Root vegetable and coconut curry.

I made curry for uon and rjw1 last night.

I did spice-roasted parsnip and sweet potato strips with fresh coriander and yoghurt dip to start (recipes here except I cut the vegetables a lot smaller and put extra lime juice and chilli in the coriander chutney) along with lamb samosas (bought frozen, not home made).

For the main course I took a gutted mackerel, cut some slits in the skin, and rubbed some of the fresh coriander and yoghurt dip inside and out, then wrapped it in a packet of foil, open at the top, and baked it in the oven for 20 minutes. Served it with basmati rice and a root vegetable and coconut curry.

Root vegetable and coconut curry

Chop quite a lot of onion fairly finely, and cook it in a bit of vegetable oil for quite a while until it's very brown and nicely collapsed. Meanwhile, mix some ground coriander (about 6 parts), ground cumin (3 parts), ground cardamom (1 part), a pinch of ground cinnamon for aroma, and a generous pinch of turmeric for colour, and add just enough water to make a thick paste. Leave to sit for at least 10 minutes. When the onions are ready, add in the spice paste with lots of finely-chopped garlic, and stir and cook for 1-2 minutes until the raw smell has started to go from the spices.

Add peeled, cubed (about 1cm cubes) celeriac, sweet potato, and parsnip, mix well, cook for another couple of minutes, stirring, then add a good bit of canned coconut milk, a slosh of concentrated vegetable stock, and a bit of water, mix again, then bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until veg are done and the sauce has thickened. Whether you leave the lid on or off depends on how much liquid you added.

This turns out fairly sweet because of the caramelised onions and the sweetness of the vegetables, so the fresh coriander and yoghurt sauce with extra lime went with it very well.