Malaysian-style vegetable and coconut curry

Name: Malaysian-style vegetable and coconut curry
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 4 (makes about 190g curry paste)
Ingredients: For the curry paste; 3 tbsp desiccated coconut; 2 garlic cloves, peeled; 1 onion, sliced; 2 lemongrass stalks, tough outer layer removed and inside sliced; 1-3 red chillies, deseeded, or chilli flakes to taste; Piece of fresh ginger the size of a large walnut, roughly sliced; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp sugar; For the vegetable curry; 2 tbsp olive oil; 400ml tin coconut milk; 1 tsp tamarind paste (we like Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients); 4 star anise; 1 cinnamon stick; 250g carrots, cut into thin rounds and parboiled; 200g tender cabbage, such as pointed white cabbage, shredded; 100g frozen petits pois, thawed; Lime juice to taste; 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander to serve; 4 tbsp salted peanuts, crushed, to serve

By: Rose Elliot

Published: 23 Feb 17
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Test kitchen approved

Vegetarian cookbook writer Rose Elliot’s rich coconut curry is bursting with Malaysian flavours. Serve with rice for a quick, meat-free midweek meal.

Give our Indian vegetable curry a go too and serve with fresh naan breads.

Serves 4 (makes about 190g curry paste)
Hands on time 5 minutes, cooking time 30 minutes

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Ingredients

For the curry paste

3 tbsp desiccated coconut
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 onion, sliced
2 lemongrass stalks, tough outer layer removed and inside sliced
1-3 red chillies, deseeded, or chilli flakes to taste
Piece of fresh ginger the size of a large walnut, roughly sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

For the vegetable curry

2 tbsp olive oil
400ml tin coconut milk
1 tsp tamarind paste (we like Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients)
4 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
250g carrots, cut into thin rounds and parboiled
200g tender cabbage, such as pointed white cabbage, shredded
100g frozen petits pois, thawed
Lime juice to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander to serve
4 tbsp salted peanuts, crushed, to serve

Method

To make the curry paste, put the desiccated coconut into a dry frying pan and stir over a medium heat until it turns slightly golden. Remove from the heat immediately and tip it into a food processor or deep bowl suitable for using a stick blender in. You need to be speedy to make sure the coconut doesn’t overcook in the hot pan and get too brown. Add the garlic, onion, lemongrass, chillies, ginger, turmeric, salt and sugar, then whizz to a thick paste.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, then add the paste. Stir for a couple of minutes to cook the spices, then add the coconut milk, tamarind paste, star anise and cinnamon stick. Bring to the boil, stirring, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Add the parboiled carrots and the cabbage to the pan, then continue to cook gently for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the sauce is thick and glossy. Add the petits pois and cook for a few minutes more to heat through.
Season to taste with salt and lime juice, then serve scattered with the coriander and crushed peanuts.

Recipe from May 2013 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 465kcals
Fat: 38.3g (23.5g saturated)
Protein: 43g
Carbohydrates: 19.4g (12.1g sugars)
Fibre: 8.8g
Salt: 1.2g

delicious. tips

Make double the amount of curry paste and store in the fridge in a sterilised jar for up to a week. Use it as a base for soup or, if you eat fish, a spicy marinade.

If not everyone you’re cooking for likes their curry hot, use chilli flakes instead of fresh chillies, adding them to part of the curry at the end of the cooking time.

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