Inspired by a Donna Hay recipe this Roasted Vegetable and Lentil curry was a masterstroke! For those that are not a fan of kale, no fear…..it is hidden in the curry paste and if you are worried about the no-meat factor, seriously not an issue. I live with meat lovers and even they were impressed by the ‘meatiness’ of this baby. This was one hell of a tasty curry……healthy, hearty and down right gorgeous 🙂
There is enough curry paste in this recipe for 2 meals. I freeze my leftover paste in Zip Lock bags for later use.
Prep time: 30 Minutes Cooking time: 1 Hour $$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
For the Curry Paste:
2 tsp of cumin seeds
3 tsp of coriander seeds
4 long green chillies (seeds removed for less heat)
3 cloves of garlic
6 cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
8 kaffir lime leaves
2 stalks of lemongrass, white part only and thinly sliced
1 bunch of coriander, roots, stems and leaves very thoroughly washed as a lot of grit can be caught in the stems
3 tbs of peanut oil (veg oil will do)
1 tsp of shrimp paste, crumbled
11/2 tbs of brown sugar
4 green onions, roughly chopped
2 cups of chopped kale
For the Curry:
Oil for frying
1 brown onion, peeled, halved and sliced top to bottom
200gm of Jap pumpkin, cut into 2cm pieces
1 eggplant, cut into 2cm pieces
1/2 small cauliflower, cut into florets
200gm of green beans, ends removed and sliced diagonally into batons
400gm tin of brown lentils
2 french eschalots, finely sliced (you can use store bought fried shallots if you wish)
1/4 cup of sliced almonds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
1 cup of coriander leaves
400gm tin of coconut cream
2 tbs of fish sauce
1 tbs of brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Steamed rice and lime wedges to serve
Place the kale in a small bowl and cover with boiling water for 2 minutes or until bright green in colour. Drain and run under cold water before squeezing in your hands to get rid of any excess water.
Place the kale and the rest of the curry paste ingredients in a food processor. Blitz until you have a nice pasty consistency.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the cauliflower, eggplant and pumpkin pieces in a large, lined baking tray and drizzle with a little oil. Take 1 tbs of curry paste and using your hands, toss the vegetables in the curry paste until evenly coated. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden.
To fry the eschalots, pour enough oil (I used rice bran) into a small pan to cover the base. When it is nice and hot, add the sliced eschalots and fry, stirring every now and then, until golden. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.
Heat a large frypan or wok and add a little oil. Fry the onion until soft and then add 2 large tablespoons of the curry paste. Fry for 1-2 minutes until aromatic and then pour in the coconut cream and lentils and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and add the fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar. Stir and a have a taste, you want the perfect balance of hot, sour, sweet and salty, so adjust any seasoning to your liking. Place the roasted vegetables in the curry and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the green beans and two thirds of the coriander leaves. Cook the beans for a few minutes, careful not to overcook as you want the beans to be a nice bright green colour and still slightly crunchy.
Serve the curry over steamed Jasmine rice. Top with the fried eschallots, toasted almonds and a smattering of coriander leaves. serve with lime wedges.