Description
This super easy, 25-minute halloumi curry uses simple, affordable ingredients and turns them into something special. Creamy with coconut milk, beautifully spiced and packed with spinach for extra goodness, this wonderful weeknight curry is also fab for meal prep.
Ingredients
For the rice –
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the halloumi curry –
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (sunflower, rapeseed, canola, vegetable)
- 2 packets of halloumi (generally 225g/8oz each)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1-inch piece of ginger, grated (or use 2 teaspoons ginger paste)
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder (or use smoked paprika)
- 500g/1lb tomato passata
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 150g/5oz spinach leaves
Instructions
- Make the rice. Add 1 1/2 cups of rice to a small pot you have a lid for (if you don’t have a lid use a plate or wooden board). Pour in 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt, then place over high heat. Once the water starts to look foamy on top, pop the lid on and turn the heat right down. Leave it there for 12 minutes, then remove it from the heat, with the lid still on, and let it sit until you’re ready to serve.
- Pan-fry the halloumi. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large, high-sided skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Add the cubed halloumi, and cook for 2 -3 minutes on each side, until lovely and golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Cook the onion. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pan, set over medium heat, then add the finely diced onion and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook the onion, stirring, until it starts to soften and change colour (it’ll look more transparent). This will take about 5 minutes.
- Add spices. Once the onion is nice and soft, add the crushed garlic cloves, ginger, 1 teaspoon of garam masala, 1 teaspoon of curry powder and 1 teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder (or paprika). Stir them through the onion for another minute, so the spices have a chance to bloom.
- Add the passata. Pour in 500g of tomato passata (or crushed/plum tomatoes), stir, then bring to a simmer for a few minutes. Then, pour in 1/2 cup of coconut milk and stir it through the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
- Finish the curry. The sauce should be looking a little thicker – at this point, add the cooked halloumi into the curry and stir it through. Then add all the spinach, and mix it through the curry. It will look like A LOT of spinach when you add it, but it will quickly wilt down into the sauce as the heat cooks it. Remove the curry from the heat and get ready to serve. Divide the rice between plates, then top with the curry. Finish with a scattering of coriander/cilantro if you like, and serve with some fresh garlic naan or cheese-stuffed naan.
Notes
INGREDIENT NOTES: Tomato passata is known as tomato puree in the USA – it’s very finely sieved tomatoes and can be found with the tinned tomatoes in your grocery store. It normally comes in either a jar or a carton.
SUBSTITUTIONS: You could use paneer rather than halloumi if you like. Replace the spinach with another leafy green like kale or cavolo nero, and if you can’t find tomato passata, use a tin of crushed or whole plum tomatoes.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Like any curry, this one is wonderful to make ahead of time as the flavours develop even more as they sit. It will last for 5 days, stored in a container in the fridge and you can easily reheat it either in the microwave or on the stovetop. Halloumi actually freezes well too, so you can freeze the curry for 3 months and then defrost it overnight in the fridge, on the counter, or heat it gently on the stovetop as it defrosts. I like to freeze it in ziplock bags for easy storage.
SHOP YOUR INGREDIENTS ON THE CHERRYPICK APP: If you’re in the UK, you can order all the ingredients you need for this curry on the fab, all-in-one meal-planning app, Cherrypick.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: fakeaways
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 350g
- Calories: 802
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 2099mg
- Fat: 42g
- Carbohydrates: 70.8g
- Fiber: 5.3g
- Protein: 33.8g
Keywords: vegetarian curry, spinach curry