Sweet Potato Satay Curry

Suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Serves 2.

This simple vegan curry is perfect for cold weeknights. It is super simple, packed with protein, and has an amazing, complex flavour. You should play around with the satay element too. I've made this with peanut butter, almond butter, and cashew butter and each adds a slightly different flavour profile to the dish.

What really makes this dish unique is how you cook the sweet potatoes. You want to braise them in the liquid until they are completely falling apart and almost become a cohesive sauce. That way, you are essentially using the sweet potato as a thickening agent. This should take around 45 minutes on a medium low heat. The only danger with this is that if you let the sauce reduce too much, it can get too thick and start to burn on the bottom. Make sure you are adding liquid if you need to in order to keep the consistency thick but still sauce-like.

Ingredients:

• 500g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks, 
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced, 
• 2 tbsp grated ginger, 
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced, 
• 1 medium chilli, finely chopped, 
• 1 stalk lemongrass, chopped in half lengthways, 
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted peanuts, 
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, 
• 3 tbsp tomato puree, 
• 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce, 
• 2 1/2 tbsp curry powder, 
• 1 1/2 tbsp smooth peanut butter, 
• 400ml can coconut milk, 
• 1 cup water, more if needed, 
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped coriander, 
• juice of 1/2 a lime.

Method:

• Place a large pot over medium high heat with 2 tbsp of oil.
• Add onion along with cumin seeds. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until onions soften and cumin seeds become fragrant.
• Add ginger, garlic, and chilli and cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. 
• Add tomato puree, tamari or soy sauce, peanut butter, and curry powder and mix to form a paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until some light spots of caramelisation form on the bottom of the pot.
• Add the sweet potato and chopped peanuts and mix to coat with the paste. Reserve a few pinches of chopped peanuts for garnish.
• Add the water and scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze, releasing those caramelised spots.
• Add the coconut milk and mix to combine.
• Add the lemongrass.
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 45 minutes or until the sweet potatoes have almost completely fallen apart. Stir thoroughly every so often, mixing the ingredients and also mashing up the sweet potato slightly.
• Add a couple tablespoons of water during the cooking if the mixture is looking too thick. 
• Remove from heat and remove the lemongrass stalk. Add coriander and lime juice, mixing to combine.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve over rice and garnish with some additional chopped peanuts and fresh coriander.