As many of you know, growing up I was a very fussy eater (I still am but I have improved a lot) one of the things I struggled with the most was strong spicy flavours. Trying indian food for the first time was a very scary experience for me, to this day I am still wary of very spicy curries as I know I cant tolerate too much heat. After a few goes I really started to enjoy indian flavours as long as they werent to spicy and it wasnt long until I started making my own curries at home. My absoulte favourite is korma. I love the subtle warm flavous of korma. Curries are such a wonderful way to eat a good mix of vegetables, starches like rice and legumes. I actually have another old korma recipe on my blog for a vegetable korma but since I have been working hard on adding more legumes into my diet this past year I thought I would bulk up my favourite korma by adding mixed beans, split peas and lentils. It took me quite a while for my digestion to get used to legumes when I first changed my diet. Although I never cut them out I ate them rarely and in small quantities until my digestion became more and more used to them. Currently I dont believe I have any problems digesting legumes anymore so have made an effort to add them into my diet more regularly especially since I suffered with a little bit of low iron during breastfeeding. Legumes are a really great source of iron and zinc. In my case I found them more helpful for my iron than eating greens and vitamin c rich foods
I use pre-packed bean/lentil mix that I find at the supermarket in the soup section. It uses small beans so that they can cook at the same time as the lentils, but its totally ok to skip the boiling of dry beans part and use a combination of canned beans and lentils instead (I love my canned beans, I’ve only recently started using more dried beans thanks to my pressure cooker). Since this recipe uses a dry bean mix, it does take a little bit of time because I highly recommend soaking the bean mix in water overnight before cooking. Boilng beans and lentils is also a little time consuming. I have written the recipe down with a few seperate steps on the stove top, but it can be much easier to use a pressure cooker or slow cooker for this recipe. In that case all that needs to be done is to add everything in the pressure cooker except that cashew cream at once and allow it to cook for 20-30 mins until soft. Once it is done you can add in the cream and serve. Personally I much prefer using a pressure cooker. It makes a very time conusming meal go much much faster but I did not own a pressure cooker until a few months ago so I am aware that not everyone has one.
Im still absolutely terrible at making my own spice pastes or mixes so I rely heavily on good quality store bought mixes. They always turn out better than when I try to make them at home, but if you enjoy making your own spice pastes, please go ahead and do that.
This recipe is wholesome and nourishing and a good source of plant-based protein. Its vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.
| Plant Based Mixed Bean, Lentil and Vegetable Korma | Print |
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 cup soy milk ( or any plant milk)
- 2 heaped TBSP good quality korma paste
- 1 cup soaked and rinsed dry mixed beans and lentils of choice
- 1 onion - diced
- Small handful green beans chopped
- 1 carrot chopped into thick rounds
- ¼ cauliflower head - cut into bite size pieces
- salt to taste
- coriander or parsely to garnish ( optional)
- Begin my soaking your cashews in your soy milk. Set aside to soak as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Prep your vegetables and add your, carrot, green beans and cauliflower into a steamer pot. Steam until veggies have become soft but still hold their shape. About 15 - 20 minutes.
- Heat a little oil on a saucepan and fry off your onion. When onion has become translucent add your curry paste and heat until becomes fragrant.
- Add your steamed vegetables to your saucepan and saute for a few more minutes
- Transfer your cashew and soy milk into a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy (I use a small blender like a Nutri Ninja to save clean up)
- Pour your cashew soy mixture over your vegetables and stir well to combine and coat all the veggies. Stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Adjust salt.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately with brown rice and naan bread if desired. Sprinkle over some flat leaf parsley or coriander (if you like it) and enjoy!
