I tested Bettina Campolucci Bordi’s Garden Vegetable Soup recipe (p. 56 in her cookbook Happy Food ).
Curry is a food I normally order in rather than cook at home because It’s usually a very complex recipe, with rich ingredients I don’t use often enough. Also, the portion sizes within most recipes are made for more than one person. But Bordi manages to create a curry recipe that is quick yet delicious and it’s made for 2 people. This is definitely a mild curry recipe, almost too mild.
✰✰.5 star TRY because I had to add heat to mine.
Bettina Campolucci Bordi’s One-Pot Curry in a Hurry
Simple mild curry dinner
Equipment
- Skillet with lid
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon good-quality yellow curry spice mix plus more if required
- 1 carrot chopped into small pieces
- ½ aubergine eggplant, chopped into small pieces
- 1 potato chopped into small pieces
- 45 g 1½ oz/¼ cup dried red lentils
- 400 ml 14 fl oz/ 1½ cups coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- big handful of spinach
- big bunch of basil
- salt and pepper to taste
To serve
- pomegranate seeds
- chopped peanuts
- squeeze of lime
- coriander cilantro leaves
- edible flowers optional
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan (skillet) over medium heat. Add the oil and gently fry the shallot and garlic until transparent. Then add the curry spice mix, carrot, aubergine and potato and fry for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the lentils followed by the coconut milk and simmer over low heat, covered, for 25 minutes.
- Remove the lid, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt or more spice mix, add a dollop of peanut butter and stir in a handful of spinach and basil. I also love to scatter over pomegranate seeds and peanuts for extra crunch and give it a final squeeze of lime to cut through the creaminess of the curry, then throw over a few coriander leaves and edible flowers, to add some colour.
- Serve as it is or with some steamed rice, quinoa or buckwheat on the side.
Notes
TIP: Curries are great when cooked in bigger batches – often they taste even better the next day because the flavours have had a chance to marry. – Bettina Campolucci Bordi pg. 48 of Happy Food or on her site
Did you make this recipe?
Please let us know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @moody.eater on Instagram and hashtag it #moodyeater #moodyeatersclub .
