I love fruit in curries, and this one is so mouthwatering, and full of great flavour. I created it very much with the balance of sweet and savoury in mind, and I have to say it was a huge success. It’s ideally suited to those times when you crave a curry, but also a sweet, but you don’t wish either to be too predominant. Great served with popadoms, and my amazing Greek-inspired tomatoed basmati rice. Try it, and feast both your eyes and your tastebuds – share with a loved one please !
INGREDIENTS
3 to 4 Tbsp (45-60 mL) olive oil or coconut oil for frying
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 courgette/zucchini, roughly chopped
2 green apples, chopped into 1” pieces (leave the skin on them)
1 tsp crushed cardamom seeds (can be found at this UK link, or US)
1 tsp curry powder (I used a hot one)
1 tsp garam masala (can be found at this UK link, or US)
½ tsp cumin seeds (can be found at this UK link, or US)
¼ tsp asafoetida (can be found at this UK link, or US)
½ tsp caraway seeds (can be found at this UK link, or US)
½ tsp chilli powder (can be found at this UK link, or US)
¾ tsp turmeric powder (can be found at this UK link, or US)
¼ tsp coriander seeds (can be found at this UK link, or US)
¼ cup (60 mL) oil of your choice
salt to taste
¾ cup frozen spinach, thawed (or slightly cooked spinach)
1 cup petit pois (baby peas) – frozen work very well
2 Tbsp brown sugar, or other sweetener of your choice
165 ml coconut milk – not a low fat one (can be found at this UK link, or US)
100 ml soya cream, or other non-dairy cream of your choice
¾ cup (180 mL) water
100 g sultanas, or large raisins
extra vegan cream and chopped red chillies, for decoration
METHOD
- Heat your oil in a large ovenproof saucepan, and fry your onions until tender and transparent.
- Next, add all your spices in a mug, and mix with the ¼ cup of oil to make a curry paste.
- Now, add your courgettes and garlic to the onion mix, stir for a minute or so, then pour in your curry paste. The aroma will be emerging at this point.
- Add your apple pieces, and the remaining ingredients, except for the coconut milk and cream. Allow to simmer gently, adding a tiny bit of water at a time, and mixing.
- Cover, and let it cook for about 25 minutes – don’t let it dry out, and add a little more water if you need to.
- Finally, add the remaining ingredients, stir and cover. Place in a hot 350ºF (180ºC) oven for 30-45 minutes. Remove half way through to give another stir.
- When it’s ready, uncover for 10 minutes, and it’s ready for serving.
Now let’s go make the rice.
Pomegranate, Tomatoed Basmati Rice
INGREDIENTS
1½ cups basmati rice, washed, cooked according to the packet’s instruction, then drained and set aside.
2 Tbsp tomato paste
olive oil for frying
1 small to medium sized onion, finely chopped
salt to taste
¼ cup roasted cashew nuts
½ cup pomegranate pulp
½ tsp crushed cardamom seeds (can be found at this UK link, or US)
METHOD
- First, fry your onions in a large shallow pan, until they turn slightly golden.
- Then add your tomato paste, and lower the heat. Allow the tomato paste to sweat with the onions and release its concentrated flavour – the sauce usually turns the oil into an orange colour when this happens.
- Next, add your cooked rice (making sure it’s cooled down by now), and mix well to distribute the tomato mix.
- Turn into a serving dish, sprinkle on the exotic spicy garnish – roasted cashews, pomegranate pulp and cardamom seeds – and serve. Yes, it’s that easy !
All recipes and content © Miriam Sorrell www.mouthwateringvegan.com 2010
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE COMMENT BOX AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENT ON THIS RECIPE. THANK YOU.
Thank you! This looks beautiful and I hope to make it this week.
Hi there Vane and thanks for dropping by here. I would love to hear from you with your feedback on my curry ! Best your way in the meantime, and enjoy ! 🙂
I don’t uderstand why it needs an extra 45 minutes in the oven. It’s already very soft after 25.
Hi Shaun. It is not put in the oven to further cook the veggies exclusively, it is placed in the oven covered for the sauce and veggies to better consolidate together thereby yielding richer flavoured sauce. By all means you are at liberty to eat it as you like it. P.S. I said 30-45 minutes not exclusively 45 minutes Shaun.
Just finished eating this, it was absolutely delicious! I added some dried mushrooms that I had,. A big thumbs up! Looking forward to receiving your cookbook, which is on its way from amazon.
Hi Miriam, I made your curry and rice dish last night for my vegan daughter and her partner, as well as some non vegans and we all loved it. It was delicious thanks you. I made one change and substituted dates for the raisins. It was a winner. I did not do the oven bit but just let it simmer on my stove top an extra 45 min.
Kim Hi there, I am delighted that you, your family and some non-vegan guests really enjoyed this curry, sounds awesome, and the extra time on the stove in lieu of the oven time is fine ! I look forward to your future comments on my blog ! 🙂
Leanne Hi there and thanks for dropping by here with your feedback. I a glad you enjoyed this curry. Let me know when you recieve the book !!! 🙂
Trying this tonight!
Hope you enjoy it Tiffany ! 🙂
I love the book!! Made the cashew nut stir fry last night, …. And tonight again as it was so delicious. Looking forward to trying out loads more of the recipes.
Leanne Hi there, I am delighted that you have received your book and enjoying the recipes. I would love a short amazon review if you can spare a minute or two if you like the book and look forward to your future comments and feedback here too ! Best wishes your way and continue to enjoy !
Miriam, I am such a fan of yours and have cooked countless of your recipes but this one is THE BEST. My husband and I agreed that its is up with the best curries we have ever had. It’s delicious but so interesting too because of the fruit. I can’t wait to cook it for more people and wait for the reactions 🙂 I followed your recipe exactly and it was so easy. Thank you!!
Bec Hi, that’s fantastic. Thank you for your very complimetary words, I appreciate that. I too love curries, truly, in fact I included my best ones together with new exciting ones in my book. I am so glad you enjoyed this one though and I very much look forward to your future comments on my blog ! 🙂
OK, you deserve an award for this. I gave to my son tonight and as usual I said he had to at least try it. He did and his first reaction was, ” Yum!” Now to put this in context, my son does not eat vegetables..ever. So I saw this as the ultimate, if slightly unfair, test of this recipe. Amazing. For the rest of us I added some lemon at the end to balance the sweetness and it was delicious. Thanks!
Neil Hi, that sure is super news, and thanks for dropping by here with your feedback. Good on you for insisting he tries it because the great thing about that is that he may be less reluctant to try other endeavours of yours from my blog, and there are plenty of delicious plant based treats here both savoury and sweet. I look forward to your future comments on my blog. Best your way in the meantime.
Wow! This curry was amazing. It was much more straightforward than the long list of ingredients would suggest and none of the ingredients are unusual, the only alteration I needed to make was to use a full can of coconut milk as I didn’t have any vegan cream – it worked very well. I’ll definitely make this again … Thank you!
Liz Hi there and thanks for dropping by here with your comment and feedback. So glad you made and enjoyed this curry, and your adding more coconut milk would have worked well. I hope that you try out my other curries and recipes from here and I very much look forward to your future comments on my blog ! 🙂