Every so often I make a recipe and pop a pic up on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and despite me thinking it looks a bit of a mess, people seem to like the sound of it. And it was nice, this sweet potato and mushroom curry. Now look, the quantities are all a bit rough (as is the pic) as I didn't expect to be blogging it, but I am sure everyone can cope with handfuls and thumbnails rather than grams. If you can't (for I know some people get VERY shirty about being vague in recipes) then please look away now. This delicious, vegetarian, very good for you recipe is not for you.
Lots of great recipes like this in my books, Recipes from a Normal Mum, (available on Amazon, at The Works, Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets) and The Power of Frozen (available exclusively in Iceland stores and through their website).
Sweet potato & mushroom chilli
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large onions, peeled and chopped into 2cm ish pieces
- 1 small aubergine, top stalk bit removed and cut into 2cm chunks, skin on
- 2 peppers, stalk and seeds removed and cut into 2cm chunks
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 thumb of fresh ginger skin removed and finely chopped
- 2 red chillis, stalk removed and finely chopped
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- 200g portabello mushrooms, broken into 3 - 4 cm pieces
- 1 x 400g tin red kidney beans, drained
- 20g salted butter
- Some boiled quinoa, grated cheese, fresh avocado and sour cream to finish
I know this is a less a recipe and more just a pan of bubbling ingredients but here goes:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the salt and onions. Stir well and fry on a low heat for about 10 minutes until the onions are soft and starting to become translucent. Add the aubergine, peppers, paprika, cumin and cinnamon and stir well. Turn up the heat to medium and fry the veg and spices for 2 minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger, chilli, chopped tomatoes (plus one empty tin of cold water too) and tomato puree, stir well and leave to simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and mushrooms, stir well and simmer for about 20 minutes until you can pass a sharp knife through one of the potatoes easily. The sauce should have reduced down a little too. Lastly add the drained beans and butter. Stir and heat through for 5 minutes.
Serve over boiled and drained quinoa or basmati rice or with wraps. Add grated cheese, fresh avocado and sour cream if you're feeling decadent.
P.S. Make it vegan by omitting the butter and serving without cheese or cream. The butter does really finish the chilli off though, giving it a silky quality. I haven't tried vegan alternatives to butter in this chilli, but if you do, let me know.
Holly blogs at Recipes from a Normal Mum