Vegetarian Coconut Curry with Naan Breads

The curry recipe is inspired by the Minimalist Baker and the Naan breads by BBC Good Food.

I have always thought that to make a good flavorful curry, it is very complicated but this recipe has completely changed my ideas about curry. This recipe has proved to me that it's very easy because this recipe is just a question of throwing everything into one saucepan and letting the whole thing simmer until it's time for it to be served.

I made this curry on a Saturday night with my mum, we wanted to make a special Indian-inspired supper and spend some time together in the kitchen making a delicious warming meal. My mum had made some really delicious pea and potato samosas and I made the curry and Naan Breads.

The Naan breads are so easy to make and this curry really does need them. They are great to make while the curry is simmering.

Coconut is one of those really warming and calming flavors that I love. It helps to make the spiciness from the curry a little milder so that it isn't over-powering. Most people are very particular about coconut but I am one of those people who love it. Spoiler Recipe Alert: Coconut, mango and lime cupcakes coming up soon.

I love the quinoa in this recipe because it's so creamy because it's been cooked in coconut milk and it becomes really fluffy when you live it for a bit in the curry.The quinoa also replaces a bit the meat in the recipe so that meat-lovers don't miss it at all.

This curry was vegetarian until I added a beef stock cube to make a stock that I needed to add to the curry but if you want to make a completely vegetarian curry, you can make the stock with vegetable stock flakes or powder.

I have made some tweaks to the original Naan Bread recipe and curry recipe that have made the two dishes different and here is my slightly-changed version of the two recipes:

Ingredients:

For the curry:

• 250 grams of uncooked quinoa

• 1 can of coconut milk (for the quinoa)

• 300 ml water + extra

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 big onion or 2 small ones, thinly diced

• 2 big carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger

• The florets from 1 broccoli, cut into small pieces

• A handful of green beans, cut into thirds

• 1 can and 1/2 of coconut milk

• 500 ml vegetable broth

• 1 tablespoon of curry powder

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1 large tomato, diced

• 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

• Coriander + spring onion, to garnish

For the Naan Breads:

• 250 grams plain flour

• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 3 teaspoons of caster sugar

• 120 ml milk

• olive oil

• onion seeds / sesame seeds

• garlic granules, optional

Instructions:

For the curry:

(20 minutes to prepare + garnish not including the time it takes for it to simmer

1. Start by rinsing thoroughly the quinoa in a sieve and place in a saucepan.

2. Toast the quinoa for 2 minutes and then add the coconut milk + water and cook for 15 minutes, then strain and set aside.

3. Place your oil in a shallow but big saucepan and leave to heat up. Once the oil is very hot, add the chopped onions + crushed garlic + grated ginger + chopped carrot + the broccoli florets and cook for 5 minutes until the onions are really well cooked through. (Make sure you don't burn your garlic, if it's getting a little brown, go straight to the next step.)

4. Add your can and 1/2 of coconut milk + fish broth + chopped tomato + green beans and stir.

5. Next add in your salt + pepper + curry powder + chili flakes and stir well.

6. Leave to simmer for at least 15 minutes but there really isn't any maximum time.

7. 5 minutes before serving, add in your cooked quinoa and stir until combined. Serve and garnish with chopped coriander + spring onion and of course your Naan Bread.

For the Naan Breads:

(10 minutes to make if using a stand mixer or 15 minutes without)

1. Combine your flour + salt + sugar + baking powder and mix until combined.

2. Add in your milk and mix with the dough hook attachment if using a stand mixer or with your hands if not.

3. Once a dough forms, knead on the stand mixer for 7 minutes and 12 minutes if kneading the dough by hand.

4. Leave the dough aside in a warm area for at least 15 minutes, until needed so about 15 minutes before serving the curry.

5. Take your dough and divide it into 6 balls.

6. Roll the balls out into tear-drop shaped ovals and press in with the rolling pin your onion seeds / sesame seeds.

7. Place on to a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

8. Brush on with a pastry brush some olive oil and sprinkle on some garlic granules.

9. 2 minutes before serving the curry, place the tray in the oven on the grill settings and grill for 1 minute. Then open the oven door and watch your naan breads closely until they turn golden . Make sure to not burn them, it really does only take 1 minute to cook them.

10. Once golden, take out of the oven and serve alongside your delicious coconut curry.

Thoughts on this Coconut Curry and Naan Breads:

This coconut curry was so enjoyable to make, super easy and the thing that I love about it is that you could really add whatever veggies you like and it would work. The comforting smell of the coconut with the mild curry taste really make this the type of curry you want a warm cozy night. It's really nice and rich with the coconut milk and the puffy quinoa and of course the Naans on the side were really essential to making this curry perfect.

The Naan breads weren't too doughy and a little crispy on the top. The flavor of the garlic granules and onion seeds really came out nicely and the flavor of the dough was really nice.

Overall this recipe was a huge success and I am for sure going to make it again and again and again and so I really encourage you to give it a go. There are lots of ingredients, but they are ingredients that you can find nearly everywhere but even so, the recipe goes so fast I really had fun making it.