The Best Curry You Ever Did Blag

Sometimes you chuck a load of stuff in a pan based on some vague cookery experience and a recent education in matters of B vitamins and it just works out to be the best dinner you’ve cooked in weeks. And quite possibly the best vegan meal that ever came out of your kitchen. Maybe the best vegan meal that didn’t involve chips…..anyway, here goes my accidentally brilliant curry, formed on a dozey Thursday evening from various bits in the fridge because we couldn’t be bothered to walk to town for supplies. Keeping dual textures of the sauce and the butternut makes for a more satisfying dinner experience and there’s some lovely savoury depth (and nutrition) from the yeast. It is is packed with fibre and vitamins and a decent protein hit, ready in less than an hour.  It’s bloody lush.

Boomboom Blaggers Curry

Serves 4

2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala,
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp chilli powder to taste

1 Butternut squash
1 large white onion
2  large carrots
2 peppers, red or yellow
3 cloves garlic
400g tin of chickpeas
400ml unsweetened almond milk
3 heaped tablespoons of nutritional yeast
2 tsp cornflour (optional)
Handful of sliced greens or kale

Olive oil, coconut oil, salt and pepper, rice or mixed quinoa to serve.

Set the oven to 180 C. Peel the butternut squash and cut into large pieces, roughly two inches square. Brush with olive oil then roast for 40 minutes- checking after 20 minutes to baste with more oil if necesarry.

Whilst this is in the oven use a heavy based saucepan to fry the spices in about a tablespoon of coconut (or vegetable) oil for two minutes. Finely chop the onion and garlic and add to the spices, cook through for five minutes. Finely chop the peppers and grate the carrots then add to the pan, stirring well and cook for another five minutes.
Add the almond milk and bring to a very gentle simmer for 20 minutes.

If you are serving with rice or quinoa, get this going now.

When the 20 minutes is up blitz the veg mix with a stick blender, adding the nutritional yeast at this time. The sauce should be the consistency of a very thick soup, if you find it too thin add some cornflour and blitz again. Return to the heat. Your squash should be ready now, well cooked and just starting to caramelise at the edges.

Rinse the chickpeas and add these to the pan along with the sliced greens and bring back to simmer for another 2 minutes.

The squash may break down if you stir it through the sauce, so to keep some texture plate up the roasted squash and spoon the chickpea curry over the top. Serve with a side of rice, quinoa or a cheeky naan bread.