Nepalese Asparagus Stir-Fry

More South-Asian vegetable goodness. As I type this, I am also watching season 2 of "The Office." The dynamic between Dwight and Jim is priceless. Anyhow, I've got alot of work ahead of me so I better get right to this. Not much to say about this recipe. Pretty simple stir-fry but it is quite tasty. From Mangoes & Curry Leaves Culinary Travels Through The Great Subcontinent.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 pounds of asparagus
1 teaspoon mashed or minced ginger
2 teaspoons mashed or minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons of oil
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (Might be hard to find, I'd say that it's okay to leave it out but the dish won't taste quite as exotic. maybe substitute a few pinches of curry powder)
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (might be hard to find)
salt
1/2 cup water

Rinse and drain asparagus. Remove the bottoms if they are dried out. (Ever have fibrous, woody asparagus? I break off the bottoms...I just sorta bend the asparagus until the bottoms naturally break. I figure there'll be an organic break point between the tender part and the tough part. The possibility exists that you might lose some good asparagus but better that than woody, inedible asparagus that you have to spit out.)

Mix the ginger, garlic and ground coriander together.
Heat a wok or skillet on med-high. Add oil and, if using, the fenugreek seeds. Add the onion and cook until softened and a little brown. (This took me a good 8 minutes....if your onions are starting to burn but aren't yet soft, just turn the heat down!) Add the garlic/ginger/coriander paste and stir to distribute. Add the asparagus, turmeric and salt. Briefly stir-fry to mix everything together. Add 1/4 cup of water and bring to a boil. (Recipe called for 1/2 cup but I found that excessive.) Cover the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. (Recipe says 2-3 minutes. 2 minutes was a bit much...I would cook for a minute, taste a piece of asparagus and go from there. Cooking time will, of course, depend on the thickness of the asparagus...mine were quite thin.)

Remove the lid, taste for seasoning and eat!

Time-10 minutes from start to finish.

Food cost-
Asparagus- $3.29
Incidentals- $0.50
Total- $3.79

LOLCat-This one is a classic in the world of LOLCats.