This humble, hearty Sweet Potato & Kale Vegetarian Curry dish ticks all of my “ideal” boxes. A pleasant kick of heat and fragrant spice combined with a vibrant assortment of plant-based goodies makes for an exciting vegetarian dish that’s also vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, Paleo, IQS-friendly and features an impressive cast of nutrient-dense ingredients.
We like to serve this curry with quinoa, cooked using the absorption method with organic vegetable stock instead of water, and a pinch of saffron (just a few threads will do), but please feel free to serve it with whatever you like.
Makes: 6 servings | Cooking Time : 50-55 minutes
INGREDIENTS
3-4 tbsp melted coconut/macadamia oil
600 g sweet potatoes
1 aubergine (approximately 350 g)
150 g cashews
1 fresh red chilli (medium heat)
2 cloves garlic
2 red onions
1 small thumb sized piece ginger
1 small bunch coriander or parsley
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
6 plum tomatoes
100 g kale, de-stalked and chopped
1-2 tbsp water if needed during cooking
Sea salt
1 fresh lime
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
2. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into chunks (of approximately 3 cm x 3 cm). Pop them into a large bowl and coat lightly and evenly with oil. Turn them out onto a large foil-lined roasting tray.
3. Chop the aubergine into similar sized chunks before coating lightly and evenly with macadamia oil then adding them to the roasting tray with the sweet potatoes.
4. Roast the aubergine and sweet potatoes for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and starting to colour.
5. Meanwhile, peel and slice the red onions.
6. Finely slice the coriander or parsley stalks, reserving the leaves for garnishing later.
7. De-seed and slice the red chilli, peel and crush the garlic and grate the ginger.
8. Place a large, deep frying pan (one that has a lid; it will be used later) on the stove top set to medium heat. Tip the cashews in and toast them until golden and starting to brown a little. Tip them into a bowl and leave to one side.
9. Place the same pan back on the stove top set to medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, followed by the onions, coriander/parsley stalks, chilli, garlic and ginger, and fry everything for 5 minutes until starting to soften.
10. Add the dry spices to the pan, with a little more oil if necessary and continue to fry the onion and spice mix for another 3-5 minutes.
11. Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan (with a tablespoon of water if needed). Bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer. Pop the pan lid on but leave it slightly ajar and cook for around 20 minutes.
12. When the roasted vegetables are done, remove them from the oven and add them to the curry, along with the chopped kale, the cashews and a tablespoon of water if needed. Pop the lid back on and cook the curry for a further 10 minutes on a low heat.
13. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary using salt. Sprinkle with fresh coriander/parsley leaves and serve with lime wedges (a squeeze of fresh lime adds a lovely zing) and quinoa cooked with vegetable stock (or plain rice/an alternative, if you prefer).
Enjoy!
