Red Mushroom Curry, 40p (VG/V/DF/GF)

February 13, 2018 18 Comments

This hot spicy little number is a favourite in my household for dealing with the dreaded cold and flu, or when feeling a little rundown. The combination of garlic, ginger, chilli, tomatoes and a kick of citrus is a feisty relief for the symptoms of even the most grim winter germs. I make a double batch of the paste and pop it in the freezer for future use. Of course, you can use a jar of shop-bought curry paste too, if you are feeling really rough; I’ve been there and I absolutely sympathise. I blitz mine in a blender to get the paste super smooth, but it’s not essential, you can just throw it all in a pan for a similar effect, just with a little extra texture, which is fine.

Serves 2-4 from 40p each

1 large onion, 9p (90p/1.5kg, Sainsburys Basics)
4 cloves of garlic, 6p (35p/2 bulbs of garlic, Sainsburys Basics)
A small piece of ginger, 3p (30p/100g loose ginger, Sainsburys)
¼ tsp red chilli flakes, 1p (80p/100g, Natco or KTC brand – found at most major supermarkets)
50g tomato passata, 4p (40p/500g, Sainsburys Basics)
200ml coconut milk, 50p (£1/400ml, Sainsburys – currently on special offer until 27th Feb so stock up!)
A generous pinch of salt, 1p (45p/750g, Sainsburys Basics table salt)
1 tsp lemon juice, 1p (60p/250ml, Sainsburys)
400g mushrooms, 85p (85p/400g, Sainsburys Basics)

Peel and finely chop the onion, and peel and finely slice the garlic. Roughly chop the ginger and toss it all into a blender, along with the chilli, tomato puree and 100ml of the coconut milk. Blitz it to a rough paste, and set to one side.

Wash and halve the mushrooms, and toss them into a large pan with a dash of oil and a pinch of salt. Cook on a medium heat to gently brown the outsides for a few minutes, then tip in the curry paste, add the remaining coconut milk, and stir well. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, until the mushrooms have softened and the curry paste has thickened slightly. I sometimes like to pad mine out with a finely chopped cabbage to make it go further, or a handful of frozen spinach or peas stirred through 5 minutes before the end.

Season with the lemon juice to finish, and serve. It will keep in the fridge for 2 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

(I have developed a sensitivity to onions in recent months, with some rather unpleasant side effects, so you may notice in my photograph I have used spring onions instead of the cheaper white or red onions. I kept the pricing as basics onions because I want this website to be helpful to as many people as possible, and the price difference between red onions and spring onions is eye-watering!)

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Categories: Blog, gluten free, Recipes & Food, RECIPES UNDER 50P, RECIPES UNDER £1, VEGAN, Vegan Recipes, VEGETARIAN

Tagged as: basics, bottled lemon, budget cooking, budget recipes, canned tomatoes, cheap recipes, Chilli, chillies, Coconut, coconut milk, cooking, cooking on a bootstrap, creamed coconut, easy recipes, frugal cook, garlic, garlic clove, ginger, healthy, lemon, lemon juice, Mushroom, mushrooms, onion, onions, passata, plantbased, red chilli, red onion, sainsburys, sainsburys basics, salt, spring onion, tinned tomatoes, tomato, Vegan, Vegetarian