Sweet potato, spinach & almond curry with quinoa
This is a mildly spiced curry with warming garam masala, a mix of aromatic spices that includes clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin. Lightly bashing the cardamom opens up the seeds for more flavour. Just watch out and remove them before you eat, as a whole cardamon pod is bitter to bite into.
Cook's notes
To wash your spinach, swirl it in a large bowl of cold water and leave for 2 minutes to let the grit fall to the bottom, then lift it out and give it a little extra rinse if needed.
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves
- 1 chilli
- oil for frying, e.g. sunflower or coconut
- 500g sweet potato
- 200g baby spinach
- 1 tsp cardamom pods
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 200ml tin coconut milk
- 25g ground almonds
- 100g quinoa
- 25g flaked almonds
- 1 lime
- salt
Method
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Step 1
Peel and finely dice the onion. Peel and finely chop or crush 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves. Halve the chilli, deseed and finely chop. Use half of it in the dish or all, depending on your preference for heat.
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Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and fry on a low heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes. If it looks like catching at any point, add a splash of water.
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Step 3
Meanwhile, peel and dice the sweet potato into 3cm chunks. Wash the spinach well, then drain into a colander. Give the cardamom pods a light bash with the flat of a large knife, so they open a little. Put a pan of water on to boil. After 10 minutes, add the sweet potato, garlic, chilli, curry powder, garam masala and cardamom pods to the onion. Stir for 2 minutes.
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Step 4
Add the coconut milk and ground almonds. Refill the tin with water and add that too, along with a good pinch of salt. Bring the pan up to a medium bubbling boil and cook for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the curry as it cooks; stir now and then and add a little more water if needs be.
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Step 5
Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa in a sieve. Add it to the pan of boiling water and cook for 13-14 minutes, until the seeds have popped open. Meanwhile, put the flaked almonds in a dry frying pan and gently heat, stirring often, until golden and toasted. Transfer to a plate.
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Step 6
Once the curry has cooked for 10 minutes, add the spinach, stirring so it wilts in. Cook for a further 5 minutes or so, until the spinach is wilted and the sweet potato is tender. Try a little of the curry and add more salt and add a good squeeze of lime juice to taste. Drain the quinoa and serve with the curry, a dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkling of toasted, flaked almonds. Pick out the cardamom seeds as you go, they're bitter to bite into.