Curry is really BIG on flavour
Four years ago, school friends Henry Firth and Ian Theasby entered their 30s feeling unhealthy, unfit and unhappy. So they made a change. Switching to a fully plant-based lifestyle, they noticed health benefits straight away. They lost weight, their hair got thicker, they slept better and woke up in the mornings feeling more energised.
In June 2016, they launched their online recipe channel BOSH! showing the world just how easy and delicious plant-based cooking could be. Their recipe videos went viral with over a billion views in their first year, currently reaching 26 million people a month, they soon became the bestselling vegan authors in the UK.
BOSH!’s first two cookbooks showed us how we can all eat more plants, one meal at a time, without compromising on flavour. Their third cookbook BOSH! Healthy Vegan is packed with over 80 delicious recipes, proving that healthy vegan food doesn’t have to be plain salads.
Following is a recipe from their latest book:
SUNNY SRI LANKAN CURRY
A big, rich Sri Lankan curry is one of our favourite dishes, but typically they are super-high in saturated fat due to the coconut milk. We’ve tempered this bad boy down, using reduced-fat coconut milk and some water and desiccated coconut instead, but it’s still big on flavour.
Ingredients
■ 1 small butternut squash (about 400g)
■ 20g cashews
■ 1 tsp vegetable oil
■ 2 large shallots
■ 3 large garlic cloves
■ 5cm piece fresh ginger (about 20g)
■ 1 fresh green bird’s-eye chilli
■ 1 red pepper
■ 1 orange pepper
■ 1 tsp coconut oil
■ 1 tsp ground turmeric
■ 1 Tbsp curry powder
■ 1 Tbsp black mustard seeds
■ 1 Tbsp tomato pure´ e
■ 15 curry leaves, optional
■ 200ml reduced-fat coconut milk
■ 200ml water
■ 10g desiccated coconut
■ 100g fresh baby spinach leaves
■ 1⁄2 lime
■ salt and black pepper
■ 10g fresh coriander leaves, optional
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Trim and peel the butternut squash, halve it and scoop out the seeds. Cut it into 2.5cm cubes and spread over a lined baking tray, drizzle over the vegetable oil, season with salt and pepper, put the tray in the oven and roast for 30 minutes until tender. Toast the cashews in the oven on a small baking tray for the last 5-8 minutes until golden, then roughly chop.
Peel and finely dice the shallots, peel and grate the garlic, peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon, then grate. Rip the stem from the chilli, cut it in half lengthways and remove the seeds if you prefer, then finely dice and trim, halve, core and dice the peppers.
Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan or wok over a medium heat. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and chilli and stir for 1 minute. Add the turmeric, curry powder, mustard seeds, tomato pure´ e and curry leaves (if using) and stir for 30 seconds then add the peppers and stir for 1 minute.
Pour the coconut milk, water and half the desiccated coconut into the pan (reserve the rest to sprinkle over the curry at the end). Stir to combine, turn up the heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add the spinach and stir to wilt then fold the roasted butternut squash into the curry. Squeeze the lime juice into the pan and fold it into the sauce.
Taste the curry, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the cashews, coriander leaves (if using) and remaining desiccated coconut and serve. — Serves 4 213 KCAL | 6.9G PROTEIN | 11G FAT | LOW FAT | LOW SUGAR | PROTEINPACKED