As a nation, we absolutely love a curry; after all, Birmingham is home to the Balti. There’s something so comforting about a rich, perfectly spiced curry sat on a bed of fluffy pilau rice with a sweet yet fragrant pashwari naan to soak up all the sauce.

To celebrate National Curry Week, we’re sharing our favourite recipe for an Indian feast; creamy chickpea korma with Bombay potatoes. A Korma is not usually the healthiest option from an Indian take-away given that they usually make it with full fat cream and ghee (an Indian type of fat), so our version is slightly lighter as we use reduced fat coconut milk along with plant based protein (all hail chickpeas!).

Vegan Chickpea Korma Curry with Bombay potatoes

Ingredients:

For the Curry:

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 tbsp tikka masala curry powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 courgette chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 can reduced fat coconut milk
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp tomato pureé
• Salt pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar

For the Bombay potatoes:

• 10 small new potatoes
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp olive oil

Instructions:

For the Bombay potatoes:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Add the potatoes to a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and the s
2. easoning/spices. Mix thoroughly.
3. Bake until the potatoes are cooked through yet brown and crispy on the outside.

For the curry:

1. Heat a large pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and continue to stir until translucent. Add the chopped garlic and continue to cook until the garlic browns slightly
2. Add the courgette, spices and seasoning. If the mixture looks a bit too dry remove f
   rom the heat and add a few drops of water, stir and then continue to cook. Continue to fry for a few minutes to slightly brown the courgette
3. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, chickpeas and half a cup of water. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until thickened. Add the coconut milk and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
4. If the curry still looks a bit runny, make a separate cornflour paste by adding a few drops of water to 1 tbsp of in a small cup and mix until smooth. Then slowly add the paste to the curry and stir.
5. Serve with the Bombay potatoes, rice, mango chutney and chopped coriander (optional).

Enjoy!

For more plant-based student recipes visit www.basilandvogue.com

Andri Neocleous

Image: Andri Neocleous