Curry Night! Quorn Tomato and Spinach Curry with Green Bean Fritters

Friday night is curry night! When the weather's hot, a spicy curry and a cold beer go down a treat. Here's my takeaway alternative: quorn palak with green been fritters and a refreshing raita.

Quorn Palak (Curry with tomato and spinach)

Clarified butter or ghee gives it that rich flavour, restaurants generally use far too much which makes them greasy and fattening! Alternatively use creamed coconut, or just fry things in oil then add a knob of butter into the sauce later as a cheat.

This serves 2, scale up for more.

• 4 Quorn fillets (or equivalent chunks)
• 2 tbsp curry paste (Madras or whichever you prefer)
• 2 medium onions or 1 large
• 4 chunks frozen spinach or equivalent fresh, wilted
• 2 tbsp coconut butter or ghee
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes

1. Slice the quorn fillets into thick slices of assorted sizes.
2. Chop the onions in half, and then into thin slices.
3. Chop the spinach.
4. Add ghee or oil to a pan and fry them together til the quorn slightly browns and the onions go translucent.
5. Add the curry paste (how much really depends on how strong you like it!). Mix with the onion and quorn til everything is coated.
6. Add the spinach, then the chopped tomatoes.
7. Cook on a medium heat til the sauce reduces and thickens.
8. Season with salt to taste at the end.
9. Serve with rice or flatbreads!

Variations

This also works well with chickpeas or paneer.

Green bean fritters

2 handfuls of French beans (imprecise but it depends how big the beans are!)

5 tbsp self-raising flour

1 tsp turmeric

1 egg

Trim the beans. If using frozen, defrost them then press them dry with a tea towel.

Mix the flour, turmeric, egg and a pinch of salt into a sticky batter.

In a large bowl, mix the batter with the beans. Make sure each bean is coated with a thin sticky layer.

Form the beans into about 4 lumps, or 6 if you prefer smaller.

Heat a pan, wok or deep-fat fryer. Drop the fritters into the oil for a few minutes each side. They should puff up a little. Cook til golden.

Drain them on kitchen towel then serve hot.

Raita

Raita makes a lovely cool side dish if you're having something spicy. Mix chopped cucumber and mint with thick yoghurt and a pinch of salt. Enjoy!