What better way to beat the winter chill than with this hearty, delicious – and rather healthy – Christmas curry. Ideal for Christmas Eve, or in fact, any day during the festive period when you’ve had too many heavy, meat-based meals and instead want something more on the nourishing side.
The festiveness of this curry comes out in the spices used, and the fact the whole family can share a special, if unconventional, meal in what is a season for getting together and celebrating what we have.
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Vegetarian Christmas Curry
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1½ teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1½ teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 medium cauliflower
- Groundnut oil
- 15cm piece of ginger
- 9 cloves of garlic
- 20 finger aubergines
- 3 medium onions
- 2-3 fresh green chillies
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 150 g cashews
- 100 g coconut shavings
- 1 pomegranate
- Coriander leaves
- 1 teaspoon cardamom pods
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 3 dried Kashmiri red chillies
- 7 cloves
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Instructions
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the fennel and coriander seeds, and chilli flakes until fine. Place the cauliflower on a sheet of tin foil, rub in half of the ground spices and 1 tablespoon of oil, and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Wrap the cauliflower in the foil, pop it on a roasting tray and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes to brown it. Remove and set aside.
Step 2. Peel and finely grate the ginger and 6 cloves of garlic. In a bowl, combine two-thirds of the ginger, the grated garlic and the remaining half of the spice mixture. Make an incision in each aubergine with a small sharp knife, then rub the ginger mixture into each one, along with a drizzle of oil. Place the aubergines in a small roasting tray and cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until softened and starting to split. Set aside.
Step 3. Make your spice blend. Split the cardamom pods, add the seeds to a mortar with all the other ingredients, then grind well. Peel and finely chop the onions, then deseed and roughly chop the chillies and tomatoes, keeping them separate. Peel and finely slice the remaining 3 cloves of garlic. Place a large pan over a medium heat and toast the ground spices for 1 minute, or until aromatic.
Stir in 1 tablespoon of oil, followed by the onions, green chillies, sliced garlic, and the remaining ginger. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the onion and garlic are softened and coloured. Add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick and 200ml of water and let it simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes.
Step 4. In a blender, blitz the cashews with 4 tablespoons of water until you have a smooth paste, then stir this into your curry. Cook for 5 minutes, or until thick and fragrant. Chop the roasted cauliflower into florets and stir into the curry along with the aubergines. Serve with chapatis on the side.
Optional: Halve the pomegranate and bash it, cut side down, with a wooden spoon so the seeds come tumbling out. Scatter the seeds over the curry along with the shaved coconut and coriander leaves.
