Better-Than Chip Shop Curry Sauce - naturally Gluten Free

Craving a really, REALLY good curry sauce to have with your chips?

Then, as the cliche goes - look no further! This is based on the flavours of one of the tastiest curry sauces I've had in recent years with fish and chips, at The Fish and The Chip in Leicester which does a fairly priced and very tasty plate of gluten free fish and chips at lunchtimes, should you be looking for anywhere coeliac-friendly!

Curry sauce is by nature, not the most photogenic of condiments, however what it lacks in aesthetic appeal, it certainly makes up for in flavour, and it's not at all complicated to make, and you've probably already got most of the ingredients to hand - so do give this a go! Plus, you can freeze it in portions for the next time you need some with your (fish and) chips! And of course, I've got a delicious and easy recipe for gluten free battered fish, that you can make in a frying pan!

Squash, Sweet Potato and Spinach Dhansak

A delicious and healthy way to get your authentic curry fix using vegetables which just happen to be packed full of nutrients!

I always think there's nothing better than when you can eat a really tasty dinner, that you really enjoy, and BONUS - it's actually full of wonderfully healthy ingredients and good for you!

Even better if your children love it too and it's getting loads of healthy fresh vegetables down them and there are no complaints!

Well, what more can you ask? Well, I suppose you could want it to be vegetarian or vegan, gluten, dairy and nut free... well, it just so happens to be those things too - and good for a fast day as well, if you're looking for something low calorie...

,,,so what are you waiting for? Get in!!!

Serves four at 259 calories a portion. You could split into six more modest portions (e.g. as a side dish, or a lighter lunch, for 173 calories a portion). For a delicious fresh twist, why not serve with a helping of cachumber (Indian tomato, cucumber and onion salad with lime, spices and fresh coriander) for only 43 calories a portion - see here for my recipe. Serve with your choice of rice and/or flatbreads, or for a low calorie, low carb alternative, cauliflower 'rice'.

South Indian Red Lentil Dhal with Spinach - Parippu with Spinach

Parippu is a favourite lentil dish of mine, that I've been cooking for years, and I love to add fresh spinach to it for a healthy twist.

This dish is so versatile - it's excellent as a meal in itself, if you just want a bowlful with or without flatbreads on the side; and also makes the perfect accompaniment to other Indian dishes if you fancy a good old 'curry night'. 

Not only that, I think it's a pretty simple dish to make - you just throw the majority of the ingredients into a large pot and leave it to simmer away, and then just make a quick 'tarka' to add near the end, along with some wilted spinach.

This serves ten portions (of approximately 250g, depending on evaporation), so if you want to serve it as part of a selection of dishes, you can double that (or more!).

Calories: 273 calories per portion (if divided into ten) 2,729 calories for the whole batch (so if you're only having a ladleful in a ramekin sized dish with a selection of other things it would be nearer 150 calories).

Sri Lankan Beef Curry - Harak Mas Curry

A delicious, simple-to-make braised Sri Lankan beef curry.

I am going through a real phase of loving Sri Lankan food at the moment, and this beef curry, adapted from a Charmaine Solomon recipe is so simple to make, and incredibly tasty, that I had to share it.

It's also naturally low in fat, as it contains no coconut and only a small amount of oil, so it's pretty guilt-free too!

This serves four people as part of a meal served with a vegetable side dish and rice (or cauliflower rice - although if you're a complete meat head and want it on its own, it would probably make two or three servings), but it is very easily doubled. Even better the next day, and freezes beautifully.

199 calories per serving (between four people). Slimming World Syn free.

Roasted Aubergine and Spinach Curry

A delicious vegetarian curry that's easy to make and tasty!

'Roasting' the aubergines until soft, and then scooping out the flesh means that you don't need to cook them in lots of oil, and that they take on a rich, toasty flavour from the slight char on the skin which permeates through to the flesh.

If made with two de-seeded large red chillies, this is a very mild curry, which makes a lovely vegetarian main on its own (you may want to add a tin of chickpeas to add more texture and protein to the curry, if you want to serve it as a main on its own), or a beautiful side dish to other curries, or part of a selection (e.g. a thali).

