This recipe came about from basically an experiment of “can I cook a curry?” but it has actually become something that is not technically a curry. I have also come to realise that the whole country of India has missed a trick not cooking with sundried tomato paste, why oh why they have never done this? I don’t know. But this recipe is something extremely special with the sundried tomato paste.
Just a note, I have used frozen vegetables for this dish as I find that they are a lot easier to keep than fresh as I cook for one person. This dish is also very low in calories and so meats and other sides (naan bread anyone?) can be added without taking away the healthiness of the dish.
Serves: 3 small main courses
Calories per serving: 162
Spinach and broccoli curry
27/11/2016
: 3
: 5 min
: 55 min
: 1 hr
: Easy
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Garam masala powder
- 1.5 tsp Coriander powder
- 2 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1.5 tsp Nigella seeds
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1.5 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp miso paste
- 1.5tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp sundried tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chopped large red onions
- 1.5 cups chopped fine white onions
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp garlic paste - 6 large chopped garlic cloves
- 3 cups frozen spinach (maybe more)
- 8 florets of frozen broccoli
- Splash of Chinese rice vinegar - or lemon juice
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube
Directions
- Step 1 Fry all of the seeds and powder spices in the sesame oil on medium to high heat. If cooking with fresh garlic, add it now. Wait till they cook a bit 5 mins. Taste the mixture. Test if you like the spice blend or if you need to add more. It won’t taste perfect but there will be red flags if it isn’t good enough. Take off of the heat to cool the pan and add the red onions. When the red onions are added reduce the heat to low. Let that cook down. And add the white onions. Wait until they are getting super soft and add celery. Continue cooking it down until that gets really soft. You want this to turn into more of a purée texture at the end.
- Step 2 Add the pastes (all of them) and let them simmer in the seasonings for about 2 mins. Add the can of chopped tomato and stir. Turn the heat back up to medium to accommodate for the chopped tomatoes. Once boiling turn back down. Simmer that until the tomatoes are cooked. I.e. You taste it and they don’t scream raw tomatoes. You can also continuing simmering this for ages so don’t worry.
- Step 3 Add the frozen broccoli if you are using frozen and the frozen spinach. And turn the heat back up until it is boiling. Once boiling again reduce to a simmer and let it think. This is when you add the garlic paste. You don’t want to add it too earlier or the garlicky taste will cook off. You can simmer this for easily 35 mins. But keep an eye on it and stir occasionally. Add in the rice vinegar and simmer for a further 5 mins. You are basically cooking this until it tastes done. If you can set it for a bit before eating that’s good as it can soak and infuse more with the flavours (1hr or 30 mins) or just make sure that you have enough for leftovers and then taste it the next day.
