The Happy Pear Sri Lankan-style toasted spice curry
Toasting the whole spices infuses the dish with a deep, lively aromatic note. Serve with wholewheat couscous, noodles, brown rice or toasted wholemeal pitta.
VeganVegetarian
Serves4
CourseMain meal
Prepare20 mins
Cook25 mins
Total time45 mins
Ingredients
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
150g mixed mushrooms, such as oyster and shiitake, cut into bitesize pieces
200g head broccoli, cut into florets and the stalk chopped
3 tbsp oil
1½ tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
1 leek, washed and diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 cm piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped (approx 4-5cm)
½ green chilli, finely chopped (deseed for a milder curry)
400g can butter beans or other similar canned beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp tamari
1 tsp ground turmeric
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g coconut milk
½ Juice of lemon
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp maple syrup
115g baby spinach
15g coriander, roughly chopped
25g toasted flaked almonds, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Place the peppers, mushrooms and broccoli onto a baking tray, and toss with 2 tbsp of oil and a pinch of salt until well coated. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
In a dry pan over a high heat toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and black peppercorns for 4-5 minutes until they start to pop (be careful that they don’t burn or blacken as they will taste bitter). Remove from the heat and grind in a pestle and mortar, or blender.
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and once it is hot add the chopped leek, garlic, ginger and chilli. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring often, until the leek starts to brown slightly around the edges. Add the butter beans, tamari, turmeric and ground spices and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, lemon juice, salt and maple syrup.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and add to the sauce. Leave to simmer for 3-4 minutes. Mix in the baby spinach and cook for a further minute until wilted. Serve with the fresh coriander and some toasted flaked almonds.
