A dear friend of mine gave me a vegan cookbook for a leaving present. I’ve made a handful of the recipes and they’ve all exceeded expectations, giving vegan food the glory it deserves. Vegan food gets a lot of slagging for being bland and boring but it needn’t be.
This curry is adapted from a recipe in the cookbook. Having picked up a beautiful lilac cauliflower from a food market, I wanted to make a healthy curry. I was missing several ingredients from the original recipe so I adapted accordingly. It would benefit from the lime and coriander garnish suggested in the book. I found the curry deliciously satisfying!
Purple Cauliflower Curry with Red Lentils
Print RecipeIngredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- bunch scallions, sliced
- 1/2-1 tsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. curry powder
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- 2 cups red lentils
- 1L vegetable stock
- one head cauliflower, sliced into small florets
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups brown rice
- Flaked almonds to garnish
Instructions
Have cauliflower and scallion chopped and ready. Heat oil in large stockpot on medium-high heat, then sauté scallion until tender. Add the chili powder and sauté for 1 minute. Add the other spices and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Meanwhile, start cooking the rice (brown rice can take 35 minutes or more).
Pour in the veggie broth, then stir in the lentils. Cover the pot, raise the heat to high, boil for 1 minute. Give the mixture a stir, then cover the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Allow the lentils to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. They should turn light yellow and look mushy.
Add the cauliflower florets, stirring to coat with the lentils. Partially cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until cauliflower is tender but not completely falling apart. Remove from heat and stir in salt.
Allow the curry to sit, covered, for about 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld. Garnish with lime and coriander if you have some to hand. I used scallion and flaked almonds.
Serve over rice.
Another recipe from this book I tried was ‘Sweet potato pear tzimmes with pecans, maple & Madeira’. It was divine!
