- Serves 4 - Ready in 1 hour -
Gather together...
1 tbsp rapeseed oil / olive oil.
1 onion chopped (to save time day-to-day, I keep a big box of onions I've chopped ahead-of-time, in the freezer, so I throw in 2 handfuls of those).
1 tbsp medium curry paste (put the rest of the jar in 1 tbsp portions in the freezer on a baking tray, then once frozen put in a bag for next time a recipe requires curry paste).
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (or 1 tsp lazy garlic).
2 medium-sized (circa 500g in total) sweet potatoes peeled and cut into bite-size pieces.
500g Quorn 'chicken-style' pieces (frozen).
1/3 cup (4 tbsp) red split lentils.
1 stock cube or 2tsp 'Marigold Less Salt Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder' (available in bulk 1kg tubs).
300ml boiling water.
400ml can low-fat coconut milk (the low-fat milk comes out of the can more easily than the full-fat milk does).
2 handfuls of frozen peas.
2 handfuls desiccated coconut (optional).
Serve with...
6 tbsp plain yoghurt.
Mango chutney (optional).
Naan bread (shop-bought or homemade, see below for recipe).
Get cooking...
1.Boil a kettle (with enough water in to fill a large mug).
2. Heat the 1 tbsp of oil gently on the hob in a deep oven-proof, lidded pan, add the chopped onion and stir in the 1 tbsp of curry paste and the two peeled and chopped garlic cloves, heat gently for 3 minutes to infuse the flavours, with the lid on.
3. Add the 500g of sweet potato chunks, stir well and heat on a LOW hob gently (with the lid ON) for 10 minutes - stir every minute to prevent sticking / burning. You are aiming to soften them, not brown them.
4. After the ten minutes, turn OFF the hob and add the 500g of Quorn pieces and the lentils (1/3 cup) and stir to coat them.
5. Sieve in the 2 tsp of dry stock powder (to avoid unpleasant clumps), add the 300ml of boiling water and the 400ml can of coconut milk. Stir to mix.
6. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C (fan 170 C) or Gas 5.
7. Turn the hob back ON, and bring the pan to the boil, over a medium-low heat, with the lid on (this takes about 5 minutes). Stir a couple of times whilst it heats through.
8. Simmer the curry on the hob for another 5 minutes, with the lid on. Stir once, well.
9. Put the curry into the oven, with the lid on, for 30 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, if required, make the Naan bread dough - see ingredients and recipe below to make 8 small Naan.
11. When the curry's oven-cooking time is up, remove the curry dish from the oven and add the 2 handfuls of frozen peas and the 2 handfuls of desiccated coconut (if using). Stir. Put the curry back into the oven for a further 5 minutes.
12. Bake the Naan breads for 2-3 minutes on each side, under a hot grill (or follow the manufacturer's instructions for shop-bought Naan).
13. Serve the curry with plain yoghurt, mango chutney (optional) and Naan.
14. Leftover curry reheats well in the microwave if 1/2 a cup of water is added to keep it moist during the re-heating. To make the leftover curry go further, drain and add a 250g tin of green lentils (these are ready-to-eat, the same as the expensive 'Puy' lentils, just not grown in the Puy region). You can chuck these tinned lentils into pretty much any dish (leftover or not) to pad it out a bit - I always keep a few tins of green lentils in the cupboard for last minute additions.
Adapted from this Good Food recipe, because it kept burning it to the bottom of the pan when cooked entirely on the hob. So the cooking time has increased, but it is now a dish that you can stick in the oven and forget about.
Gather together for the 8 small Naan Breads...
250g plain flour (weighed on the scales or use 1.5 cups).
2 tsp sugar.
½ tsp salt.
A small handful of Nigella seeds.
½ tsp baking powder.
130ml milk.
3 tbsp (36g) vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing tray.
Get cooking the Naan Breads...
1. Put the 250g of plain flour, the 2 tsp of sugar, the ½ tsp salt and the small handful of Nigella seeds into a large-ish, wide based bowl (ideally use the bowl from a food mixer - if you have a dough hook attachment, as you can use it to knead with shortly).
2. Sieve in the ½ tsp of baking powder and mix the dry ingredients together well.
3. Add the 130ml of milk and the 3 tbsp (36g) of oil.
4. With a metal spoon, mix together the dough, for approx. 1 minute, to make a smooth, soft consistency.
5. (a) Either...On a clean, low-ish table, knead well (with cleaned then oiled hands - remove any jewellery first!) for 10 minutes, adding a little flour if the dough is too sticky and adding a little more oil if it is too dry. At first the dough will be inflexible, but persist with the kneading for 10 whole minutes (you can't rush it) and the dough will soften and end up smooth and silky.
5. (b) Or... Use the dough hook on a food mixer to knead the dough for you for 10 minutes.
6. Coat the dough in oil and wrap the oily-dough in grease-proof paper / a beeswax wrap in the fridge (or the freezer if you only have a few minutes before they are needed) as chilling first makes them more likely to puff up during cooking. Ideally chill the naan for at least 30 minutes, as it gives the dough time to 'relax' which makes it much easier to roll out.
7. Ten minutes before your curry finishes cooking, start to roll out your Naan. Wipe down, dry and drizzle oil on your work surface.
8. Also brush 1 tsp oil onto a large baking tray and put the tray into the hot oven (where the curry is still cooking) to heat up.
9. Meanwhile form the chilled Naan dough into 8 balls and roll out, using an oiled rolling pin - each will be approximately the size of an adult's hand.
10. Once the curry comes out of the oven, switch the oven to medium-high 'GRILL'.
11. Place 4 Naans on the hot baking tray (careful not to burn yourself) - make sure they are well spaced out.
12. Put the first batch of Naans under a hot grill in the oven and bake for 2 – 3 min per side until (hopefully) risen and lightly browned. Then repeat with the second batch Naans (keep the first batch warm by wrapping them in a clean tea towel and keeping them close to the oven). Even if the Naan bread don't puff up much they luckily still taste delicious.