Hurry The Food Up Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes For Busy People
Ah, mango curry. How times change.
Growing up in sunny England, I ate a lot of curry. Loads in fact. Just about as many lamb Vindaloos, chicken Tikka Masalas or beef Rogan Josh as I could get my hands on. Occasionally I’d have a Thai green curry to really push the boat out.
I was vaguely aware of the existence of vegetables, and indeed sometimes they were probably in the curries – not that I noticed them.
After making the happy decision to stop eating meat, I thought that would be the end of my love for curries (as this vegan chickpea curry goes into) – how could a curry possibly be anything better than ‘passable’ without meat?
Fast forward a few years and you’ll see me with a satisfied grin on my face after finding out that, after all, meat was the least important ingredient in a good curry. What a mind-blower.
Over the years we’ve made and tested hundreds of curries, constantly researching and refining them. We’ve made vegetable-based curries (like this aubergine/eggplant curry and this Pakistani roasted cauliflower curry) – but now it’s time to let the fruits shine through.
Curry made easy
One other thing that we love about curry – they can be made sooooooo easily! We want taste, we want nutrition and we want speeeeed! And we got it.
We tend to use curry pastes as they help to make things quicker, though curry powder is also a good alternative.
The mango is the real highlight here, and we blend it (or mash it up real good) to make a kind of puree which we add directly to the sauce.
It’s super-quick and makes sure the tropical mango taste permeates through the entire curry.
A final note on this mango curry recipe – it’s very easy to make vegan. The main sauce liquid is coconut milk – we add creme fraiche to thicken things up.
However you can also use a thick creme, basic sour cream or, indeed vegan versions of these creams. They’re becoming more and more readily available and work in the dish in much the same way.
Choose your mango carefully
One last thing – make sure you grab a good mango!
When selecting a mango, make sure it is just a little soft to the touch. A round shape is generally better than a longer shape, too.
If you can’t find a good mango, or they’re not generally available in your area or at a certain time of year, then frozen mango is a great and practical alternative. Just make sure you let it defrost for a couple of hours, first!
Mango Curry
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 9 oz firm tofu (9 oz = 250 g)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp curry paste (use a mild-medium one like tikka masala)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup low fat cream fraiche (full fat cream works too, as does vegan creme fraiche)
- 1 can low fat coconut milk (15 oz = 435g) (use regular if you prefer)
- 1 mango (frozen (defrosted before using) also works, about 150g / 5oz)
Optional
- 1 tsp mango chutney
- 5 sprigs cilantro
Instructions
- Cook rice or accompaniments according to package instructions.
- Get the tofu chopped and frying in some olive oil on medium heat. Dice the onion and add after 5 minutes.
- Add the curry paste, turmeric and coriander powder. Give it a good stir.
- Fry for a couple of minutes then add the tomato paste and give it another good stir, making sure it’s all mixed in.
- Next, add the coconut milk and let it simmer for another five minutes.
- While that’s happening cut the flesh out of the mango and give it a quick blitz in a food processor or by using a hand blender. If you don’t have either then give it a good mash with a fork. We want a nice puree.
- Add the pureed mango to the curry and stir it in.
- Stir in the creme fraiche (or thick cream or vegan creme fraiche) and let it simmer for another five minutes until it thickens. This step makes the curry flavour softer and less harsh.
- Finally mix in the optional mango chutney and cilantro.
- That’s it, the curry is ready! Serve with rice and/or naan bread.
Looks delicious! Will frozen mango work and how much is needed?
Hi Maryann! Yes, absolutely frozen mango works, just let it defrost for a couple of hours first. Good points about the amounts – about 5oz/150g should do it – I’ll update it in the recipe. Thanks for the question, and enjoy!
Thanks Dave.
Happy to help. Thanks too, it was a very good question!
OMG! My new favorite curry!!! So easy to make and so YUMMY! Thanks, once again, for creating another easy-peasy go-to meal.
Niceeee, really glad you like this curry, Rosemary!! 🙂
Yes, easy-peasy is a good description for it haha
sauce is lovely but my husband was a little unsure of the tofu in it.
Thanks for the feedback Jennifer. Glad you liked the sauce. Yep, tofu is the “lighter” option. If you wanna go full-fletched fried paneer or halloumi would be the way to go – instead of tofu.
really good and tasty curry. it is a keeper.
This looks delicious! Just checking if it is 2 teaspoons or 2 tablespoons of curry paste? I feel like 2 teaspoons might get lost in the coco milk (but I’m sure the kids would prefer less vs more!) thank you!
Hi Jodie! I’d start with 2 teaspoons, but if it’s not enough (taste or spice-wise) then add a little more as you see fit 🙂
Thanks again, 2 teaspoons was perfect. This recipe is so delicious! A keeper. Thank you, looking forward to trying your other recipes !
Really glad you liked the recipe, Jodie!! 🙂
Really nice curry, but it’s quite high in fat. Is there a good way I can cut the amount of fat in this recipe?
Hi Niran, imho the fat is one reason why the curry is tasty and actually we did a lot already to cut out fat. We swapped paneer (cheese) for tofu and we reduced the cream to our original recipe. What you can do is to use low-fat coconut milk. That should move the fat content down a bit more 🙂