Fall Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 Onion
• 2 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
• 1 tbsp Ginger
• 1 large Sweet Potato
• 1 small Zucchini
• 1 Red Pepper
• 28 oz Chickpeas
• 1 Lime
• 3 tbsp Wheat Flour
• 1.5 cup Milk
• 0.5 cup Fresh Coriander

Method

Heat butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high until foaming stops. Dice the onion into roughly 1cm pieces and add to the pan — it should sizzle immediately. Cook for two minutes, stirring often, until the edges turn translucent and the raw edge softens. This aromatic-vegetables|aromatic base needs enough time to release its sulphur compounds; too short and the curry tastes raw. Add the curry paste and ginger (minced fine) and stir constantly for 90 seconds. The paste will darken slightly and the kitchen will fill with the sharp, almost burnt smell of the spices blooming — this is correct. The heat activates the volatile compounds in the chilli, galangal, and lemongrass that make Thai curry paste work.

Cut the sweet potato into 2cm cubes, the courgette into half-moons, and the pepper into rough 2cm chunks. Add them with 120ml cold water, stir, and cover with a lid. The water creates steam, which accelerates cooking without scorching the paste at the base. After 10 minutes, the sweet potato should give easily to a fork and the courgette will have begun to soften; the liquid will have mostly evaporated. Add the drained chickpeas, lime zest, and juice. Stir frequently for another 5 minutes. The acid from the lime denatures the chickpea skins slightly, making them softer and more receptive to the curry flavours, and it cuts the richness of what's coming next.

Make a slurry by whisking the flour with the milk until smooth — lumps at this stage become hard balls in the pan. Pour it in slowly whilst stirring, breaking up any lumps against the pan's sides as you go. Bring the mixture to a bare simmer (small bubbles breaking the surface, not a rolling boil), then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so. The flour gelatinises and thickens the sauce; you're looking for the consistency of single cream, not gravy. If it's too thick, loosen it with a splash of milk. Stir through the coriander, taste, and adjust salt. Serve immediately — the cream sauce will split slightly if it sits, and reheating can make the vegetables mushy.