Butternut Squash and Peanut Curry

Packed full of Vegetables

As usual this recipe was a real work in progress until I finally got it to the point where I thought it was well balanced and fairly authentic. I originally wanted a tomato based curry however it just did not work with the peanut butter, and if there was anything I was going to compromise on it was NOT the peanut butter.

Peanut butter is seriously delicious, it took me 2 whole minutes of squirming until I finally snapped the lid back on and hid it back in the cupboard. Not without two spoonfuls rapidly disappearing into my mouth! I rarely buy it because it would never see a slice of bread, it only ever see a spoon (or a finger!) and I’ve certainly never cooked with it before. It added such a beautiful earthy depth which enhanced the sweetness of the butternut squash.

This recipe was inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Butternut Squash Laksa from his 30 Minute Meals cookbook (a firm favourite in my house and I highly recommend it). My recipe is completely different but it came about because as I was eating the Laksa I thought that some peanut butter would be awesome to add some further warmth. I researched recipes which include both butternut squash and peanuts and I decided to keep the coconut milk from Jamies laksa but i added some different varieties of vegetables and use different spicing.

We didn’t serve this with any rice or breads because it is really filling however Scott had some chicken and I had some stirfried baby corn. To be honest it didn’t even need this extra side but I can’t help myself, I’m variety greedy!

Serves 4

Vegan, Gluten Free, vital for Peanut Butter addicts

1 large onion
1 Red Pepper
1 Garlic clove
1 tblspn Fresh Ginger
1 Green Chilli
1/2 Large Butternut Squash
Handful Paleskin Peanuts
1 Courgette
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Paprika
Salt and Pepper
1 tblspn Tomato Purée
2 tblspn Organic Crunchy peanut butter
1 can Light Coconut Milk
6 lumps of Frozen Spinach
Olive oil

Roughly chop the onion, red pepper, butternut squash and courgette. Crush the garlic and finely chop the ginger.

Heat some oil in a large deep frying pan or saucepan on a medium heat and add the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger and chilli. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring often then add the butternut squash, peanuts and courgette and cook gently for 10 minutes, again stirring every few minutes to stop it sticking.

Add the spices, tomato purée and peanut butter and stir to mix it in with the vegetables and then add the coconut milk. Simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes then add the spinach, a splash of water and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Taste for seasoning then serve hot with your choice of sides or by itself!

Red Lentil and Root Vegetable Curry

This curry uses the same ingredients as my Red lentil and root vegetable soup which was posted yesterday, it just has a slightly different cooking method and I have added curry paste and ginger. The idea really was to show that with one big bag of vegetables and some lentils you can make lots of different things, which is great for when your trying to cut back on spending. I have lots of recipes at home for cheap dinners which I recycle week on week but I find that once I’ve planned to cook a few different ones in the same week, the food shop bill is adding up. At least this way there are no left over ingredients because you just divide them up and use in the soup and curry. Also both recipes freeze well!

This time instead of chopping the veg quite small like I did for the soup, I kept it chunky to give the curry a bit more substance and also to help the curry have some structure otherwise it would be too ‘mushy’. Leave the skin on all of your vegetables too! It’s better for you and it saves time/ waste.

The curry has quite a rustic look and taste to it, it’s got the different flavours from the vegetables such as sweetness from the celeriac and sweet potato plus the earthiness from the turnips. You can add any vegetables you like to this dish including cauliflower, potatoes, parsnips, peas and swede. You could also finish it off with some wilted spinach to add another colour.

Serves 4-6 (I portioned it out into 4 but it was quite big portions!)

1 Onion
1 Stick Celery
2 Carrots
1 Turnip
1/2 Sweet potato
1/2 Celeriac (or potato or parsnip)
2 Garlic Cloves
1 piece Ginger (thumb sized)
2 heaped tblspn Curry Paste (see recipe here)
1 Cup/ 160g Red Lentils
1 Can Chopped Tomatoes
400ml Water (plus more if needed)
1 Fresh Red Chilli and Fresh Parsley/ Coriander to garnish

To prepare the veg you need to dice the onion and finely slice the celery. Chop the carrots, turnips, sweet potato all with their skin on to roughly the same size. Peel the celeriac and also chop to the same size. Peel and crush your garlic and peel and finely dice the ginger.

