Corn, Red Pepper & Coconut Curry

Corn, Red Pepper & Coconut Curry is subtly spiced, creamy and delicious. Inspired by the dishes of South and West India, it’s entirely plant based. Use fresh, tinned or frozen corn.

I think Indian cooking must be the best in the world for inspiring, plant-based dishes. With so many spices and flavourings, humble vegetables and pulses can be turned into real feasts.

Much of the Indian food we’re most familar in Britain is from north India. But, having lived in Leicester for twenty-five years with its many types of Indian restaurants, I came to know and especially love the food of south and west India. I don’t know how many times I had the lunchtime buffet at Shivalli. It was just around the corner from where I worked and a measly £4.95 for a host of vegetarian curries and accompaniments. They’d bring around freshly cooked dosas or puris too AND they’d be a milky pudding to finish. Another favourite was Kayal and its beautiful dishes with lots of coconut and curry leaf.

CORN, RED PEPPER & COCONUT CURRY

I like to think of this Corn, Red Pepper & Coconut Curry as a sort of homage to those flavours. I don’t claim that it’s ‘authentic’. However, it’s a good example of the sort of flavours I like in a curry. It’s not overly hot with chilli, although you can add more chilli heat if you want. I’d characterize it as warmly spicy rather than hot.

It includes common curry spices such as ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and garam masala. But it’s also flavoured with the less widely used ground fenugreek and curry leaves. Open a bag of fenugreek and, to me, that aroma says ‘curry’. I think it’s almost like a mixture rather than a single spice, so complex is it. You can buy it in Asian grocers or widely online. Curry leaves are another ingredient that add a whole layer of flavour all their own. I buy dried curry leaves online as they’re not that easy to find in the shops.

If you’ve read much on this blog, you’ll know that I’m very partial to coconut. Actually, that’s putting it mildly. In this curry, I’ve managed to squeeze in coconut in three different forms. Coconut oil for sauteing. Coconut milk to give creaminess. Dried coconut shavings scattered over the finished dish for added texture. If you don’t use coconut oil then you can substitute your preferred oil, ghee or butter.

I’ve used fresh corn cobs in this recipe. Just run a sharp knife down each one to remove the kernels. But tinned or frozen sweetcorn would be fine too. Just remember that you’re really only reheating the latter, whereas fresh corn will need to cook and soften in the sauce. I still like the corn to have plenty of bite and chew though.

SERVING

You could serve the Corn, Red Pepper & Coconut Curry just on it’s own, as a sort of thick, spicy stew. Maybe with a flat bread if liked.

I serve it with a couple of other dishes for variety of taste and texture. Instead of the traditional rice, I often serve roasted broccoli-cauliflower ‘rice’ with curries. It’s useful if you want to keep the carbs down and of course you’ll be getting at least another portion of vegetables. If you want to make it, you’ll find the instructions in my recipe for Cauliflower-Broccoli Tabbouleh.

I also like to include something fresh and raw on the side of my curries, often an Asian-style ‘coleslaw’. What I put in it depends on what’s in the fridge. Here it was red cabbage, red onion, carrots, lots of coriander leaf and broken cashews. I made a dressing for the salad with oil in which I’d fried mustard and fennel seeds, plus lemon juice and a little sugar.

If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear what you thought. It’d be great if you could comment and rate it below.

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Corn, Red Pepper & Coconut Curry

Subtly spiced, creamy and delicious this curry is entirely plant based. Use fresh, tinned or frozen sweetcorn and adust the cooking time accordingly.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, Vegetarian, Vegan

Keyword curry, corn red pepper & coconut curry

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 2 people at least

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large onion skinned, quartered, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp paprika
• 4 cloves garlic finely grated or chopped
• 2-3 cm ginger root peeled, finely grated or chopped
• 2-3 green chillies deseeded, finely chopped
• 1 small handful dried curry leaves
• 1 large red pepper cut into strips
• 2 cobs/ears corn (or 250g tinned/frozen corn) kernals removed from cobs/ears
• 400 ml coconut milk
• salt to taste
• sugar to taste optional
• 1 small bunch coriander roughly chopped
• 1 handful dried coconut shavings to serve optional

Instructions

1. In a large pan, heat the coconut oil. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring often until starting to soften and brown (10-15 min).
   

2. Meanwhile, put all the ground spices, garam masala & paprika (NOT the curry leaves) in a small bowl and stir in enough cold water to make a thinnish paste. Set aside.
   

3. Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli to the onions in the pan and cook, stirring, for another 2-3 min.
   

4. Stir in the spice paste and cook gently until the liquid is evaporated (approx 10 min)
   

5. Add the curry leaves, red pepper and corn. Stir and cook for 2 min.
   

6. Add the coconut milk and a little salt. Stir well, bring to the boil and then turn the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until the corn is cooked and the sauce is reduced to your liking (approx 20-30 min).
   

7. Add a little sugar if liked, plus more salt if needed and stir in half the chopped coriander.
   

8. Serve with the remaining coriander sprinkled over, plus the coconut shavings if using.