Chickpea and vegetable curry with red rice

1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight and then cooked in a pressure cooker for 12-15 minutes

OR 1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 red onion, peeled and chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

chunk of butternut squash, peeled and diced

Either 1-2 small or 1/2 large courgette, diced

1 tin tomatoes

Sloosh tomato paste

2 tbs olive or other cooking oil

Curry powder, either your own blend or a proprietary one

Salt, pepper, etc

To serve: your choice of rice.  I used red rice, as I have recently come across it in a local vegan take-away, and it is utterly delicious - much nicer than brown, and quite a different thing to white.

Fry off the curry powder in the oil for a few minutes, then add the onion and other vegetables, which you stir well and leave to cook for a few minutes.  Then add the tomato paste, the tin of tomatoes, and any other seasoning you choose - I used salt with thyme (a blend from Brockwell Park), freshly ground mixed peppercorns, and a spoonful each of Dunn's River ginger/garlic/pimento and All-purpose seasoning.  I also added a teaspoonful of sugar, which is lovely with tomatoes - doesn't make it sweet, but does lift it. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are done, then serve with rice, and if liked, chutney, yoghurt, etc.

The red rice is cooked like any other kind - rinse, cook off in a little oil, add twice as much boiling water, stir, cover, leave on minimal heat for 45 minutes and then let sit for at least 10 minutes to absorb any remaining water.

Sag Paneer

 I keep on experimenting with curries, and I don't suppose this is authentic, but it is very good!  Serves 2

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1 chunk root ginger (I use frozen cubes, but if you use whole ginger, then peeled and grated)

2 large tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 packet paneer, cubed

1-2 tbs cooking oil

1-2 tsp curry powder, either proprietary or a blend of cumin, cardamom, mustard seeds, fenugreek, turmeric, garam masala and chilli powder (I blend this up in advance)

1/2 package baby spinach leaves.

Put the spices and oil in a pan and fry for a moment or two, then add the paneer and fry, stirring frequently, until the cheese is brown on all sides.  Lift this out and put aside.

Blend the onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes into a puree and then put this in the pan where the paneer just was, and fry this off gently for about 10-15 minutes, again stirring frequently (I cooked rice to go with this while I was at it).  Wilt the spinach by putting it into a colander and pouring boiling water over it, then when it has cooled a little, roughly chop it.  When the puree is cooked - it will have thickened up nicely and stopped looking raw - add in the spinach and the paneer, with a splash of boiling water if necessary, and bring back to the boil.  Serve with rice or naan or similar. 

I might try making this - or a similar curry - with a tin of tomatoes, pureeing the onion, ginger and garlic separately (perhaps with a drop of water).... we shall see.  I like experimenting, and I like curry!  

Egg curry

The last time I made egg curry, until tonight, was in September 1989 - that evening, we had some very bad news which was so shocking and unexpected that it made me feel sick, so I didn't fancy egg curry for many months and then forgot about it! But it is a useful addition to the repertoire. The sauce is vegan, and can be used on almost anything, doesn't have to be eggs - chicken or fish, if you eat those (although I think I have a nicer fish curry recipe), big chunks of vegetables (cauliflower, etc)1, even tofu or quorn if you eat those.  Sorry there are no photos - it got eaten!

2 tbs oil (I used Tesco stir-fry)
1 large tbs curry powder
1 cube frozen ginger and garlic (or a bit of ginger root and a couple of cloves of garlic)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 plantain (or banana), peeled and sliced
1 chilli pepper, chopped (remove seeds)
1 tin chopped tomatoes (I used tomatoes with chilli, which worked beautifully)
1/2 tin water
 Salt, pepper, soya sauce, mushroom ketchup, chilli sherry, etc.
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

Put the oil, ginger/garlic and curry powder (either a proprietary blend or mix your own) into a saucepan and cook on a gentle heat for several minutes.  Add the onion, chilli, plantain and apple, and cook, stirring all the time, for a couple more minutes.  Add the tomatoes, water, and seasoning, bring to the boil, and simmer for 15 minutes while you cook some rice.  I then like to blend the sauce with a stick blender to thicken it up - you don't want it totally smooth, just nice  and thick.  Put cooked rice on the plate, add a hard-boiled egg (or 2!) and pour the sauce over.  Top with a bit of chutney, if liked.

Very quick lentil curry

Serves 2-4

1/2 punnet mushrooms
1/2 courgette
Any other vegetables you may have that using - spinach is great, and can just be folded in at the end.,
1 tin tomatoes with onion and garlic (or plain, and add the onion and garlic separately)
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup basmati rice
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
2 tbs sultanas or currants (or a mixture)
Curry powder and other spices as liked (I used asafoetida, to make up for the lack of onion and garlic)
1 tbs cooking oil

Cook the spices in the oil over a low heat until fragrant.  Add the vegetables, stir to coat, and let cook for a minute or two.  Or not, if you can't be bothered!  Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and simmer for 18 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve at once, perhaps with chutney.