Sri Lankan Coconut Green Curry
Make this your go-to special curry to impress your friends and warm you on a cold winters day.
Have a go at making your own green curry paste, it's easier and reliably tasty too!
If spicy, creamy curries with rich and deep levels of flavour are your thing, then this vegan Sri Lankan curry will indeed become a favourite in your kitchen. Traditional Sri Lankan flavors used to create the green curry paste, alongside satisfying potato, high protein peas, and lentils, make this a nutritious veggie curry straight from heaven!
This recipe has a smooth richness to it provided by the homemade curry paste that uses freshly ground garlic, ginger, fiery chilli, cardamom seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, and fresh coriander; all mellowed out to perfection when accompanied by creamy coconut milk powder and earthy potatoes.
I made this recipe in around 30 minutes, so with that in mind, this would be a perfect weekday meal to bring everybody together and allow them to experience the wonderfully unique flavours that Sri Lankan cuisine offers. This recipe would also serve as an excellent meal prep for busy people who tend to eat the same meal for a couple of days running or those who like to freeze extra portions of the meals they make for a day when they can become a quick, convenient, and healthy pre-prepared meal.
There's many benefits to using multiple spices in your cooking!
It's great to learn that almost all the spices used in traditional Sri Lankan cooking have been studied and were found to have antifungal and antimicrobial properties and medicinal values, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic benefits.
Let us go through the spices in this recipe and the potential benefits of using them regularly in your cooking.
- Turmeric - There are many studies that show promising results that turmeric and it's active compound curcumin, in particular, can help to better regulate inflammation in the body. When comparing the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric against those of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, there are signs of great promise for this natural spice.
- Black Pepper - When it comes to this spice, the only benefit isn't just to combine with turmeric to increase its bioavailability. It turns out that black pepper helps improve digestion, relieve coughs and colds, help treat skin problems, and boost metabolism to enhance weight loss efforts.
- Ginger - This spice has a long reputation as a carminative, which helps promote gas elimination from the digestive system. Although it tastes hot and spicy, it's been shown to soothe the intestinal tract.
- Cardamon - Has shown to have antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. This spice may also help protect the heart from elevated levels of cholesterol and high blood pressure.
- Cloves - There are many benefits associated with this spice, including keeping blood sugar in check, improving oral health, removing intestinal parasites, and helping to block the growth of harmful bacteria.
- Ceylon Cinnamon - A known anti-viral, antibacterial, and antifungal. Cinnamon is thought to have many medicinal and soothing properties due to its incredibly high antioxidant profile.
Sri Lankan Coconut Green Curry Recipe
This Sri Lankan recipe uses oodles of fresh spices, coconut milk powder, and a homemade green curry paste.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
For the Curry
- 1 cup red split lentils
- 1 medium potato, cubed
- 1 small red onion, diced finely
- 170g peas from tin, fresh, or frozen
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 Ceylon cinnamon stick
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 750ml water
- 200g powdered coconut milk or 1 tin full fat coconut milk
- 1-2 tbsp of oil, for frying
- Salt and black pepper to taste
For the Green Curry Paste
- Small bunch of coriander
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 fresh green chilli
- 2-3 cloves
- 1 tsp cardamon pods
For Serving
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- Dairy-free plain yogurt
- 1 lime
- Few sprigs of fresh coriander
METHOD
- Prepare brown rice to packets instruction, I used a rice cooker to cook my brown rice, rinsed first then added 1 cup of water and switched on the rice cooker.
- To make your green curry paste smash the ingredients together in the pestle and mortar, starting with the cardamom pods, and coriander seeds, I removed the outer skin's of the smashed cardamom, then grind together the other ingredients leaving the fresh coriander until last, then I smashed that in with the rest until you have a bright green curry paste.
- Now it's time to make the curry, so begin with adding oil to a large saucepan, or large and deep frying pan, heat on medium and add mustard seeds and finely diced onion. Fry until the onion is golden and the seeds are aromatic, stir in the turmeric and your green curry paste for a few seconds.
- Then, add red lentils, cinnamon stick, cubed potato, vegetable stock cube, water, and powdered coconut milk. Cook until the potato and lentils are just soft, around 20-25 mins on medium heat. I like mine with a slight bite. Add more water if needed, you'll want it thick and creamy but not too dry.
- Serve with dairy-free yogurt, sliced lime, fresh coriander, and brown rice.
Enjoy!
Recipe by Rose Wyles - The Vegan Nutritionist
For professional assistance with adopting a healthy and nutritious plant-based diet, go to
www.thevegannutritionist.co.uk/nutritionconsulting