In a large saucepan or frying pan, heat some vegetable oil and then add all of the chopped veg including the garlic and ginger into the pan and saute for 5 minutes stirring frequently until softened. Then add the curry paste and continue to cook whilst stirring for 5 minutes. Make sure all of the veg is coated nicely in the curry paste.

Then add the lentils and canned tomatoes and water.

Turn the heat down to a low/ medium simmer, put a lid on and cook for 40 minutes. (stir every 10 minutes or so and add more water if it looks dry)

Once cooked then check the seasoning and add more salt or pepper to your taste.

Serve garnished with fresh coriander or parsley and a finely sliced red chilli.

There you have it, two meals with one set of ingredients!! To be honest I could probably make a third, for example a stew using some Italian seasonings and dumplings!

Curried Coconut Quinoa with Tofu and Green Beans

This is my Friday Challenge own recipe using pretty much everything I have learnt over the last few weeks. I focused on using the curry leaf powder because this is something I had no experience with. It has quite a strong flavour so I toned it down with some coconut, which also made the quinoa lovely and creamy.

I also loved the technique used in Simon Rimmer’s recipe for ‘Plantain and Mango Curry‘ where he added turmeric to the water when cooking the plantain which turned them bright yellow. I decided to use this technique when cooking my quinoa and it worked beautifully. Adding turmeric doesn’t add much to the flavour but it does add to the colour! Perfect when your after quite a subtle flavour.

And finally the last thing I have used from my past posts is Jamie Oliver’s Korma Curry Paste. I chose the korma curry paste because I had added coconut to the quinoa and so this would create a lovely mild sauce which will compliment the spiced quinoa and fresh green beans.

I think one thing I might possibly change if I was to make this again, is that it’s a very yellow dish! I like a variety of colours on my plate and so maybe some reds and stronger greens by adding fresh chillies and spinach could make this look better!

Serves 4

150g (1 cup) Quinoa
500ml Water
1 tspn Ground Turmeric
2 tspn Curry Leaf Powder
2 tblspn desiccated Coconut or chopped Coconut flakes
Large Bunch Coriander, chopped
300ml Coconut milk (100ml for quinoa and 200ml for curry sauce)
1 tspn Mustard Seeds
1 tablespn or 1 portion of korma curry paste
4 thick slices of tofu, firm or pressed
Large handful green beans (enough for 4)

In a Colander rinse the quinoa really well then place in a saucepan with the water and turmeric, stir then put a lid on. Heat on a medium heat for 20 minutes untill all the water is absorbed. Check it quite often as you don’t want it to stick to the bottom of the pan.

While the quinoa is cooking place a sauce pan on a medium – high heat and add the mustard seeds and dry fry untill they begin to pop, this releases their flavour.

Once the quinoa is cooked take off the heat and then stir in the curry leaf powder, coconut flakes, mustard seeds, fresh coriander and 100ml of coconut milk untill everything is well combined. Taste and season with a little salt if you want

Put the green beans in a saucepan or steamer and cook.

Meanwhile put the frying pan back on the medium heat and add the korma paste, fry for 2 minutes and then add the coconut milk and stir. Add the tofu slices to the pan and cook for around 12 minutes turning the tofu only once if possible. It is ready when the sauce has thickened and the tofu is hot.

I always get a bit nervous cooking foods such as curries and using spices because I haven’t ever had the chance to travel and learn about the cuisine so these sorts of dishes are just created from what I think goes nicely together. I liked this dish because of the strong curry leaf flavoured quinoa against the creamy, soft and mildly spices tofu.

ps I can’t believe it, I have managed to do over 20 posts for Vegan MoFo so far! Knowing that I had to post much more than usual has actually been fun because I’ve posted about things which before I would have thought might be boring. Such as brands of sausages Id like to try…which actually had the most views of the week! so I think after Vegan MoFo is over I will keep relaxed about my posting schedule and enjoy just sharing more.

