It’s unlike me to make a mild curry; I’m normally a fan of heat and spice and more heat. But I wanted to try something I’d never made before and when my friend found a recipe for a korma with cauliflower and aubergine, two vegetables I love but have neglected of late, I couldn’t go past it.

I did make a few adjustments; I’m not a fan of cream so switched the recipe’s double cream for coconut cream, which worked perfectly and incidentally turned the dish vegan. I also added pine nuts to make up for a shortness on cashews – not sure you could even tell.

I followed the recipe’s instructions when it came to cooking the veg but found the potatoes were not nearly ready when they should have been, so I have added parboiling the potatoes to my recipe. You could just cook it for longer like we did but then the other vegetables start to soften a little too much. Also, there is no way the recipe would feed six people as the book claims! And I swear we weren’t even being piggies…

For my first ever korma, I was pretty pleased with the results!

Cauliflower, Aubergine & Green Bean Korma

Adapted from The Vegetarian Cookbook – From the Earth to Table
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

60g cashew nuts
20g pine nuts
1 tbsp garlic puree
1 tbsp ginger puree/pickled ginger
200ml water
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 green cardamon pods, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half lengthways
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
250ml coconut cream
200g new potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
140g cauliflower florets
1/4 tsp garam masala
150g aubergine, chopped into chunks
140g green beans
Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method

1. Parboil potatoes until starting to soften. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat a large pan with a tight fitting lid over high heat. Add the cashew nuts and stir until they start to brown, then tip them out of the pan and set aside.

3.  Put cashews and pine nuts in mini food processor. Add garlic, ginger and 1 tablespoon of the water and blend until a course paste forms.

4. Add oil to pan and heat on medium-high. Add onions and fry for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown. Add the nut paste and stir for 5 minutes. Add cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and turmeric then add the coconut cream and water, slowly, and stir until mixture boils. Reduce heat to low, then cover pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Add potatoes, cauliflower and garam masala to pan and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir in aubergine and beans and continue simmering for further 5 minutes or until all vegetables are tender. Stir occasionally to ensure sauce does not stick to pan; stir in extra water if needed.

6. Sprinkle with coriander and serve with pilau rice and naan.

Enjoy!