The first time I made this curry we had been experiencing a massive winter storm and the house was surrounded by at least a foot and a half of snow on all sides. It was cold to say the least.  This light and spicy curry as the perfect antidote to the wintery weather conditions, but it was so delicious that I’ve since made it on loads of occasions, be them in rain, hail or shine and my whole family enjoys it every time.

Because this is a vegetable based curry it’s not heavy, even though it tastes wonderfully rich thanks to the use of creamy tinned coconut milk. The ingredients list for this recipe is long, I admit, but it’s well worth it because it produces a full-flavoured and multi-layered tasting curry.

My NutriBullet comes in handy for this recipe because it makes blending the spice mix really easy, but you could use a food processor or blender to achieve the same results. However, if you don’t have any of these you can still make the curry, it’ll just be a bit bulkier.

This recipe makes a lot of curry, but the leftovers only improve for the next day if the flavours are left to infuse overnight. It also freezes beautifully, so you can use it as handy ready-meals or lunches in the future.

Ingredients:

600g white potatoes (peeled and cut into bite-size pieces)

150g carrots (peeled and cut into bite-size pieces)

170g red bell pepper (de-seeded and cut into bite-size pieces)

2 common tomatoes (chopped)

150g broccoli heads

30g chopped chives

1/2 tsp of asafoetida powder

50g of fresh ginger (minced)

1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes (adjust to taste)

1 star anise

1/3 of a whole nutmeg (finely grated)

2 tsps. ground turmeric

2 tsps. paprika

2 tsps. garam masala

1 tbsp. ground cumin

8 cardamom pods (the seeds removed and the empty pods discarded)

2 tsps. salt (adjust to taste though)

½ tsp black pepper

2 tbsps. soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari)

4 tbsps. peanut butter

A 400g tin of coconut milk

Juice of 1 lime

The zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp of golden syrup

1 pint of vegetable stock

30g fresh coriander for serving (chopped)

40g sliced almonds (toasted)

Method:

Prepare the vegetables as directed and place in a large saucepan.

Blitz the ginger, coconut milk, spices and chives (but keep the fresh coriander for serving) in a NutriBullet, blender or food processor and pour into the saucepan on top of the vegetables.

Add the vegetable stock and stir well before simmering for 45 mins to an hour or until the potatoes are tender to the touch.

Toast the sliced almonds in a dry frying pan until golden brown and keep to one side.

Once the vegetables seem done, start to boil your rice and once it’s tender, drain it.

Remove the star anise from the curry.

Plate up the rice, top with vegetable curry, add the freshly chopped coriander just before serving and top with the flaked toasted almonds.

Serve.