Curry Leaf Powder: Friday Challenge!

A couple of weeks ago I used curry leaves in a plantain and Mango curry. The leaves were used to flavour the sauce but were then removed before eating because they are quite tough yet full of flavour. I always think it’s a shame to throw anything away even if it has been used in some way, so I did a little research into curry leaves and I discovered that they are actually very good for you.

“Curry leaves contain iron, fiber and vitamins, including vitamin A and vitamin B. Curry leaves are extremely high in antioxidants, plant sterols, amino acids, glycosides, proteins and flavanoids” (source: Live Strong)

Curry leaf powder has many medicinal properties including -

• A good remedy for nausea and indigestion. Extract juice of curry leaves, squeeze a lime and add a pinch of sugar.

• Chew a few leaves every day to lose weight

• Curry leaves are also known to improve eyesight, so make sure you do not throw away the leaves while eating. It is also believed to prevent cataract.

• Curry leaves are also good for hair growth and colour. If you don’t like its raw taste, you can buy the curry leaf powder widely available in the market and have it with dosa or hot rice. You can also make it at home. This will prevent pre mature greying of hair.

•   Alternatively, you can also add a few curry leaves to your hair oil and boil it for a few minutes. Applying this hair tonic will keep your hair healthy.

(Source: The Times of India)

So I wondered what was the best way to consume the leaf to get maximum benefit. A lot of the sources talk about curry leaf essence but I also found out that you can turn curry leaves into a powder and stir them into rice or use the powder to flavour fish and meats. Perfect! A very traditional recipe is mixed with dry roasted Channa dal like in this recipe by ‘Umas Kitchen Experiments‘ but I like to keep things simple so I have just made a very basic curry leaf powder.

I will be using this powder in my Spices challenge own recipe which hopefully I will post this weekend! It needs a second test run

 

Curry Leaves pre roasting

For this I used 1 bag of curry leaves which was approx 1 and a half cups or a very large handful. First wash and dry the leaves and then spread the curry leaves out onto a baking tray and pre heat the oven to around 180c.

Dry roast in the oven for around 8 – 10 minutes, keep an eye on them because they go from perfect to burnt VERY quickly! Once roasted (they will go crispy and a brown colour) then leave to cool.

In a blender add the dried curry leaves, 2 red chillies, garlic powder and blitz untill it is a fine powder.

Do not make the mistake I did and open the lid of the blender, stick your nose in and sniff hard! I was uncontrollably sneezing and coughing for around 10 minutes this is seriously potent stuff!! I stupidly decided to give it another sniff before cooking with it a few days later and again I was sneezing for ages (around 12 sneezes!). so I say cook with it but yeah dont stick your face in it!

Two Curry Pastes (Jamie Oliver Recipes): Friday Challenge!

I decided to do curry pastes this week because although I was learning by cooking with spices I wanted to really get to grips with mixing spices and the different effects of different flavours.

I have made the odd curry paste here and there but it’s always been very basic, and I have of course blended spices before but I’ve always been safe and stuck to ‘paprika and chilli powder’ or ‘ground cumin and coriander’ so it was fun to haul all of my spices out of the cupboard and use a bit of everything! I’m one of those people who will go and buy the spices needed for a recipe but then they just get put back in the cupboard and mostly forgotten. Spices like fenugreek  and cloves haven’t seen the light of day for quite a while in my kitchen. Luckily that meant I already had everything I needed for these curry pastes, all I had to buy was groundnut oil!

My random collection of spices – some posh ones in jars, some market ones in bags!

I found some recipes on Jamie Oliver’s website (click here) and decided to try them, I don’t know about you but I have never made a bad Jamie recipe. He has a perfect mix of recipes being impressive, delicious, simple and wholesome…LOVE HIM!

First I started with a mild Korma and then I made a much spicier Vindaloo. I wanted to see what ingredients were used to either tone it down or spice it up.

