On the back of a pack of curry leaves purchased from one of the UK's top supermarkets I discovered this recipe 'Southern Indian Vegetable Curry with Curry Leaves'.
Indian Vegetable Curry
I quite liked the sound of it I gave it a go. Sometime later found out this is actually the exact Jamie Oliver recipe for Southern Indian Vegetable Curry!
However, it pays to know a tiny bit about cooking when following some of these 'back of packet' recipes as I find most are not very well written and they hardly ever work.
Timing
Sadly, this was no exception, just reading the recipe I decided that there was no way that raw cubed potatoes added to a curry would cook in under 15 minutes.
The reality is, they took a good hour or so!
No problem at least I was ready for this. So it turns out I was right as the original recipe didn't have anywhere near enough liquid or spices so I titivated it and the end result was actually very nice.
Since cooking this I've discovered Jamie Oliver has the same recipe in one of his books 'Jamie's Dinners' but at least he doesn't say how long it will take for the potatoes to cook - he just says cook until the potatoes are soft, which is AGES when cooked the way they are in this recipe.
Where to buy Fresh Curry Leaves
You can buy fresh Curry leaves but they are also available from larger Tesco and Asda stores, or of course any Asian grocery store.
Sweet potatoes, green beans, baby aubergines, brown onions and okra are some of the ingredients in this vegetable curry.
Southern Indian Vegetable Curry - Jamie Oliver
Ingredients
- a spoonful of ghee or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons of black mustard seeds
- 3 green chillies - deseeded and chopped
- 1 pack (30g) of fresh curry leaves - leaves removed from stem
- 3 medium onions - peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- a pinch of cumin seeds - lightly ground in a mortar and pestle
- 1 tablespoon of garam masala
- 1/2 a teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes including the juice
- 2 sweet potatoes - peeled and cubed
- 2 medium potatoes - peeled and cubed
- 3 baby aubergines - cubed
- 200ml coconut milk
- 100g fine green beans - topped and tailed then chopped into 1-inch lengths
- a handful of peas
- 175g okra - sliced
- salt and pepper
- Chopped coriander to serve
Instructions
- Heat up the ghee or vegetable oil in a large deep-sided frying pan or flameproof casserole.
- When it's nice and hot throw in the mustard seeds and cook for a minute till they start to pop.
- Add the chillies, curry leaves, onions, coriander, cumin seeds, garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder.
- Stir and cook over medium heat until the onion is soft. Now stir in the chopped tomatoes and add the coconut milk.
- Add the potatoes and cook for 30 minutes and then check to see how they're doing but you'll probably find they will probably still be hard, so carry on cooking for another 20 minutes.
- Add in the aubergine, green beans, peas and okra.
- Cook for another 20 minutes and have a taste - add more chilli powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Make sure the potatoes are nicely cooked - nothing more horrid than hard undercooked potatoes.
- Serve straight away topped with a little freshly chopped coriander. You can freeze any you have left if you wish.
It looks very delicious. Wish you could bring some round :)
ReplyDeleteI'm mind cooking and can't see when you say to add the coconut milk...
ReplyDeleteI'm mind cooking and can't see when you say to add the coconut milk...
ReplyDeleteHi Lindy - Ooops - thanks for pointing that out. Now sorted!
ReplyDelete