Vegetarian Curry for Meatless Monday

Vegetarian Curry

Hello and Happy Monday!

What did you do over the weekend? Mine was a weekend of high and lows. We had to put my poor hamster Peanut to sleep, so that was heart breaking :( 

She will be greatly missed. Funny how a small little hamster brought us so much joy and laughter. 

As for the highs - I am going back to Kuala Lumpur for a long visit! It wasn't a planned visit, very much a spontaneous decision. Must truly thank my dearest husband for the nice gift and for sacrificing so much to allow me to visit my family and friends. So, watch this space for more posts from Malaysia. I am super excited and can't wait to be inspired by all the food!

Since it is a Monday, I thought that I would do another Meatless Monday post. I think I am going to challenge myself and try to do a Meatless Monday post weekly. You my dear readers shall keep me honest and ensure that I do not stray.

This week, it is a Vegetarian Curry! It's so flavoursome and aromatic you won't even realise it is meat-free. I tried to give the curry a bulkier texture and more bite by using chunky vegetables like aubergines, carrots and courgettes. I also added Tofu Puffs that act like a sponge to soak up all the curry broth. When you bite into them, all the curry goodness oozes out. Heaven!

Do be aware that this curry is rather fiery hot. You can always reduce the amount of dried chillies to make it milder.

Recipe for Vegetarian Curry

[Note: I previously mentioned in this post that, curry powder greatly affects the taste of your curry so, be selective where possible.]
Prep Time 30 minutes/ Cooking Time 30 minutes/ Serves 8
Ingredients
2 Aubergines 
3 Carrots 
2 Courgettes
10 pieces of Tofu Puffs (halved)
150gm Banana Shallots (peeled)
7 Cloves Garlic (peeled)
2 Stalks Lemongrass
5 Dried Chillies (to be boiled and blended into a chilli paste)
100gm Adabi Curry Powder
1 tin Coconut Milk (400ml)
2 Stalks curry leaves 
700ml Water
2 Tbsp Salt
2 Tbsp Oil

Method

1. Start off by making the Chilli Paste. Boil the dried chillies in a small pot of water until it softens. This should take about 8-10 minutes.

Dried Chillies

2. Removed the boiled Dried Chillies and blend to a fine paste. Set aside to be used later.

The Chilli Paste

3. While the Dried Chillies are boiling, slice up all your vegetables. 

4. Next, blend Banana Shallots, Garlic and Lemongrass until you get a thick paste.

5. Heat the oil in a pot and fry the paste together with your blended dried chilli paste on high heat until fragrant. 

This is what it looks like

6. Add in vegetables. Slowly add in the Water and Curry Powder  then lower heat and cover the pot. Leave to simmer on medium heat and stir it from time to time.

7. After simmering for 15 minutes, add in the Coconut Milk. Taste and season with Salt and simmer for a further 15 minutes on low heat.

8. Remove from heat and dish out.