Broccoli Stir Fry Curry

About Broccoli Stir Fry Curry

Broccoli is native to Mediterranean region and is fairly a new veggie to the Indian cuisine. So this means we don’t have any Indian broccoli recipes that were passed on to us for generations from our mothers and grandparents. Enthusiastic home cooks like me have learnt to cook it in many innovative ways to suit the Indian palate.

Though you can cook broccoli similar to cauliflower, using broccoli in cauliflower recipes won’t always work. Fresh raw broccoli has a grassy and vegetal flavor. So cooking this with plenty of spices can mute the actual flavor of the veggie.

I often sauté broccoli with curry leaves, garlic, green chili, mustard and cumin seeds, finish it with lemon juice. But overtime my family gets bored with that and my boys always look out for a change. So I needed different ways to cook with this veggie and I am sharing the same in this post.

My first recipe is a broccoli stir fry with potatoes and Indian spices. It is basically a dry side so we usually eat this with rice, rasam or sambar. This also goes well in wraps/kathi rolls. The second recipe is a stir fry curry made with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli and spices. We serve this with rotis. The third recipe is a creamy broccoli dish. It’s inspired from a creamy broccoli mash recipe but my dish does not use cream and is not mashed.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Broccoli: Choose broccoli that looks tight with dark green florets and firm stems. It should have a fresh grassy smell.
• • Potatoes: I love adding potatoes to my broccoli stir fry and my boys love that combo. But they can be replaced with sweet potatoes, green peas, carrots, bell peppers, broccolini, sweet corn or diced pumpkin. I have a broccoli corn carrot stir fry here.
  • Garlic and green chilies: Garlic is used for flavor but you can also use ginger and garlic both or only ginger. Green chilies add heat and flavor to the dish. Indian or Thai green chilies and serrano peppers are some choices. You may omit them or use dried red chilies.
  • Spices: I use cumin seeds but you may omit if you don’t like. All my 3 recipes shared below use garam masala and red chili powder. You may substitute garam masala with a good brand of Indian curry powder. I have a tried and tested curry powder recipe here that I use in this recipe.

  Much like cauliflower, broccoli need prepping up before cooking. If you are new to this veggie, here are 2 ways to clean and prepare it.

1. Rinse the whole broccoli head under cold running water first and then under warm running water. You don’t want to use hot water here else you will end up blanching it. Cut to desired sizes.
2. Cut up to florets and add them to a large bowl of warm water. If you want to bring out any hidden bugs, add 1 parts vinegar to 2 parts warm water. Alternately spray vinegar over the whole broccoli. Rest for 2 to 3 mins and rinse with clean water.

Step by step Instructions

1. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they begin to sizzle add chopped garlic and green chilies.

2. Saute for 30 seconds and add diced potatoes. Fry for a minute. I used half inch cubes here, you may use larger pieces but they take time to cook.