Gajar makhani — Indianstyle butter carrot

Curries are always better the next day, or even a few days afterwards. Most vege curries, though, start to get mushy after a day or two — except this one. Carrots are the ideal density to last as long as you need them to, and soften just enough with heat to be perfectly al dente. Make your carrot chunks bitesized, serve with steamed rice and naan bread and leave the cutlery in the drawer — this is hand food! Any leftover gravy is good enough to mop up with naan or roti bread. Or try mixing in some picked charcoalroasted chicken meat for a quick and easy butter chicken, before or after the carrot is all gone.

Serves 48

50g butter

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup (150g) raw cashews

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

1 Tbsp brown mustard seeds

4 curry leaf branches, leaves picked (about 3540 leaves)

1 bunch of coriander (cilantro), leaves picked, stems and roots washed well and finely chopped

3 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp mild chilli powder

11⁄2 cups (375g) Greekstyle yoghurt 800g carrots, peeled and cut into

3cm pieces on the diagonal

1 Tbsp brown sugar

700g tomato passata (pureed tomatoes) 1 cup (250ml) coconut cream, plus

extra to serve

To serve steamed basmati rice naan or roti bread

Method

Heat the butter and oil in a wide saucepan over mediumhigh heat. Add the cashews and toss for 3 minutes, or until toasted and golden.

Add the garlic, ginger, mustard seeds and curry leaves and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until aromatic. Set aside half the cashew mixture for serving.

Add the coriander stems and spices to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, or until fragrant.

Stir in the yoghurt until combined, then add the carrot and stir to coat. Stir in the sugar, passata, coconut cream and 1 cup (250ml) water and bring to a simmer.

Cover the surface of the curry with a cartouche (see tips) to stop the sauce cooking down too quickly — or you could partly cover the pan with a lid. Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, or until the thickest piece of carrot you can find is forktender, and the gravy has thickened and reduced slightly.

Serve drizzled with extra coconut cream and scattered with the reserved cashew mixture and coriander leaves, with rice and naan or roti bread.

Tips: Creating a ‘‘cartouche’’ out of baking paper encourages even, gentle cooking without sweating. It’s handy for gentle poaching and lowandslow brothmaking. Make a cartouche by folding a squareish piece of baking paper into quarters, then cutting a rounded edge with scissors, to fit the diameter of your pot. Cut a little bit of the middle out, too, to make a little blowhole for air to escape.

Fantastic naan and roti bread are readily available at supermarkets. Look for ones with a short shelf life and not too many ingredients. Try popping them over some heat to take on an almostauthentic tandoor char, or into the toaster to crisp up a little.