Thai Veggie Massaman Curry

Ingredients

For the Curry Paste

Grind together:

1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
3 tbsp ginger
3 chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp coriander seeds
¼ cup water or coconut milk

For the Curry

1 sweet potato, cubed and cooked (boiled)
1 small potato, cubed and cooked (boiled)
1 cup green beans (French beans), trimmed and cut in half
5 white mushrooms, wiped and quartered
1/2 cup green peas
1 cup firm tofu, deep fried
1 onion, sliced lengthways
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 star anise (or 1 tsp fennel)
14oz chickpeas
4 tbsp peanut butter
2 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
500ml coconut milk (1 can)
1.5 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp tamarind juice (or 1.5 tsp OJ, .5 tsp lime juice)
Salt to taste

Prep

1. Grind up all the ingredients for the curry paste.

2. Heat the oil in a wok, add the curry paste and cook this on a medium heat until aromatic and when the oil separates from the paste. Add the peanut butter. Keep stirring and don’t let it burn.

3. Add the coconut milk, star anise, ground cumin, cardamom powder, sesame oil, dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, tamarind juice. Allow to simmer until it becomes a little thicker (5 min).

4. Add the tofu, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, onions and chickpeas. Cover and simmer for 7-10 minutes. If your mixture becomes too thick just thin it out using a little water.

5. Add the peas and turn the heat off. It will cook perfectly in the heat of the curry.

6. Remove the whole star anise before serving. Enjoy with beautiful Thai jasmine rice.