- Prep-time: / Ready In:
- Makes 6 cups
- Serving size: 1 cup
- Print/save recipe
In Indian cuisine, a curry is any sauce that uses a combination of spices and aromatics to create a variety of flavors. This simple curry leans on fresh aromatics for its flavor, no curry powder required—but if you’re a big fan of curry powder, feel free to add a little to give the dish some South Indian flavor. Perfect for when you want a quick and satisfying lunch or dinner, this 30-minute vegan recipe is also a foolproof way to try millet—an incredibly versatile but sometimes tricky-to-cook grain. The leek, asparagus, and millet mix sits in a deliciously flavored puddle of date-sweetened coconut milk. Serve this in a bowl, as you don’t want to miss out on the broth
Ingredients
- ¾ cup millet
- 1 cup finely chopped leek (white and light green parts)
- 4 to 5 bay leaves
- 1½ tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed & cut into 1-inch pieces (2 cups)
- 1 15-oz. can unsweetened light coconut milk
- 1 pitted whole date, finely chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lime juice + more to taste
- Sea salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a small saucepan bring 2½ cups of water to boiling. Stir in millet. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. (Not all of the water will not be absorbed.) Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet combine leek, bay leaves, ginger, garlic, and ½ cup water. Cook over medium 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add asparagus; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until water is evaporated and asparagus is crisp-tender.
- Stir millet, coconut milk, date, and pepper into asparagus mixture. Bring to boiling over medium-high; remove from heat. Remove and discard bay leaves. Stir in lime juice. Season with salt and, if desired, additional lime juice. Top servings with cilantro.
Per serving (1 cup): 71 calories, 12 g carbohydrates, 2.9 g protein, 1.8 g total fat, 1.4 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 106 mg sodium, 2.3 g fiber, 2.9 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
Comments (16)
(4 from 10 votes)I have to laugh at some of the ridiculous comments! If you READ through the post you will understand the "curry" description. Ugh! Come on people! 🤦 This was a fairly good recipe with a few tweaks and some things I will do differently next time. First I did 2 cups of water for the millet just to be on the safe side. Next time however, I will do the full amount because if you let it sit for the 10 minutes the recipes calls for, the millet absorbs a lot of the water. Second, I added a tablespoon of my favorite curry powder ( I love curry), next time I will add a little more. Also, I didn't have asparagus so I used fresh broccoli cut in small bite sized pieces and some mushrooms. Finally, I added the lime juice, even though I don't usually like a lot of lime juice in my food. I wish I had trusted my gut and not added it....it totally threw off the little bit of sweetness the date was supposed to add to this dish. In my opinion, a good curry has a balance of sweetness but the lime juice just obliterated it. So, next time I will do lime wedges on the side and possibly another date. All in all a good recipe!
This is our new favorite meal! The whole family loves it, including a 7-year-old. We've made it with millet as well as quinoa. The flavor of the broth is incredible; amazing what a little garlic and fresh ginger will do. I also think the date is key, adds just a touch of sweetness. And the lime! We always use more lime juice - makes the flavors pop.
I'm a millet fan! I followed the recipe (didn't add salt) and thought it was great.
Where’s the curry? I have the FOK app and came here to the website thinking they left the ingredient off on the app. 🤔
Curry is the name for a sauce or stew. McCormick’s curry powder just mimicks an Indian curry dish by blending a variety of Indian spices… there are many, many curry dishes & an authentic one doesn’t contain McCormick’s spice blend ;-)
Goodness gracious, pet peeve of mine, you can't call it a 30 minute recipe if all of the prep is considered done in the ingredients. Hate. That. So. Much. Also, whoever wrote this recipe doesn't know how to cook millet. Too much water, too little time. As other reviewers have said, it didn't come out looking like the picture - it was far more soupy in texture. All of that said, everyone enjoyed the flavors. Who wouldn't? It's coconut, ginger and garlic.
Subbed asparagus (not in season) with courgette and mushroom. Very very bland and squishy; felt like a dish for invalids. We chucked on some chilli flakes which helped. But I'll do something else with the rest of my bag of millet.
Bland, soupy and there is no curry?
This came out very soupy for me. I added some more cooked millet to absorb some of the liquid. It was good, and I will make it again, but I will cut back on the amount of water with which the millet is cooked, and on the amount of coconut milk.
Yummmm! I had to use broccoli instead of asparagus- but otherwise I prepared it exactly as written and it was well received by everyone including kids.
Tasty, easy to make meal. I enjoyed it. Thanks for supplying the recipe!
Umm, how do we call this a curry without any curry?
Curry is the Indian name for a sauce or stew. McCormick’s curry powder just mimicks an Indian curry dish by blending a variety of Indian spices… there are many, many curry dishes & an authentic one doesn’t contain McCormick’s spice blend ;-)
Coconut curry without the curry?
Curry is the Indian name for a sauce or stew. McCormick’s curry powder just mimicks an Indian curry dish by blending a variety of Indian spices… there are many, many curry dishes & an authentic one doesn’t contain McCormick’s spice blend ;-)
Simple and tasty. It’s comfort food without feeling overly full afterwards. I tried because I’m avoiding nighshades while also vegan gf without refined carbs - not easy to find so I really appreciate! Thank you