Korma Curry Paste

Base Ingredients: Garlic Cloves, Fresh Root ginger
Whole Spices: Cumin Seeds, Coriander Seeds
Ground Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Garam Masala,
Mild Flavours: Desiccated Coconut, Ground Almonds
Wet Ingredients: Ground Nut Oil, Tomato Puree
Fresh Ingredients: Green Chillies, Fresh Coriander
Seasoning: Sea Salt

I’ve split the ingredients down into the ‘base ingredients’ which are in every curry paste recipe I’ve seen so far and the base of most curries. The Whole spices have to be toasted in a dry frying pan before being ground and the aroma was amazing. Use your nose to know when they are done, the smell will hit you! This recipe only uses two other spices and although they are not exactly mild, they are still out numbered by the mild flavours of the coconut and almonds.

Not only do the coconut and almonds give it a gorgeous nutty flavour, but they also give it a much thicker texture than the vindaloo. I can imagine this will be lovely and thick when added to coconut milk!
Ground nut oil has a very mild flavour too which is perfect for the curry pastes as you want it to just bind the flavours not take over. It suits Indian cooking very well.

A Spicier, Deeper coloured Vindaloo Curry Paste

Base Ingredients: Garlic Cloves, Fresh Root ginger
Whole Spices: Black Pepper, Cloves, Coriander Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds
Ground Spices: Turmeric
Spicy Flavours: Dried Whole Chillies
Wet Ingredients: Ground Nut Oil, Tomato Puree
Fresh Ingredients: Red Chillies, Fresh Coriander
Seasoning: Sea Salt

This recipe uses a lot more whole spices that need to be toasted to release the flavour and aroma with only turmeric as the ground spice (which I think would be to add colour?). I added 4 dried chillies with all the seeds so I knew this was going to be really spicy and it was! It was a much wetter paste and would suit being mixed with tomatoes and fresh vegetables to balance out the spice.

The black pepper adds a nice kick too. I love black pepper and forget that it is used a spice and not a seasoning! I really enjoyed using my pestle and mortar, it all looked so pretty when slightly smashed up! Also as you are leaning over you get hit with the amazing aroma of all the mixed spices as you are grinding them, something you wouldn’t get in a food processor! (although it did make me sneeze quite a bit!)

Beautiful Fennel Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Cloves

I’m not actually going to be cooking with these today I have just made them for the purpose of this post so I looked up how to store them and found out you can freeze curry paste! This makes sense since there’s nothing really un-freezable in them. I used an ice cube tray to portion it then wrapped the ice cube tray in foil to protect it. One cube for a small curry and a couple for batch cooking.

Do you make your own curry pastes? Did you know you cold freeze them? Whats your favourite curry? (mines a Kashmir with lychee in it!)

Plantain and Mango Curry (Simon Rimmer Accidental Vegetarian recipe): Friday Challenge!

Nigella Seeds and Curry Leaves are the spices in this mild curry

 

I chose this recipe because I had never used Nigella seeds or Curry leaves before and I was really curious to see what they were like. The recipe is from Simon Rimmer’s vegetarian cookbook ‘The Accidental Vegetarian’ which you can buy here. I haven’t cooked a lot out of it, mainly because my interest is captured by photos and there aren’t many, but everything I have tried has been delicious.

I’m not sure if I made it completely correctly because he describes it as “bright yellow” but mine was more of a pale yellow. I think I added too much yoghurt! Putting the colour to one side it was delicious and the mango was balanced out by the firmer more savoury plaintains.

First you cook the plantain in water with turmeric and once drained they go this beautiful yellow colour -

Bright Yellow Plantain!

The rest of the ingredients were turmeric, nigella seeds, onion, chillis, curry leaves, ginger, yoghurt (I used soya) and mango. Nigella seeds are also called Black onion seeds however they are unrelated to the onion! They are seeds from a herb which bring out a slightly nutty flavour and are good when used sparingly. I love the way they contrast with the creamy yellow sauce. You have to fry them in a little oil first until they pop (kind of like mustard seeds) to get the full flavour.

Curry leaves have also been described as having a slightly nutty flavour so I assume this means they are a good pairing with nigella seeds. It was a bit frustrating because the recipe doesn’t say whether you take the leaves out or not, I tried nibbling on one and it was hard so I googled it and most people say you must remove them from the curry before serving so I did. I’m wondering if like a bay leaf they could be used in a stock to give it a spicy twist!

