North Indian Vegetable Curry

Another one pot wonder!

If you are new to curries, this North Indian Curry is easy to make and a real joy to to eat! Don’t be alarmed by the long list of ingredients its really just vegetables, a few spices and some tomatoes.

This family friendly curry is freezer friendly and deliciously fragrant.

The North Indian(ness) of the curry refers to the fact that the curry is tomato based as suppose to the popular coconut based curries from the South of India.

Such a Veg Box Hero Curry so use what you have!

Getting Ahead: Curry improves with time making this the perfect make ahead dish.

Seasonal Swaps: A wonderful clear the fridge or veggie tray dish so use whatever you have at hand. Roots: parsnips, pumpkin, carrots, celeriac would all work well. You can even stir in a few shredded spinach, chard or kale leaves towards the end.

Serve with some Cucumber Raita (see recipe), a good atchar and warm naan or some basmati rice.

A large saucepan

• 4 tablespoons sunflower oil, coconut oil or ghee
• 2 onions, peeled and very finely chopped (a mandolin would be ideal)
• 500g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunky pieces
• 200g green beans, topped & tailed, cut into bitesize
• 100g cauliflower florets (1/2 cauliflower head)
• 100g broccoli florets (1/2 broccoli head)
• 230g (2 large) potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 tablespoons ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons (4 large cloves) garlic, minced
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 500ml vegetable stock (hot)
• 20g fresh coriander, leaves picked, chopped
• few twigs fresh curry leaves (opt)
• salt and pepper

Spice Mix

• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 6 cardamon pods, bashed
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick

1. Dry fry (no oil) the spices in a small frying pan until fragrant – set aside
2. Add the oil to your saucepan followed by the onions, stir to coat the onions in the oil and cook on a medium heat, covered, until the onions are soft and golden. This will take at least 20minutes. When lifting the lid to stir, lift to a slight angle so all the moisture drips back into your saucepan. If the onion mixture appears dry, add a teaspoon of oil.
3. Once the onions are soft, add the ginger and garlic and stir until fragrant.
4. Add the tomato paste and stir until fragrant, 2 minutes.
5. Next add the spices and stir until fragrant, another 2 minutes, stir in the curry leaves if you are using.
6. Add the two cans of tomatoes and stir, add the potatoes, stock and one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10minutes until the potato starts to soften, making sure that nothing is catching or burning at the bottom.
7. Add the sweet potatoes and simmer for a further 15minutes or until both the sweet potato and potato are soft enough to eat, but still holding their shape.
8. Add the cauliflower, beans and broccoli and simmer for 10 minutes or until soft.
9. Taste the curry and season with another teaspoon salt, ginger and a good grind of pepper.
10. Let the curry cool slightly and then sprinkle with the chopped coriander.
11. The curry is ready to serve!

Things to remember:

1. The better the onion base the better your curry.
2. When in doubt ALWAYS roast your spices beforehand.
3. The liquid is dense so veggies will take longer to cook.
4. Seasoning the curry throughout will ensure that you only need a little pinch at the end.
5. The veggies will keep on cooking as the mixture cools, best to keep an eye on the veggies.