Cauliflower, Mushroom, Carlin Pea Curry

Cauliflower, Mushroom, Carlin Pea Curry is warmly spicy with a hint of creaminess thanks to a little coconut milk in the rich tomato-based sauce. In this easy curry made with whole and ground spices, roasting the vegetables intensifies their flavour and keeps more of the cauliflower’s texture. For a change, I’ve used British-grown nutty carlin peas. But you could swap in your favourite beans or pulses such as chickpeas, black-eyed peas, brown or green lentils.

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One of the things I love about veggie and bean curries is that, infinitely adaptable, I will always have the ingredients to make one. With a well-stocked spice cupboard, a variety of tinned beans and pulses in the pantry, plus whatever vegetables are in the fridge, it’s easy to come up with something spicy, delicious and wholesome.

My Cauliflower, Mushroom, Carlin Pea Curry is a great example of that. While I usually plan what I’m going to cook for dinner well in advance, on a particularly busy day I just hadn’t given it a moment’s thought. Time was ticking by and, it being rather chilly, I fancied something warming.

Looking in the fridge, I spotted the fresh cauliflower and mushrooms from my Moorlands Veg Box and I knew I wanted to use them together. A curry immediately came to mind, prompted also by spying the remains of a tin of coconut milk. And for the protein element, why not a tin of the carlin peas I sometimes have as a veg box add-on?

CARLIN PEAS

Although new to most of us, carlin peas have a long history in Britain. Sometimes called brown badgers, black peas, grey peas or pigeon peas, Foods of England says they’ve been known as carlin peas since at least 1562. Most famously, they’re made into the Lancashire dish of parched peas served with vinegar, or the grey peas (pronounced ‘peys‘) and bacon of the Midlands.

But I guess they’ve been introduced to a wider audience thanks to now being grown in Britain by Hodmedod’s. If, like me, you’re trying to reduce food miles then I think swapping some of your usual imported pulses for British grown ones makes sense.

A little sweet and a little nutty, I think carlin peas work well in a curry. If you can’t get them then substitute chickpeas, black-eyed peas, green or brown lentils, or almost any other whole pulse you like.

EASY CAULIFLOWER, MUSHROOM, CARLIN PEA CURRY

You’ll find a detailed recipe card at the end of this post. If you want to go there now then Jump to Recipe. But I recommend you first read on for tips and step-by-step images.

THE VEGETABLES

At the start, I briefly roast the cauliflower and mushrooms. And for two reasons. Firstly, a bit of charring adds extra flavour. Secondly, I think it improves the texture of the cauliflower. Having most of its cooking done in the oven means it’s less likely to become waterlogged.

Before roasting, the veg are tossed in melted coconut oil with salt and pepper, ground cumin and turmeric. Cauliflower florets will take a little longer than the mushrooms, so I put them in the oven for an initial ten minutes before adding the mushrooms. Together, they’ll then need another ten minutes, roughly speaking.

Don’t worry that this step adds lots of time to the recipe. While the cauliflower and mushrooms are roasting, you’ll be making that warmly spicy curry sauce.

MAKING THE CURRY SAUCE

First, I soften sliced onions in coconut oil, adding chopped garlic and ginger for the final couple of minutes. If you have fresh chillies, then you can add one or two with the garlic and ginger. I didn’t, so added chilli flakes later. Next go in some whole spices: black mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Stir these around until they fizzle and pop.

Now we add in a tin of chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and the ground spices: garam masala, coriander, turmeric, chilli flakes or spices, fenugreek, and fennel. If you don’t have ground fennel, you could add a teaspoon of the more widely available fennel seeds at the same time as the mustard and cumin seeds.

I season everything with salt and pepper and add water. I like a bit of sweetness in my curries so sprinkle in a teaspoon or two of sugar. Give it a good stir then bring up to the boil. Immediately turn the heat to low and let everything simmer and bubble away until you have a very reduced, thick sauce. This stage will probably take around twenty minutes. Finally, I add half a tin of coconut milk. This gives me a lightly creamy curry which is my preference. But you could always add more if you want.