Mango and Plantain Curry

I have loads of curry leaves back but they can be frozen in an airtight container for a couple of months so I’m definitely going to see what other recipes there are. I think their flavour is very subtle and more of an underlying tone to the curry.

What I have learnt about spices:
Nigella spices are more pungeant and should be used sparingly to enhance a dish, they also look pretty! Curry leaves are more subtle and you can use a lot of them (this recipe uses 25!) they help build the base flavour and should be removed before eating. ~
I really love fruits in a curry and mango was a new one for me! I also like lychees in a curry

National Curry Week 8th – 14th October: An easy way to celebrate vegan foods!

If your thinking of making the transition into becoming vegan then one of the easiest cuisines to begin with is curries! Spices, Lentils, Grains, Vegetables and Beans all lend themselves fantastically to the world of vegan food.

Making curries from scratch can be a lot easier than you think, especially basics like dhal’s or tomato based curries. Here are my favourite vegan curries that I have made in the past:

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Dhal

Spiced Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic are then pureed and stirred into lentils and stock to create this hearty dhal. A great way to use cauliflower which is in season at the moment!

Aubergine and Potato Curry

Aubergine and Potatoes create different textures and the creaminess comes from some light coconut milk. This is a much milder choice of curry and perfect served with fluffy white rice

Squash, Spinach and Red Lentil Curry

Brilliant for the Autumn Season, this curry is packed full of vegetables including Butternut Squash (or pumpkin!). This is a really low fat recipe

Carrot and Chickpea Curry

Another Creamy curry using the humble carrot! I experimented with soya cream in this recipe to make a really subtle mild curry. Really colourful too!

Aubergine and Tomato Curry

Another Aubergine Curry but this time made really low fat by using a tomato base and also made really simple by using pre bought curry paste! A great one for when you need something healthy but really easy

And then if you are after something a little different than your usual one pot curries, here are some different recipes I have come up with:

Roasted Cauliflower with Curried Dairy Free Yoghurt Dressing in a Naan Wrap

A really filling, nutritious and slightly different lunch recipe! The fun is in the eating with this one!

Twice Baked Curried Sweet Potatoes

The middle of the baked sweet potatoes are scooped out, mixed with all kinds of delicious curry flavours and put back in, then baked again to cook through. Delicious as a lunch or a side dish

Simple Aubergine and Tomato Curry: Meat Free Monday

Whenever I’m thinking of recipes, especially curries, I’m conscious that I should be making everything from scratch including curry pastes, sauces etc but when I am throwing an evening dinner together after a busy day at work I always reach for the jar of curry paste in my fridge for convenience. Using a pre bought curry paste is not cheating it’s a perfect way to have a delicious meal when your tired and busy and just need food! Adding some vegetables and curry paste together is a lot healthier than reaching for the takeaway menu or buying a ready meal.

Aubergine, Onion, Fresh Tomatoes and Spinach make up this really easy curry

The quality of your curry paste however is important because it will be the base flavour for your whole meal. I use Patak’s range because it is vegan and they have a large selection to choose from in the supermarket. It’s not the cheapest you can buy but the quality is good so it’s worth it! Think about what ingredients are going to match the paste, for example a jalfrezi is suited to rich tomatoes and onions and a korma is more suited to a milder creamier curry. You can experiment though as I have used korma, jalfrezi and balti curry pastes in this aubergine curry and each time it has been delicious with varying levels of spice and richness.

This dish is all about being simple and easy to throw together, it’s also got a sideline benefit of being very versatile. Swap the aubergine for anything you have in your fridge such as courgette, peppers or potatoes. Swap the cherry tomatoes for quartered salad tomatoes or you can also use frozen spinach instead of fresh if you have some!

Swapping ingredients takes a little bit of understanding of how they all cook differently but once you’ve thought about that and adjusted the method it’ll be easy. For example a diced courgette will cook a lot quicker than an aubergine or potatoes may need to be par boiled before adding into the curry.

