Creamy Coconut Pumpkin Curry

All the comfort of Korma with a healthy twist!

It's just a big helping of YES!!!

With the weather getting colder and the evenings already beginning to draw shorter, sometimes all you want is a good edible hug in the form of comfort food. Now, this term has a different connotation to everybody as we all have our own individual food love but I think we can all agree that no matter what that certain food may be, when encountered with it, we go weak at the knees, salivate uncontrollably and in some cases, begin worshiping it with offerings of ritual sacrifice... hopefully not on my own there. 

When studying at  Reading University a couple of years ago, one of my house's favourite treats (especially after a night out) was indulging with a good old Indian takeaway the evening after and it wouldn't just be one dish each - what, are you deluded?! It would be a full works of several curries with sides of rice, Bombay potatoes, samosas, onion bhajis, poppadoms with chutney and of course a variety of naan breads ranging from sweet coconut to garlic and cheese. Yummy, and sure to mop up any mopey feelings that the hangover had left us with. 

Disclaimer: In the original recipe I used chicken but pictured here is one I made using basa (we're still using up all the fish in the freezer). Both worked well, both were eaten at unacceptable speeds.

Despite my first takeaway love belonging to the Chinese genre, since University my love for Indian food has grown, encouraging my taste buds to expand further afield from my regular choice of korma. From the daringly hot vindaloo to the healthfully green saagwala, Indian food is definitely one of my comfort food favorites because not only does it taste phenomenal but it always takes me back to those carefree evenings in Reading spent laughing, feasting and watching shows like Ex on the beach with some of my best buds. Yes we watched Ex on the Beach. Yes it was terrible. Yes we couldn't get enough of it. 

I guess that's what makes comfort food what it is, by the way it makes us feel when we eat it. I know some people say that it's not good to have emotional attachments to food and in extreme cases this is a valid point, but I also think it's impossible to not feel something when eating a certain dish. Maybe it conjures up childhood memories of good times or makes you think about somebody close to your heart, whatever the case, food that makes you feel good should be able to be enjoyed on a daily basis. And that good friends, is why healthified comfort foods are one of my favourite things to create on this blog, because if you can eat well and still get to have all the good feels then that's pretty much 1/3 of life sorted.   

This dreamy, creamy coconut pumpkin curry combines that classic curry taste with my current festive fruit of choice - pumpkin. It's a fruit not a vegetable. Who knew? Google did. It's guilt free, relatively low in fat (as far as coconut based curries go), contains no added oil and can easily be made vegetarian/vegan by simply removing the meat and adding in some more potatoes or other veggies of choice. I hope you enjoy this hearty dish as much as I do. Munch well and stay happy!

Ingredients:

Creamy Coconut Pumpkin Curry (serves 2)

1 cup pumpkin puree (can use shop-bought or make your own by roasting a pumpkin and scooping out the flesh when soft)

1 cup vegetable stock (reduced salt if desired)

1/2 cup light coconut milk

2 x chicken breasts - diced

1/2 onion - diced

1/3 bell pepper - diced

4 x small new potatoes - diced (notice a theme here?)

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

Instructions:

Put a little bit of the coconut milk into a saucepan and turn heat on to medium-low (this is going to act as the oil substitute).

Once warm, fry the onions for a couple of minutes with all the spices.

After they have softened slightly, add in the pepper, potatoes and chicken along with the pumpkin puree and stir to combine - feel free to add in a bit more coconut milk if the contents start to stick to the pan.

After about 5 minutes of cooking, add in the stock and the remaining coconut milk. Stir and reduce heat to a simmer.

Leave to cook down and thicken for 15-20 minutes ensuring the chicken is cooked all the way through before serving.

Grab a helping of brown rice, some chapattis or some naan bread (or if you're like me, all of these things) and tuck into a healthy but equally delicious dinner that can easily substitute the usual Friday night takeaway. All the pleasure and none of the guilt!