Potato and Pea Curry with Vegan Cucumber Raita

It’s taken me a long time to get around to sharing my recipe for this curry because on paper it sounds a bit plain. Believe me, though, the ingredients make for a taste explosion of beautifully blended flavours and once you’ve tried it you’ll want to make it all the time!

We tend it eat it around once a week in our house. I’ll often serve it with an array of other curries, like pumpkin curry, okra curry (recipe here) and chickpea curry, but it’s also perfect as a stand alone dish.

I do always make a condiment to go with it though, either tomato chutney, or, my absolute favourite, vegan cucumber raita. The creaminess of the raita and the cool cucumber really balance the spiciness of the curry, creating the perfect combination.

While you might want to tinker with the spices in this curry to suit your own tastes, I wouldn’t really recommend altering any of the vegetable ingredients. The eggplant, in particular, is essential to thicken the curry, while the tomatoes add a touch of sweetness.

I keep the curry mild so it’s suitable for everyone in the family, but if you like spicy food I suggest adding some finely chopped chilli when you cook the onion.

So here goes…

Heat some coconut oil in the bottom of a large pan (canola oil will do) and add the following ingredients:

1 bulb of garlic, finely chopped

1 large chunk of ginger, approx. 1 inch cubed, finely chopped

1 brown onion

(Chilli, finely chopped, if you want)

Fry until the onions look glassy, then add:

1 large eggplant, peeled and finely diced

Fry for a minute more, then add:

5 medium tomatoes, diced

Fry more a minute more, then add:

½ tsp cumin powder

¼ tsp cinnamon powder

¼ tsp coriander powder

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp masala powder

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp turmeric powder

2 tsp salt

A small handful of curry leaves (if you can find them, not essential)

Stir through, then add:

7 cups of potato, chopped into small, bite sized pieces

4 cups of frozen peas

3 cups of boiling water

Stir again. At this point it should look like this:

Cover the pan and allow the mixture to boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally.

Then take the lid off and simmer for 5 minutes more, to allow any excess water to steam off and for the curry to thicken. Keep stirring occasionally.

The curry should then look like this and will be ready to dish out!

You may want to add more salt, depending on your tastes. Unfortunately, I find that curries normally need quite a bit of salt.

This recipe makes enough for our family of two adults and six children. However, I recommend making the full amount even if you're cooking for a smaller group, because it's great to have left overs! (My children love it the next day wrapped in whole wheat paratha!)

I usually serve it with brown basmati rice, sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander, and cucumber raita. Here’s how to make the raita:

Put the following ingredients in your vitamix/food processor:

1 whole lemon, peeled

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 cups of cashew nuts

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sea salt

¾ cup of water

Blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and add ½ a medium cucumber, peeled and diced. Mix through and you're done!

Enjoy!