Vegetable Korma (Vegan)

It’s over! 2 terms of hard-core Made in Dagenham drama came to an end last night in spectacular fashion and so now I’m heading back to the land of normality and degree stuff. There’s always a bit of a withdrawal after finishing a big show and so I’m trying to find lots of other things to keep me occupied (namely other shows, more art and a lot more baking!)

I’m not a very spicy gal, but I do love a good korma. There’s something charmingly subtle about the creamy blend of aromas flooding out of a dish like this. They flow out into the kitchen and like a culinary alarm clock let you know that wonders are soon to be coming out of the pan (I confess to being a little sleep deprived at the time of writing – I apologise). I normally go for a chicken korma, but since vegaunary I’ve found a strange fondness for vegetable curries like this one, and so now it’s my new fave!

Recipe

Serves 8

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 Small butternut squash
• 2 tbsp Sunflower oil
• 1 Medium sized potato
• 1 Small cauliflower
• 1 Corgette
• 1 Red pepper
• 1 Large onion
• 1 thumbsize piece of Root ginger
• 4 Garlic cloves, crushed
• 100g Chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp Tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Curry powder
• 1 tbsp Garam masala
• 5 tsp Ground cumin
• 5 tsp Ground coriander
• 5 tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Ground cloves
• ½ tsp Chilli flakes
• 400ml Coconut milk
• ½ cup Cashews
• 2 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Brown sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Cut the squash in half and then place on a baking tray, cut side face up. Brush with a little of the oil and then put in the oven for about 30 minutes until soft.
2. Now prep the other veg. Peel the potato and cut it into chunks. Then take the leaves off the cauliflower and break it up into florets.
3. Bring a large pan of water up to the boil and add the potato and cauliflower chunks. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until soft but not mushy. Drain and then leave to one side until needed.
4. Take the ends off the courgette and pepper. Take the seeds out of the pepper and then cut it into small strips. Halve and then quarter the courgette lengthways and then cut into chunks.
5. Put the oil into a large pan and place over a medium heat. Add the pepper and courgette and fry for 5-10 minutes until the courgette is starting to go translucent and soft. Tip into a bowl and leave until needed.
6. Next start making the sauce. Peel the onion and then finely dice it. Add it to the pan you cooked the pepper in and fry for a few minutes until starting to caramelise.
7. Meanwhile peel the ginger and garlic. Then grate the ginger and crush the garlic and add it to the onions. Fry for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and spices to the mix and simmer for a couple of minutes until starting to reduced. Then add the coconut milk, lemon juice and cashews and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes until the cashews have softened.
9. Take a hand blender and blend the sauce until smooth. Then add the brown sugar, salt and pepper to season, and the vegetables. Stir to combine and then serve with rice and naan bread!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x