Indian Style Curry

This is the kind of recipe that quietly makes the rest of the week feel easier.

A large pot of curry simmering on the stove, onions softening slowly, spices toasting in oil, potatoes breaking down just enough to thicken everything naturally. It’s deeply warming, filling, and made from simple ingredients you may already have sitting in the kitchen.

I love recipes like this because they stretch far beyond one dinner. A bowl one evening can become leftovers the next day, freezer meals for busy weeks, or even the filling for something completely different later on. It’s practical cooking, but still comforting and full of flavour.

The texture sits somewhere between a curry and a samosa filling. Thick, rich, and scoopable rather than soupy. The potatoes create body, the chickpeas make it satisfying, and the lime and coriander at the end stop it from feeling too heavy.

It’s exactly the kind of meal I love having tucked away in the freezer.

Serves

5–6 people

Ingredients

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 brown onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1.5 tsp ground cumin

1.5 tsp ground coriander

¾ tsp turmeric

2 tsp garam masala

Chilli flakes or fresh chilli, to taste

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

1–1.5 cups water

4–5 potatoes, diced small

2 carrots, diced

½–¾ cauliflower, cut into small florets

1 tin chickpeas, drained

2–3 large handfuls spinach

Large handful fresh coriander

Juice of ½–1 lime

Salt, to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the mustard seeds. Allow them to pop for a few seconds before adding the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook for 6–8 minutes until soft and lightly golden.

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute until fragrant.

Stir through the cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala and chilli. Cook for 30–60 seconds, then add the tomato paste and cook for a further 1–2 minutes. This helps create that deeper, richer curry flavour.

Add the chopped tomatoes, water, potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and chickpeas. Stir well, then bring to a gentle simmer.

Cook uncovered or with the lid slightly off for 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft and beginning to break down slightly. The curry should become naturally thick and rich as it cooks.

If it feels too thick, add a splash of water. If too thin, allow it to simmer for a little longer uncovered.

Stir through the spinach, coriander and lime juice right at the end. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Storage

Keeps well in the fridge for 3–4 days and freezes beautifully for up to 3 months.

I like freezing it in portions so there is always something nourishing ready to go on busy days.

Mindful Moment

There is something reassuring about cooking a large pot of something slowly.

Not rushed cooking, not performative cooking, just the quiet rhythm of chopping, stirring, simmering, tasting.

Meals like this remind me that nourishment is often built gradually, through small acts of care repeated over time.

And sometimes the most supportive thing you can do for yourself is simply making sure there is food waiting for you when future you needs it.