8-Veggie Coconut Curry with Cucumber Raita

Ingredients

For 4 portions

• 🏺 2 Tbsp sunflower oil
• 🌿 1 Tsp mustard seeds
• 🌿 1.5 Tsp cumin seeds
• 🧅 150g red onions
• 🧄 4 cloves garlic
• 🪴 15g ginger
• 🪴 1 Tsp turmeric
• 🌶️ 1 Tsp kashmiri chilli powder
• 🌿 2 Tsp coriander powder
• 🍅 250g tomato
• 🥔 300g potato
• 🥕 150g carrots
• 🎃 300g pumpkin
• 🥦 200g broccoli
• 🌽 150g sweetcorn
• 🥥 200ml coconut milk, canned
• 🌿 1 Tsp garam masala
• 🥒 200g cucumber
• 🥛 250ml soy yoghurt alternative
• 🌿 5g fresh mint
• 🍋 1 piece lime

Method

1. Prep the veggies: peel the potatoes and cut into 2 cm cubes. Peel and deseed the pumpkin and cut into 2.5 cm cubes. Slice the carrots into 1 cm rounds. Cut the broccoli into small florets and thinly slice the stalk. Finely chop the red onion and roughly chop the tomatoes. Grate or finely chop the garlic and ginger. If using fresh corn, slice the kernels off the cob.
2. Make the tadka: add the sunflower oil to a large wok or deep pan and heat it over a medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and, once they start to pop (about 30 seconds), add 1 tsp of the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for 10 seconds. Keep the remaining ½ tsp cumin for the raita.
3. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden at the edges. Stir in the garlic, then the ginger, and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant.
4. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the turmeric, Kashmiri chilli and ground coriander. Stir for 30 seconds so the spices toast without burning; add a splash of water if they start to stick.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, mashing them with your spoon, until they break down into a thick paste and the oil starts to separate at the edges.
6. Add the potatoes, then the carrots, and stir for a minute to coat them in the masala. These two take longest to cook, so they go in first with the water: pour in 250 ml water, bring to a simmer, put the lid on and cook for 8 minutes.
7. Add the pumpkin, put the lid back on and simmer for 8–10 minutes, until the potato is almost tender and the pumpkin is soft but still holding its shape.
8. Add the broccoli, then the sweetcorn, and stir them in. Pour in the coconut milk and simmer uncovered for 5–6 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green and just tender. Stir in the garam masala and season with salt. Add a splash of water if the sauce is too thick.
9. Make the raita while the curry rests: toast the remaining ½ tsp cumin seeds in a small dry pan for about 1 minute until fragrant, then crush them. Coarsely grate the cucumber and squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands. Mix the cucumber with the soy yoghurt, chopped mint, the crushed cumin, a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime.
10. Finish the curry with a squeeze of lime juice and taste for salt. Serve hot with rice or roti, with the cucumber raita on the side.