Recently I decided to include one vegetarian meal a week into our diets. When thinking of vegetarian dishes, I always come up with curry. Curries are flavoursome, filling and use a wide variety of vegetables and pulses.
One of our favourite vegetarian meals has been these three curries. The Grumpy One has no idea that there isn’t any meat in any of these dishes!
The Lentil and Pumpkin Curry is one of Gary Mehigan’s and although it requires the making of a paste first, there is plenty of paste to keep in the fridge for the next time you want to make this delicious curry.
The Chickpea and Spinach Curry comes from a little book given to me by a friend some time ago, simply called “200 Curries”. I’ve adapted it to suit our tastes. I didn’t have chickpeas, so had to use butterbeans this time. Still delicious!
And, finally the Vegetable Biryani is a combination of three recipes, designed to suit our tastes and made much easier with the use of ground spices.
- 1 can Chickpeas
- 2 Tbsp macadamia oil or ghee
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried chilli
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 Tbsp curry powder (I use Clive of India)
- 1 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 100ml or so of water
- 100g of baby leaf spinach
- 2 Tbsp chopped mint
- Salt
- Yoghurt, to serve ( I sometimes just stir some through)
- Heat oil in a wok and add onions. Cook over low heat until golden. Add spices and stir fry for a few minutes.
- Add tomatoes and water and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes - check water now and then.
- Add chickpeas and season with salt. Stir in mint and spinach.
- Serve with the yoghurt spooned over the top.
- Can add green beans instead of spinach for a change.
- ?Curry Paste
- ½ red onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 sticks lemongrass, white part only
- ½ bunch coriander, stalks only, reserve leaves
- 1 Tbsp turmeric
- 1 bulb ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
- 5 kaffir lime leaves, stalks removed
- 1 green chilli, or to taste (recipe calls for 6, plus 3 birds eye chillies!)
- 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil or ghee
- ?Curry
- 4 Tbsp curry paste
- 2 x 400g tins coconut milk
- 250ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 3 Tbsp coconut sugar (I normally don't bother with this)
- 3 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 can lentils
- ½ jap or butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into large dice
- ?Spice Mix
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp salt flakes
- Curry Paste:
- Blend all ingredients together in Thermomix on speed 6. Scrape down and blend again until mixture becomes a paste. (Or place in a food processor and blend)
- Curry:
- Heat oil in pan and add spice mixture, stirring for about 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the curry paste and cook out for a few minutes.
- Add coconut cream and bring to the boil.
- Cook, stirring regularly until coconut milk begins to split - 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add stock, sauce and sugar, if using.
- Add diced pumpkin and bring to the boil.
- Simmer gently for around 25 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.
- Add lentils to heat through.
- Finish with a sprinkling of chopped reserved coriander leaves.
- 1 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp cardamom
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 brown onion, sliced
- 3cm piece fresh ginger, grated
- 1 green or red chilli, seeded, finely chopped
- 2 cups diced vegetables (carrot, cauli, broccoli, eggplant, mushrooms, green beans,)
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- ½ can coconut milk (optional)
- Preheat oven to 180C
- Heat oil in a flameproof casserole dish.
- Add dry spices and stir over heat until fragrant.
- Add onion and cook until soft.
- Add garlic, chilli and ginger, stirring for a minute or so.
- Remove from heat place rice and vegetables into dish. Pour over stock and coconut milk, if using.
- Return dish to heat and bring gently to boil.
- Cover with lid and cook in oven for 20 minutes or until rice and vegetables are tender and liquid evaporated.
