Vegetable Curry

Sometimes you want to crack open the cookbooks and craft a traditional dish from the Indian subcontinent with a carefully chosen selection of spices and smaller dishes. Other times you want a plate of veg in a spicy sauce and a spoon of pickles
I really love this dish and it does taste better than it looks (I really need to work on my food photography!) and although the main ingredients are a little uninspiring the spice mix really brings them all together and the lentils cook down to make a thick and creamy sauce
I like to serve it with rice, chapatis and lime pickle.

serves two (with left overs – yay!)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 onion sliced
• handful of sliced mushrooms
• 1 sweet potato cubed
• 1 green chilli sliced
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/2 cup lentils
• 2 big handfuls spinach
• Some boiling water

• 2 cups cooked brown rice

• 175g wholemeal flour
• 50g chickpea flour
• pinch of salt
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 175 ml water

Put a little oil in the pan and when it is hot throw in the mustard and cumin seeds. Then add the onions and turn down the heat. After 5 minutes add the mushrooms and after another 5 the sweet potato. Stir well and cover to sweat down a little.
Put the chilli, garlic, spices and oil in a pestle and grind into a paste before adding to the pan. Give it a good stir and leave it for a few minutes before adding the chickpeas and lentils.
Add just enough boiling water to bring the level up to the top of the vegetables. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Stir in the spinach a minute before serving.
Making flatbread is the worlds easiest activity. Stir the ingredients together to make a firm dough. Kneed for 10 minutes and set aside to rest (20 minutes is fine, no need to go crazy here).
Get a griddle or frying pan good and hot, then roll out your dough and fry (without oil) until just starting to blacken on each side.

Your curry should now be ready – the lentils will have broken down and the sweet potato should be soft. Serve and enjoy.

How do you like your curry? What pickles and products do you like with it? Any issues finding vegan dishes and breads?

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