This recipe is a little twist on one of my all-time favourite recipes on this blog – my Butter Bean Cashew Dahl. With colder weather, I definitely find myself keen for warm comforting bowls of food for dinner, and this delicious curry definitely ticks those boxes!

Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
• 1 heaped tsp of ground turmeric
• 1 heaped tsp of ground ginger
• ¼ tsp mild chili powder
• 1 heaped tbsp of medium curry powder
• 1 red onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped into 1-inch chunks
• 1 medium courgette (head removed and dice into coins, then coins halved)
• 2 cups of broccoli florets
• 3 handfuls of spinach leaves
• 1 400ml tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 400g tin of butter beans
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 200ml of water or vegetable stock
• 200g of raw unsalted cashews
• Required: A blender or food processor (to blend your soaked cashews to make the cream)

Method

1. Boil the kettle and place the cashews into a deep bowl. Pour the boiled water on top of the cashews and leave them to soak while you start cooking.
2. Wash and chop your veggies and garlic as above in the ingredients list.
3. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot on the hob/stove (on a medium heat), and then add the onions and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes to sweat the onions, then add your spices (turmeric, ginger, chili powder and curry powder), and cook for another 3-4 minutes to coat the onions in the spices.
4. Next, add your veggies (except for the spinach), and cook for another 3-4 minutes to soften the veggies. Add the water/stock next and mix again.
5. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and stir to combine.
6. Drain and rinse the butter beans, and add these to the pot, mixing them in.
7. Bring the curry to the boil, and then turn the heat all the way down to a simmer (on the lowest heat setting).
8. Transfer the soaked cashews with about 100-150mls of the boiled water you soaked them in to your food processor. Blitz the cashew/water mix until you have a thick liquid consistency.
9. Pour the cashew cream into your simmering curry and stir it in to fully combine.
10. Finally, add the spinach leaves, and allow them to wilt in the curry as it simmers.
11. Simmer for about 10 minutes on the lowest heat, stirring frequently.
12. You’re done! Serve with your choice of side – options like brown rice, quinoa, spelt or even roasted sweet potato are all lovely, or just with extra greens for a lighter meal.

Enjoy guys! As always, tag me if you try this one out – @theirishbalance on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook!

Ciara