in the restaurant was super nice and very willing told about this spice and how to use it.  This seasoning is mostly used as a marinade for meat, tofu or can use it as a flavoring for vegetable curries. When returning home from Jamaica we bought some of the spices from there.
I adapted the recipe from here, and recreated one of the curries we had in Jamaica, using less spice. This mild version of the curry still left some heat from the spice in the mouth after every bite. It did bring back memories of Jamaica 🙂

Ingredients

oil 6 tsp
onions 1/2 diced
jerk seasoning 1 tsp
dried thyme 1/2 tsp
cherry tomato 10 – 12, cut in half
apple cider vinegar 1 tsp
sugar 1 tsp
water 2 cups
red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
low fat coconut milk 1/2 can
sweet potato 4, peeled and cut into chunks
brinjal 1, cut into chunks
zucchini 1, cut into chunks
colored baby bell peppers 6, cut into chunks
cooked black eyed beans 1 cup
salt to taste

to grind
red chilli 1
jerk seasoning 2 tsp
ginger 1 inch, roughly chopped
small bunch coriander leaves with stalks
onion 1/2 roughly chopped

Method

Heat oil in a pan and add the diced onions, cook till they soften.
Grind the roughly chopped onion, ginger, coriander stalks, red chili and 2 tsp of jerk seasoning in a blender without adding water.
Add the paste to the softened onion and fry until fragrant.
Stir in the dried thyme, chopped tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and 1 cup water.
Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 mins.
Add the sweet potatoes, brinjal, zucchini, red chili powder and coconut milk.
Simmer for another 10 minutes.
Stir in the cooked black eyed beans, colored baby bell peppers, 1 tsp of the seasoning, and 1 cup of water.
Simmer for another 5 mins, add salt and mix well.
Serve this with coconut rice.

Note: coconut rice recipe – Heat coconut oil, add jeera/cumin seeds and let splutter. Add 1 cup rice and fry for 2 mins in the coconut oil. Add 1/2 can of coconut milk, 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and let cook for 10 mins.Ready for serve.

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