This is the dish my Sri Lankan parents would make when time was tight; it has always stayed with me as a go-to supper. It is a versatile midweek dinner, full of flavour and easy to throw together on a winter’s evening. For this recipe, I’ve used sweet potatoes and peas, but cauliflower and kale work nicely, too.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2.5cm knob ginger, coarsely grated with skin on
1 tbsp roasted curry powder (or cook normal curry powder for a few minutes in a dry saucepan)
1 tsp tomato paste
2 chicken thighs, diced into 2.5cm pieces
1 small sweet potato, diced
3 heaped tbsp coconut milk powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 handfuls of vegetables eg cauliflower florets, peas, kale ( whatever you like or have on hand in your fridge)
1 tbsp of tamarind, soaked in 3 tbsp hot water, or the juice of half a lime
Fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Steamed basmati rice
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and leave for a minute before stirring. Stir only occasionally.
After five minutes, when the onions are golden brown, add the mustard seeds, garlic and ginger. Add a tablespoon of oil at this point if you need to – garlic and ginger are particularly prone to catching.
Cook, stirring more frequently, until the onions are dark brown. Stir in the curry powder, tomato paste, chicken and potato with enough water to come up to about halfway. Stir in the coconut milk powder, mixing well to combine. Don’t worry about any lumps, they will disappear. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Uncover and season with salt and pepper. Then turn the heat up and add the vegetables. I usually add some frozen peas and a handful of spinach right at the end. If you add cauliflower or broccoli florets, give them five minutes to cook. Green beans are good, too, although cook them separately and add at the end if you would prefer them to remain a vibrant green.
To finish, add the lime juice or some of the tamarind water (not so much that you make the curry sour, but so that the flavours become more vibrant). Garnish with the coriander and serve with rice.
Yohini Nandakumar is the co-founder of Sparrow, London
