Curries have become a staple diet internationally, with numerous variations coming from diverse lands and cultures across the globe. They are aromatic, flavourful and very satisfying. I have grown up eating hundreds of curry variations and have always been inspired by their versatility; especially when my mother would use different ingredients to form exquisite and delectable versions in her kitchen. A lot of them did require a lot of effort, and I know that today it isn’t very practical to spend two hours in a kitchen going through the arduous and monotonous task of preparing food. So do not be intimidated, as I have just the recipe for you. A healthy, delicious and easy to prepare curry. It’s VEGAN too!
Serves 3
- Preparation time: 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients :
- *Oyster mushrooms- 1.5 cups
- Firm tofu – 100 grams
- French beans- 10 nos.
- Coconut milk- from one brown coconut or approximately 300 ml
- Chinese five spice powder – 2/3 tsp
- Bay leaf- 1 nos.
- Light soy sauce- 1 tsp
- Oil (neutral)- 1 tbsp
- Lemon juice- 1 tsp
- Salt- to taste
Curry paste:
- Spinach- 1.5 cups
- Ginger- 1 inch
- Garlic cloves- 3 (medium size)
- Green chili (de-seeded)- 1 (medium size)
- Black peppercorns – 1/2 tsp
- Onion- half (medium size)
- Oil (neutral)- 1 tsp
- Salt- 1/4 tsp
- Sugar- 1 tsp
- Mint leaves- 1/3 cup
- Coriander leaves- 1/3 cup
*You may use regular button mushrooms if you cannot find oyster mushrooms
Procedure:
- Start by preparing the raw ingredients for the curry paste. Peel the garlic cloves, ginger, and de-seed a fresh green chilly. Cut an onion into half, peel the skin and dice roughly. Then blanch the spinach in simmering water on medium-low heat for 1 minute. While the spinach is getting blanched, wash and chop some fresh coriander and mint (quantities mentioned in the ingredient list)- do not include any stems.
- To make the curry paste, simply add the blanched spinach, coriander, mint, ginger, chili, garlic and the rest of the ingredients to a mixer-grinder or a small food processor. Process it until it forms a smooth green paste. N.B: you may need to add a splash of water to help form the paste. Once the paste is ready, transfer it to a bowl and keep aside.
- Next, wash the oyster mushrooms and remove the tough bottoms with a knife, and then tear the mushrooms vertically into three-four strips (oyster mushrooms shouldn’t be cut with a knife, they should always be ‘sliced’ with hands). Keep the mushrooms aside in a separate bowl and do not soak in water. Then dice the tofu into even, half-inch cubes. Lastly, top and tail the beans and pull away any fibrous side threads, and cut each french bean diagonally, and into three small pieces.
- Once all the preparation is done, start by heating a thick bottomed stove pan. Once the pan is moderately hot, lower the flame, add the oil and wait till it heats up. Once hot, add the curry paste and cook on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously(do not let it turn brown). Then add the sliced mushrooms and diced tofu along with the five spice powder, soy sauce, pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well, and cook for 2 more minutes(covered) to allow the mushrooms and tofu to become slightly tender and absorb the seasonings.
- After two minutes of cooking, add the coconut milk along with the bay leaf and stir gently. Cover and cook the curry for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste the curry and check for seasoning, add salt and pepper if required. Finish off with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some freshly chopped coriander.
Serve hot and enjoy with some rice/quinoa/couscous or even flat-bread.
I hope you enjoy making this delightful recipe as much as I did. Make it home style, and most importantly, make it your own! Happy Cooking! 🙂 Please like, share the recipe, and leave a comment below to share your thoughts with me (you may be asked to enter your e-mail address).
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