If I had to choose my last ever meal, it would always be a curry. My foolproof curry recipe is easy, quick and always creates such a delicious creamy sauce. You can switch up the vegetables used with whatever you have, or add some extra in. If you want to replicate chicken, add cubed tofu straight in when adding the tomatoes, or add a vegan chicken substitute. If you prefer richer and tomato-based curry sauces, you can also leave out the coconut milk and add more water or vegetable stock. If you don’t normally make curries from scratch these ingredients may seem overwhelming, but once you have all the spices you can use them for so many meals! I hope you enjoy!

Recipe

45 minutes – 1 hour
Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 tsp coconut oil/splash of water if oil-free
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 6 cardamom pods, split with knife
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 1tsp ground turmeric
• 1tsp ground cumin
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 1-2 tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 courgette, sliced into half moons
• 1 tin coconut milk
• 4 sweet potatoes, cubed
• 4 regular white potatoes, cubed
• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
• A large handful of spinach/kale
• 400g brown (basmatti) rice.
• Coriander, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Line a roasting tin with baking paper, or drizzle some oil. Place the potatoes in the roasting tin and sprinkle over some of the garam masala and turmeric, along with salt and pepper. Toss with your hands until it’s evenly coated, and place into oven for 30-40 mins until soft.
2. Cook the rice – I always pour boiling water from a kettle to an inch above the level of rice in a large saucepan, and cover with the lid and simmer for 25 minutes (or to packet instructions) and all the water will have absorbed.
3. Meanwhile, place the coconut oil in a large saucepan and wait for it to melt. Add the mustard seeds and split cardamom pods and let them sit undisturbed until they sizzle. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and saute until everything has softened.
4. Add spices with salt and pepper, and briefly mix into a paste-like consistency – you may need to give it a splash of water to loosen it.
5. Add the tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, courgette cauliflower and coconut milk.
6. Once you can poke a knife through the cauliflower, add the baked potatoes into the curry and stir. Add a large handful of spinach or kale and stir until wilted.
7. Serve with the rice, and garnish with coriander leaves.

Sides?

Unfortunately, most bought naan breads are not vegan because they contain milk or yoghurt, but I have seen vegan naans available in Co-op, Morrisons and Tesco has a Free From vegan garlic and coriander naan.

Alternatively, why not make your own? I used the recipe linked below, and it worked perfectly. I folded in a crushed garlic clove and a large handful of fresh chopped coriander to make garlic and coriander flavour naans – yum, and perfect with mango chutney!

Naan Recipe