Great way to serve curry is to place a large pan of curry in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves

I don’t add any extra flavours such as garlic, ginger or chilli because the curry paste is strong enough however feel free to add what you like. Also a lot of recipes call for you to salt an aubergine but I never do this, cooking it in the paste and tomatoes will soften it up fine! Aubergine soaks up a lot of oil so don’t put too much in your pan!

Serves 4 (freezable and can easily be doubled for larger quantities)

1 Onion
1 Aubergine
6 Cherry Tomatoes – cut in half
1 tablespoon Pre bought Curry Paste
1 Can Chopped Tomatoes
Large handful or 100g Spinach
Sunflower or Vegetable Oil for frying

Dice the onion finely, heat around 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and add the onion, fry for around 3-4 minutes to soften. Dice the aubergine quite small and then add that to the onion in the pan. Continue to cook the aubergine, stirring frequently, for around 8 minutes untill the aubergine has browned. Be careful because the air also browns the aubergine, watch the skin instead of the flesh, when it begins to change colour and almost blister then you know it’s cooking.

Add the curry paste and mix everything together for 1 minute.

Add the canned tomatoes, halved cherry tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of water. Turn the heat on, stick a lid on the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. I go back and check every 5 minutes or so to give it a stir and make sure it’s not drying up. If it looks dry then add more water. After 20 minutes taste a bit of aubergine, if it’s soft and easily chewed then it is ready, if it’s a bit squeaky or tough then give it longer. Larger pieces of aubergine will take longer.

Add the spinach and put the lid back on untill it has wilted. Stir to mix the spinach in then serve! This will be great with some brown rice or naan breads. If I’ve just taken a portion of this out of the freezer for dinner then I like to pop a naan bread in the toaster and it’s an instant meal, if your less lazy then boil some rice

I have submitted this recipe to The Wellness Weekend over at Diet, Dessert and Dogs!

Tandoori Roasted Cauliflower with Curried Yoghurt Dressing in a Naan Wrap: Meat Free Monday

Use your hands and naan to scoop up the delicious fillings then tuck in!

This is anther recipe where I had a very exact idea in my head of what I wanted to create but I wasn’t sure if the idea would translate well into real life. Fortunately I think it has, it’s a great little dish for a weekend lunch or light evening dinner. The spicy Cauliflower is the base flavour of the dish, the curried yoghurt is to add some moisture and another flavour level, the raisins and flaked almonds add bursts of sweetness and a crunch. I never used to add raisins to curries but Scott always did when he cooked a curry at uni and since then it’s become normal in our house. You can swap raisins for chopped dried apricots for an equal sweetness. You could also swap flaked almonds for cashew nuts for a slightly different texture but equally as delicious.

Cauliflower florets coated in a little bit of spray oil and some tandoori spice mix

I love roasted Cauliflower it has so much more flavour than boiling it, adding a spice like tandoori mix enhances the flavours and transforms the cauliflower to an almost meaty base which can be used in a curry, warm salad or like this – topped with curried yoghurt, garnishes and rolled up in a naan.

Naan topped with curried yoghurt, roasted tandoori cauliflower, raisins, flaked almonds, sprouted lentils and quinoa and fresh coriander

This is very much a ‘hands on’ dish, I piled all my ingredients on to a board and then used my fingers to scoop up a mixture of everything into my naan bread and rolled it up to eat. I couldn’t fit all my cauliflower into the wrap so I finished it off with a fork. Next time I would try finding a larger flatter naan bread – or making my own! You could also use a flat bread, tortilla wrap or roti to scoop up the fillings.

The curried yoghurt was very simple and would be a nice dip to accompany many Indian starters or just to scoop on to some rice to spice it up. I used soya yoghurt because, although I can occasionally eat dairy without feeling ill, yoghurt is something which really does not agree with me. I found the soya milk a fine alternative once the curry paste had been added but by its own it was a little sweet.

The different textures and flavours all complimented each other really nicely!

