Summary

I wanted to devise a vegetable curry that was substantial enough to stand on its’ own as a main course and not just a side dish. It needed to be packed with flavour, and have a nice spectrum of textures – silky, but still with something to bite on.

I’m satisfied I’ve achieved it with the recipe for this dish.

The curry sauce is made from scratch but it’s quite straight forward and the results will be considerably better than anything processed. I can cook this meal in just over an hour including the preparation. I cut the aubergines into chunks and have them roasting in the oven while I’m creating the base of the curry sauce, so a bit of multi-tasking is required. I also find a hand blender is adequate (you won’t need a food processor) and will reduce the washing up effort too.

If you would prefer a vegan curry, just omit the yoghurt. I personally use it because I typically freeze a couple of portions, and the sauce seems to retain its’ texture better with the yoghurt added.

Enjoy !

Method

1. I find three average sized onions is about right - the onions will dictate the amount of sauce, so better to have close to, or a bit more than 500g than too much less. Weigh them and add the same weight in water (1g = 1ml) to a saucepan. Peel and slice the onions and add to the saucepan. Peel and crush the garlic and add to the saucepan. Peel and very finely chop the ginger and add to the saucepan (if you are using a food processor then the ginger can just be finely sliced, but large pieces of ginger might choke a hand blender). Bring to the boil, add the vegetable stock cube, a teaspoon of salt, and simmer for 15 minutes. Keep the saucepan lid on.
   
   
2. While the onions are cooking, prepare the vegetables: Chop the pepper, cut the tomatoes into quarters, and finely chop the green chilli. Rinse and drain the chickpeas.
   
   
3. Cut the aubergines into 2.5cm chunks, lightly toss with oil, and season with a little salt and ground black pepper. Measure out the cashew nuts and very lightly toss in oil.
   
   
4. When the onions are cooked remove the saucepan from the heat. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade (210 Fan). Take the yoghurt container out of the fridge, give the yoghurt a good stir while in the container, and then decant three tablespoons into a cereal bowl and leave to reach room temperature.
   
   
5. Blend the contents of the saucepan (ie water, onions, ginger, garlic) for about two minutes – this will dictate the smoothness of your curry sauce.
   
   
6. Spread the pieces of aubergine into a baking tray and place on the top shelf of the oven.
   
   
7. In a wok, heat up a glug of rapeseed oil. Add the chilli powder, turmeric and paprika and stir. Add about 150ml of the blended onion mix to the wok and stir. Add the tomato puree and give a good stir until the contents of the wok are well mixed and smooth. Finally add the remainder of the blended onion mix and stir until the colour is even. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes.
   
   
8. Inspect the aubergines in the oven after 15 minutes roasting and give them a stir. Put the cashew nuts in a tray and place on the lower shelf below the aubergines. Keep your eye on the cashews, they just need to be lightly toasted and may only take 4-5 minutes.
   
   
9. Back to the wok: Add the peppers, tomatoes, green chillies, and chickpeas. When the cashews are ready remove from the oven and add to the wok. Brink the wok back to the boil. When the wok is boiling add the cumin, garam masala, and fenugreek and give a good stir. Leave to gently simmer.
   
   
10. Check on the aubergines chunks. They should be ready after 25-30 minutes total in the oven. I would stick a skewer in and remove a piece, to check if it’s cooked through. When cooked they can be added to the wok with all the other ingredients.
    
    
11. Give the yoghurt a really good stir while in the cereal bowl. Ladle some of the curry sauce into the bowl and stir to slowly warm the yoghurt up. Then add the yoghurt to the wok and give a good stir.
    
    
12. Your vegetable curry is now ready to eat.