Atul says: Amok is Cambodia’s national dish, with the lemongrass, galangal and fresh turmeric providing the distinctive character of this curry. I’ve kept all those ingredients in the curry paste in this vegan version, for an authentic dining experience. Serve with jasmine rice.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 4 fresh or dried Makrut lime leaves, fine central ribs removed
• 2 large aubergines, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 800ml coconut milk
• 150g broccoli florets and stalks, chopped
• 200g frozen peas
• sea salt
• spring onions, sliced, to garnish

For the curry paste

• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 6 fresh or dried Makrut lime leaves, central ribs removed
• 2–3 fresh red chillies, ideally Thai chillies, to taste, chopped
• 15g shallots, chopped
• ¼ lemongrass stalk, outer layers removed and the stalk bashed and finely chopped
• 3cm piece of galangal, peeled and finely chopped
• 1cm piece of fresh turmeric, peeled and grated, or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 4 teaspoons grated jaggery or Demerara sugar

Method

First make the curry paste. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until a smooth paste forms, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Set aside.

Heat a wok over a high heat. Add the coconut oil and swirl it around until it melts. Add the red onions with a pinch of salt and stir-fry until softened. Add the Makrut lime leaves and aubergine and continue stirring to sear the aubergines.

Lower the heat to medium-high, add the curry paste and stir for 2–3 minutes to cook out the rawness. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to the point where the mixture just simmers and leave for about 10 minutes until the aubergine is half tender.

Stir in the broccoli and a splash of water, if necessary, so there is enough liquid to just cover the vegetables, and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add the peas and continue simmering until all the vegetables are hot and tender. Taste and adjust the salt, if necessary, then garnish with spring onions and serve.

Atul says: Paneer isn’t an indigenous African ingredient, but there is a large Gujarati community in Kenya, which is why I’ve included this simple recipe here. Typically, Gujarati cooking is flavoured with ginger and chilli powder and you get both in the East African curry powder.

Serves 4 as a sharing dish

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• ½ each green, red and yellow peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons East African curry powder (below)
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 200g paneer, cut into bite-sized pieces (see notes below for vegan alternative)
• 4 tablespoons passata
• 125ml coconut milk
• 125ml water
• sea salt

For the East African curry powder (makes about 60g)

• 2 tablespoons red chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

To finish

• 5 tablespoons coconut milk, optional
• 1 long, thin green chilli, finely chopped or halved
• chopped coriander leaves
• ½ lemon

Method

First make the East African curry powder. Mix all the ingredients together, then store in an airtight container in a dark place and use within 6 months.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and fry, stirring often, until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute to cook out the rawness. Add the mixed peppers and continue stirring until they begin to soften.

Add 2 tablespoons of the curry powder and stir for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and give them a good stir, then stir in the paneer and passata. Stir in the coconut milk and water, turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes to concentrate the flavours and reduce. Taste and adjust the salt, if necessary.

When ready to serve, spoon the 5 tablespoons coconut milk over, if using. Garnish with the green chilli and coriander leaves and squeeze in lemon juice to taste to cut through the richness.

Notes

For a vegan option, replace the paneer with chopped firm tofu.

Atul says: This is my vegan version of an Iranian classic, a rich dish with the walnuts and pomegranate flavourings and a hint of cinnamon. You can use vegetable stock if you’d like, but I wanted to keep the flavours of the other ingredients quite pure, which is why I’ve specified water.

Ingredients

• ½ large pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into bite-sized cubes, about 400g prepared weight
• sunflower oil
• ground cinnamon
• 75g walnut halves
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 7cm piece of cinnamon bark
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 100ml pomegranate juice
• 75g pomegranate molasses
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• freshly grated nutmeg, to taste, or a pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 unwaxed orange, zested
• about 500ml water, as needed
• maple syrup, optional
• 80g pomegranate seeds
• salt and ground black pepper
• chopped flat-leaf parsley or coriander, to garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7. Put the pumpkin cubes on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with sunflower oil and lightly dust with ground cinnamon, then shake the tray so all the cubes are well coated. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender and the tip of a knife slides through easily.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan, ideally non-stick, over a medium-high heat. Add the walnuts and toast, stirring often, until lightly browned. Leave to cool, then transfer to a food processor and process until finely ground. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons sunflower oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion and fry, stirring often, until the onions start to soften. Add the cinnamon bark and continue frying, stirring, until the onions are light brown. Stir in the cumin, turmeric and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and stir together for 30 seconds. Add the chickpeas, pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, salt, pepper and a good grating of nutmeg. Increase the heat and bring to the boil, stirring.

Add the pumpkin cubes and ground walnuts and return the mixture to the boil, stirring until the stew thickens. Add the orange zest and stir in just enough water to get the thickness you like. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary, and if you think it’s too sour add maple syrup to taste. Stir in the pomegranate seeds and garnish with parsley before serving.