The Simple Plant-Based Cauliflower Curry

There are few things I love more than a comforting and cosy bowl of curry, particuarly in the winter. I want it to be simple though, I want to be able to put it together, leave it to do its thing and then come back to it a little while later for a delicious meal. This cauliflower curry tastes great, is easy but it’s also totally plant-based so whether you’re a fully committed vegan, trying out meat-free Monday or just cooking for a variety of dietary requirements, this is a simple but flavourful option. Over Christmas we had a big gathering, some of us ate plant-based, some veggie, some meat eaters but everyone enjoyed this. It’s got at least 2 of your 5 a day in there, a great variety of different foods and everything you need can be picked up in your local supermarket.

One thing to note, I’m not a great lover of measurements - mad personality quirk, I know - so I’ve given estimations below but honestly I think it’s always better to taste as you go and adapt as you like. Want more heat? Great! Want more citrus? Throw it in! Adapt as you like to make it work for you.

Ingredients (Serves 4 people with rice)

1 large cauliflower

1 tin of chickpeas

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tin of coconut milk

Generous pinch of chilli flakes

300g of spinach (I use a standard bag, you could swap for kale if you prefer)

3 sliced spring onions

Juice of 1 lime

Garlic oil (No reason why you couldn’t use regular oil and garlic, this is just better for my dietary needs)

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of garam masala

1 tsp of of ground coriander

Method

Start by heating the oil in a large pan, add in all of the spices and heat for a minute or two until it forms a paste, this is really important for getting all of the flavour from the dried spices. Add in the sliced spring onions (I’d throw in the fresh garlic here if I was using it) and let them soften then add in the juice of 1 lime.

Chop the cauliflower, let it fall apart naturally where it wants to and chop up any larger bits and the stalk into 2cm chunks. Add this to the paste in the pan and make sure it’s fully coated. Sometimes here I find I need the paste to go a little further if the cauliflower is really big. I just add a bit more oil and a bit more of each of the spices, nothing too crazy but just enough to make sure the flavour is still there. Keep stiring until the cauliflower starts to catch a little and get some colour. Drain and add in the tin of chickpeas, making sure they’re all fully coated in the paste too.

Once everything is covered, add in the tin of coconut milk and tin of tomatoes, stiring well to make sure everything is combined. Bring it to the boil and then reduce the heat so it’s gently simmering. You can leave this for 20-30 miuntes and then serve up if you want but my favoruite thing to do is make this a few hours ahead of time and let it gently simmer away so the flavours are even more intense and the cauliflower is nice and tender. However long you cook it, make sure that you wash and add the spinach a few minutes before serving. I don’t like super soggy and wilted spinach (who does?) so I find just a few minutes before serving preserves a bit of that crunch.

This works great as leftovers and for freezing too but I don’t find the spinach freezes that well. Instead, I portion out what I’ll eat immediately and add just the spinach I need. The rest of the spinach will go in when I eat the rest of the curry. I tend to serve with rice but naan would work just as well, and if you wanted a lighter meal you could omit the carb altogether.

This recipe has been one of my go-to’s in the past few months. It’s so simple, tastes good and is packed full of vegetable, fibre, nutrients and protein. If you give it a go please let me know, I’d love to know what you think!