I never used to like curry. It was partly down to the fact that I didn’t like spicy food (that’s changed somewhat over the years, although I still don’t like things too hot) and so people would try to get me to “try something mild, have a korma”. Now, the problem with this approach is that kormas obviously have a very distinct flavour and, as far as I’m concerned, not a very nice one! It wasn’t until my housemates dragged me to an Indian buffet during my final year at university that I started to appreciate this great cuisine. At the buffet, the curry that really won me over was a chicken bhuna and I’ve been a great fan ever since.
When we were planning what to eat this week there was a chance that a vegetarian friend of mine would be joining us tonight so we decided that a vegetable curry would be in order. We’ve done curries from scratch before, but decided to try out a curry paste tonight (we’ve previously just used them for marinades).
Thinly slice 1.5 red onions and put them in a heavy-bottomed pan with a tablespoon of oil to soften over a low heat. Then added slices of a large carrot, chunks of a medium sweet potato and pieces of a whole cauliflower (we were going to use courgette too, but forgot). Add a few tablespoons of water to stop the vegetables from sticking and pop the lid on for a 10 minutes or so. Stir in 140g (half a jar) of bhuna curry paste (we used Pataks), 2tbsps tomato purée, a tin of chopped tomatoes and 200ml of water. Bring to the boil, cover and leave to simmer for 30 minutes (or until the cauliflower is getting towards the softness you like!) stirring occassionally. Add some mushrooms and tomato wedges and simmer uncovered for a further 10 minutes to thicken the sauce. We served this with steamed basmati rice (two nights in a row!) and a tomato, onion and cucumber salad dressed with lemon juice and a pinch of cumin.
We intended for this to make enough for four (we’ll freeze the rest), but there are still at least three if not four portions left!
Grub's Up 