FINISHING THE CURRY

After the sauce has had a further five-minute bubble, it’s time to add in the roasted cauliflower and mushrooms. Be sure to include all the roasting juices: they’ll be full of flavour. The drained carlin peas or other pulses go in now too.

Now bubble the Cauliflower, Mushroom, Carlin Pea Curry for a final time. How long for depends on how well-done you like your cauliflower. As for me, I want my cauliflower to be tender rather than soft, the florets still holding their shape.

This should take 5 -10 minutes. If you want to reduce the sauce further, leave the lid off. If it’s already as thick as you want then pop on a lid. You could also add a touch more water if necessary. Finally, taste to check the seasoning, then stir in some fresh green coriander leaves.

SERVING CAULIFLOWER, MUSHROOM, CARLIN PEA CURRY

To serve, I like more fresh coriander scattered over along with a sprinkling of chewy dried coconut shavings. As a change from brown rice, I served this curry with pearl barley. Like the carlin peas it’s UK grown, so I managed to cut a few food miles there too.

I love this warmly spicy curry with its hint of creaminess in the rich tomato sauce. Roasting the vegetables, especially the cauliflower, greatly improves the taste and texture for very little effort. Whether you make it with homegrown pulses like carlin peas, or more familiar imported ones, I hope you’ll agree it’s an easy, tasty bowlful.

If you’ve made this recipe, leave a comment and rating to let me know what you thought.

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Cauliflower, Mushroom, Carlin Pea Curry

Briefly roasting the vegetables improves flavour and texture in this warmly spicy curry with a hint of creamy coconut milk in the rich tomato-based sauce.

The recipes cuts down food miles by using UK grown carlin peas, but you could substitute chickpeas, black-eyed peas, or whole lentils.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vegetarian, Vegan, Indian inspired, plant-based

Keyword pulses, beans

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 2 - 4

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 230 g cooked carlin peas This is the approximate drained weight of a standard tin. If cooking dried peas from scratch, start with 100 grams.

For roasting the vegetables

• 1 small - medium cauliflower
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• salt and black pepper
• 250 g mushrooms cut into chunky bite sized pieces if large

For the curry base

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large onion halved then thinly sliced
• 5 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 cm fresh ginger root finely grated or chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 - 2 tsp sugar optional
• 250 ml water
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground fennel or 1 tsp fennel seeds added with the cumin and mustard seeds
• 1 tsp chilli flakes or powder or 1 - 2 chopped fresh chillies added with the garlic and ginger
• salt and black pepper
• 200 ml tinned coconut milk
• 2 tbsp coriander roughly chopped
• coconut shavings to serve optional

Instructions

Roasting the vegetables

1. Preheat your oven to 220°C / 200°Fan / Gas 7 with a shelf positioned in the upper third.

2. Break the cauliflower into large florets and put on a lined baking tray.

3. Put the coconut oil, cumin and turmeric in a small bowl and microwave for a few seconds until melted.

   Toss the cauliflower in HALF the spiced coconut oil then season with a little salt and black pepper.

   Put the tray in the oven and roast for 10 minutes.

4. After 10 minutes, add the mushrooms to the tray, toss with the remaining spiced coconut oil and return the tray to the oven.

   Cook until both vegetables are browned but the cauliflower is still a little firm without being crunchy (another 10 - 12 min).

   Remove the tray from the oven and set aside.

Making the curry (start while the vegetables are roasting)

1. In a large sauté or frying pan, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.

   Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until it's starting to soften & brown (10-15 min).

   Stir in the garlic and ginger (plus the fresh chilli if using) and cook for 2 min more.

   Add the cumin and mustard seeds (plus the fennel seeds if using instead of ground) and cook until they fizzle and pop.

2. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, the tomato puree, the sugar if using, the water, garam masala, all the ground spices, the chilli flakes or powder. Season with a little salt and a good grind of black pepper.

   Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook until you have a thick, rich sauce (approx. 20 min).

3. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.

   Add the roasted cauliflower and mushrooms including any cooking juices, plus the drained carlin peas. Simmer until the cauliflower is tender rather than soft and the sauce is reduced to your liking (5 - 10 min).

   Taste and add more seasoning if needed then stir in most of the coriander leaf.

4. Serve with the rest of the coriander sprinkled over plus the coconut shavings if using.

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