This easy curry is so delicious and full of flavour, you won’t miss the meat at all. It includes the recipe for a simplified vegan massaman curry paste, but you could always buy one.

I often make my own curry pastes. Especially pastes like this that are made mostly with dry ingredients that are pantry staples for many people. It’s less wasteful than having tonnes of half empty jars in your fridge. The curry paste recipe below makes enough for 2 curries, I simply freeze the remaining paste so it’s ready and waiting next time I’m craving curry. Win.

The other reason I made my curry paste this time was because I wanted to make a vegetarian, actually ended up being vegan, curry. Usually massaman curry paste has shrimp paste in it, I’ve used miso paste in this one to create that depth of flavour while keeping it vegan friendly.

I also start all my curries with extra virgin olive oil. It’s my oil of choice and I think the flavour o lay adds to dishes you coook but you can use a mild one if you’re worried about it. Coconut oil would work in  this curry too butI mostly use that for home made face scrubs these days.

The vegetables in his curry may be beige but it’s not beige in flavour. You could add spinach or make too if you want to see ore green on your plate. I love the contrast that the black rice creates with the curry sauce but you could use nay rice you prefer.

You could also garnish with a handful  of peanuts but I kept on forgetting to buy them and with the peanut butter in the curry you don’t need them for flavour it would just be  a texture thing.

Serves 4, with rice

Ingredients

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbs massaman curry paste (see below)

2 potatoes, washed, skin on, cut into bite sized pieces)

1 x 400ml can of coconut cream

2 Tbs all natural peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

600ml water

1 Tbs tamarind pulp

1 tsp tamari

1 cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets (or small pieces for the stalk)

juice of 1 lime

finely sliced spring onion and coriander to garnish

Cooked black rice to serve (1.5 cups uncooked is usually enough for 4)

Massaman Curry Paste

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 tsp mustard seeds

4 cloves

4 cardamon pods

1 tsp black pepper corns

4 dried red chillies

6 cloves garlic, peeled

2 inch piece of ginger, skin removed, roughly chopped

1/2 shallot, finely diced

1 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tsps miso paste

1 tsp salt

Directions

Make Curry Paste: toast the first 5 ingredients in a dry pan for a few minutes, until fragrant. Grind with the salt and chillies with a mortar and pestle. Blitz remaining ingredients in a food processor and then add to the mortar along and continue to grind with a pestle until you have a smooth paste.This makes enough for 2 curries so place half of it in a tupperware container or zip lock bag and freeze for next time.

The curry:

Heat the olive oil in the base of a large wok or non stick high sided pan. Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant, or 1-2 minutes.

Add the potatoes and toss to coat in curry paste, cook for 1 minute and then add the coconut bream and peanut butter. Stir to dissolve the peanut putter and combine the paste and cream. Bring to a boil and then add the tamarind, tamari, water and cauliflower.

Bring back to the boil and then turn down to a simmer, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender and the sauce has thickened.

Season with lime juice and serve over black rice garnished with spring onion and coriander. Yum!

HH. x