Serves 2

1/2 Cauliflower (roughly 4 or 5 florets each)
Sprinkle of Tandoori Spice Mix
1 Small Onion – finely diced
2 tblspn Curry Paste
3 tblspn Yoghurt (Soya)
Handful Raisins
Handful Flaked Almonds
Small Bunch Coriander
Handful sprouted lentils and quinoa (optional)
Sunflower oil for cooking (Spray variety if you have it)

Pre heat your oven to 190c (fan oven temp). Wash your cauliflower and place in a  baking tray, spray with sunflower oil (or drizzle with a little oil if you don’t have spray oil) and sprinkle generously with the tandoori spice. Roast in the oven for 15-17 minutes.

Meanwhile in a frying pan add a little sunflower oil and fry the onion untill softened, add the curry paste and continue to cook for 1 minute stirring to combine the onions and curry paste.
Put the yoghurt in a bowl and then add the curried onion mix and mix to combine completely.

Heat up a naan/ roti/ wrap and place it on a plate then top with the roasted cauliflower, yoghurt, raisins, almonds, sprouts and coriander.

Eat by wrapping up the naan with the filling or with a knife and fork. This could also be served with rice or salad instead of a naan if you wanted a low carb curried treat.

Might need a bigger naan…

I have submitted this recipe to the Weekend herb Blogging event  over at Graziana from Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs)

Carrot and Chickpea Curry: Meat Free Monday

I nearly called this “Carrot, Chickpea and Coriander Creamy Curry” but that’s quite a mouthful!

I’ve wanted to try a soya/ lactose free single cream for ages but wasn’t sure what to do with it, I originally thought maybe I would make a “Cream of” soup but I’m not really a fan of creamy soups (apart from mushroom mmm) then I thought about a few curry ideas I’d been playing around with and how using a ‘dairy’ cream instead of a coconut cream would work nicely.

I was a bit aprehensive because I have never really liked the taste of cream but with the spices and carrots I think this is not too rich or heavy and it actually works nicely.

Well now I had soup on my mind, specifically carrot and coriander so I based the flavours of this curry on my favourite carrot and coriander soup recipe which includes ginger and spices.

The cream I used was Alpro Soya single cream which is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, plus its got 45% less fat than normal cream so it’s a win win situation! You can find more out about the cream here.

Just for visual impact I would recommend cutting your carrots into rustic looking pieces rather than just slicing them, it just looks prettier and keeps them nice and chunky.

A curry is the sort of recipe that you can throw in vegetables that need using up and easily adjust to your taste so don’t feel like you need to stick rigidly to my recipe, although I can assure you that it is delicious kept simple the way I have made it!

You may notice that I have a collection of spices I rarely deviate from in my recipes, these include mustard seeds, cumin seeds, paprika, smoked paprika, turmeric, curry powder and dried garlic. I think the best way to be economical is to buy a good selection of spices and then mix and match them rather than buying a new flavour every time you cook something new. It shows how versatile the spices are and how mixing them can create different strengths and moods of a dish.

Serves 4

4 Carrots – sliced/ diced
2 Onions – finely chopped
1 Red Chilli – deseeded and sliced
2 Garlic Cloves – chopped into small pieces
thumb sized piece of ginger – peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 Can of cooked Chickpeas
Large bunch spinach (approx 200g)
1 carton Soya cream (around 250ml)
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
1/2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
Large Bunch Coriander – washed and chopped

Part boil the carrots for 8 minutes, drain and set to one side.

In a pestle and mortar crush the garlic, ginger and chilli untill you have a rough paste, this does not need to be too smooth but just crush it as much as you can.

In a large, deep frying pan or a heavy bottomed saucepan sautee the onions untill softened and then add the turmeric, cumin, mustard seeds and the crushed garlic, ginger and chilli mix. Fry whilst stirring for another 2-3 minutes then add the cream, 1 cup of water, the carrots, chickpeas and spinach. Cover with a lid of a sheet of foil and simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Check it and give it a good stir half way through making sure it has not dried up in the pan. If it has add a splash more water but not too much.

Once the cream sauce has reduced add the chopped coriander, stir to wilt it slightly then serve with some naan breads.