It's much easier to cut down on meat when the weather's colder, big one-pot flavourful food like curries lend themselves very well to vegetables. Although, I do think that a meatier textured vegetable is necessary so that the long cooking time doesn't turn things mushy. That's why this dish has aubergine & mushrooms, and a newfound ingredient - jackfruit. What the hell is jackfruit you might ask, well, its pretty trendy, tastes of literally nothing but is sought after for its stringy 'chicken' like texture. Does it taste like chicken? No. But it genuinely does add some meaty body to veggie dishes.
(In all honesty in this recipe you really don't need it, the curry would be perfectly delicious with just aubergine and mushrooms)
Don't skip the cauliflower though! Once you start making these cute little florets you will never look back. A cauliflower steak can run a mile in my opinion, but a spicy crispy cauliflower floret will be something you cook again and again.
Serves 6
Spice mix
4 tablespoons ginger and garlic paste
1 tablespoon cardamon
2 heaped tablespoons turmeric
3 teaspoons red chilli powder/ or chopped chilli or lazy chilli
1 tablespoon of fenugreek
1 tablespoon garam masala
Curry ingredients:
1 tablespoon ghee / or butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tin of young jackfruit cut into cubes
1 aubergine cut into cubes
1 white onion finely sliced
3 large portabello mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 tin of coconut milk
2 tablespoons coconut cream
1 tablespoon mango chutney
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 lime juiced
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tablespoon mango chutney
1 tins chopped tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
Parsley
Sesame seeds
Crispy cauliflower florets
Half of one large cauliflower or a whole small cauliflower
Vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon of garam masala
1 tablespoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/ 350°F
Break your cauliflower into evenly size florets and toss in a bowl with plenty of oil and it's seasoning
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan heat up the oil and butter, add your spices and heat gently allowing them to infuse the oil
Add your onions, garlic & ginger and saute gently until the onions and nice and softened translucent
Add the cubed aubergine & jackfruit and saute gently coating the spices & oil
Pour in the tomatoes, coconut milk, and a splash of boiled water, then crumble in your stock cube
Leave to simmer on a low-to-mid heat for at least 30 minutes partly covering with a lid
Meanwhile, pop your prepared cauliflower in the oven and leave for 20-25, don't be afraid to let it get a bit crispy!
Place the sliced mushrooms on top of the curry, pushing them down into the sauce slightly, pop on the lid and leave to cook in the curry for no more than 5 minutes, they lose all their texture if they overcook!
Take the curry off the heat and stir in the mango chutney, coconut cream and the lime juice
Season, cover with the crispy cauliflower and serve with a chopped fresh herb and sesame seeds
