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Karmasutra Curry Aubergine & Pumpkin Smash (VG)

This recipe by

Urban Rajah
Urban Rajah

Introduction

Warming, smoky and fragrant, it’s the scent of love in a pan. Cloves, cardamom, chillies and ginger form a smouldering embrace with these innocent veggies. Cleopatra was known to have bathed with in cardamom pods and used them as an ingredient for seduction!

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 1 tbs coconut oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 thumbsized knob of ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 long red chilli, diced finely
  • 250g butternut squash diced
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • ½ medium aubergine, diced into large pieces
  • 120ml water
  • 40g sultanas
  • 1 tbs curry powder
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • Pinch of salt
  • Chopped mint for dressing

Method

  1. Crush the cloves and cardamom pods to bust them open.
  2. In a large frying pan heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion becomes soft and transparent. Add the cloves and cardamom pods and sauté for a minute until you can smell their aroma.
  3. Add the tinned tomatoes, squash, aubergine, sultanas, remaining spices, chilli, salt and water and pop a lid onto the frying pan. Turn the heat down and simmer for around 30 minutes or until the aubergine and pumpkin has become tender.
  4. Scatter the chopped mint over the top
  5. Serve as a vegetarian main with boiled wild rice alongside Maharani’s Asparagus. Or simply serve alongside other dishes as a feast menu.

Urban Rajah

The Urban Rajah (aka Ivor Peters) is a TV chef, food writer, consultant and pop up restaurateur. He feeds over 30,000 people a month. With roots in the Indian subcontinent he’s on a mission to spice up the nation through accessible recipes and menus.

Urban Rajah has engaged audiences with his combination of cooking and story-telling across the UK, UAE, India, South Africa and USA. His signature-waxed moustache ensures he’s never forgotten and his recipes and stories guarantee he’s always remembered. For him, food is a consumable form of art which has the power to excite, inspire, educate, inform, seduce and satisfy human longing. His media credits include appearances on C4, BBC1, BBC London plus a slew of contributions across UKTV, The Guardian, The Independent, Evening Standard, Mail on Sunday, National Geographic and Delicious Magazine amongst others.

Urban Rajah believes that food tastes better when they’re accompanied with stories and the stories help foster a better understanding of people’s heritage, communities, struggles, achievements, aspirations and inspirations. In short, food is a cultural art form, it’s the glue which, connects us to each other helping us gain unique human insights.

Why are you supporting Marriage Week

I think marriage, like other committed relationships need to be celebrated, cherished and supported. Healthy relationships are the cornerstone of life, health and happiness which is why I’m proud to support Marriage Week. As we all know, being married isn’t a passport to happiness, it’s the tools, support and exercise of love…plus a few hacks along the way which help us develop the depth, meaning and fun we all seek in our relationships. Marriage Week helps couples and families celebrate what they have as well us inspiring us to discover more!

Any top-tips?

Everybody says the key to healthy relationships is to listen and talk…in part that’s true. In reality, forgiveness is the key to nurturing healthy relationships. Forgiveness for all the times we’ve spoken to hastily instead of being quick to listen, forgiveness for when we chose not to act and let pride get in the way. Forgiveness for when we’ve let our opinions supercede the value of our relationships.

One quick tip, is to ask your partner at the start of each day what you can do for them…it’s a magical way to kick of each day.

Oh and as a chef..try and cook together at least once a week, it’s a solid way of spending some time together in the midst of a busy day.

*Disclaimer: We hope you enjoy making and eating the food in these recipes. Marriage Week cannot be responsible for the outcome of any recipe you try from this site or any site linked to. You should always use your best judgement when cooking with raw ingredients such as eggs, chicken, or seafood and seek expert advice before beginning if you are uncertain about the health risks. Please take care when using sharp knives or other cooking implements, and be aware of heated cooking surfaces while cooking. Please review all ingredients prior to trying a recipe in order to check for the presence of substances that might cause an adverse reaction. We have not tested the recipes on this site and cannot provide assurances about quality, nutritional value, or safety.

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Marriage Week UK is a project of Marriage Foundation PO Box 1230, Cambridge CB1 0XD Registered Charity No. 1150453.
marriagefoundation.org.uk

Marriage Week UK is affiliated to Marriage Week International

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