Makes seven portions (main sized) of approximately 250g, at 134 calories each; or eight servings if including chick peas (see 'variations'), at 157 calories a portion. Serves more as a side dish, and freezes well.

Muttar Paneer - Pea and Indian Cheese Curry

A classic vegetarian Indian curry that's not too hot and can be served as a main dish, or a side.

Muttar Paneer is one of my favourite vegetarian Indian dishes. I think it's maybe because it has cheese in it which makes it one of those vegetarian dishes where you really don't miss meat.

You can even make the paneer cheese yourself the night before, if you fancy (see the separate paneer cheese blog here - paneer is a very mild Indian cheese, which is easy to make yourself at home and no special equipment is needed). I think this dish is lovely as part of a variety of Indian dishes to share with friends.

Serves six (or more if served as a side dish), easily halved. Freezes well.

Calories per serving: 248 calories for a full portion (a sixth) of the 'skinny' version where you either grill the cheese, or just add it as it is without frying. If shallow frying the paneer first, you will need to add around 70-100 extra calories a portion.

Courgette and Aubergine Curry (Zucchini and Eggplant)

Delicious on its own, or as an accompaniment to other curries.

This is a simple but tasty curry, delicately spiced and lovely as a main, or an accompaniment to other curries. You can play around and substitute whatever vegetables you have available ( it’s very versatile – peppers, cauliflower, squash, okra, sliced carrots, green beans are all good – or you could make it with just aubergine, or a mixture of vegetables.

I usually like to serve this as part of a selection of Indian dishes to cater for all palates, but it is excellent as a low calorie vegetarian main dish.

Serves 4-8 depending on whether served as a main dish, or a side dish.

Calories per serving: 120 calories if served between four people as a main, 60 calories if served between eight as a side.

Saag Paneer (Paneer Cheese and Spinach Curry)

A delicious Indian curry, not just for vegetarians!

This is a really comforting and tasty curry - fantastic on its own, or as part of a selections of Indian dishes.

Traditionally the paneer cheese is fried before adding to the curry, giving it a tasty golden crust on the outside and a soft, fluffy texture on the inside. A similar effect (with less calories, if you're counting) can be achieved by placing the cheese on some greaseproof paper on a tray, and placing under a hot grill to brown it a little on the outside, or if preferred you could just stir the cheese in at the end and heat it through to keep the calories down.

Serves three to four light portions (or more if served as a side dish), easily halved or doubled. Paneer is a very mild Indian cheese, which is easy to make yourself at home if you wish (although this needs to be done the day before), and no special equipment is needed.

Calories per serving if not frying paneer cheese: 204 for a quarter (if split into four portions), 272 per serving, if split between three portions.

Jamaican Curry Goat or Lamb (includes Thermomix and Instant Pot instructions)

If you've never tried curry goat, and you love curry, then you really, really should - it's delicious! And if the thought of goat curry scares you, then try it with mutton or lamb instead, and go from there...

I do love a good curry goat, and always have to sample some when we go to the Caribbean carnivals. Traditionally it's made with cubes of meat on the bone, but if you don't like the idea of trying to pick meat from small chopped up bones, then you can use boneless shoulder meat (and if you like, optionally add a few bones to the curry whilst cooking for flavour).

Because this curry is so full of flavour, and cooked low and slow, it's also a great contender for a skinny version too, as goat meat is naturally quite lean - so if you want to cut the calories right down and use some lean meat (e.g. lean goat meat or extra lean diced lamb meat) the long and gentle cooking will tenderise it nicely.

Either way, I've given you the recipe below, with a couple of options to suit, and I hope you enjoy it! If you don't want to make your own Jamaican curry powder, then you can just use a generic ready-made *mild* curry powder if you like and add a pinch of ground allspice. Requires marinating for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight, and approximately 3 hours total cooking. Delicious (albeit decadent!) served with Jamaican 'rice and peas' - my recipe is here.

Serves six (or more with other dishes), 286 calories per serving with lean goat meat, or 368 calories per serving with extra lean diced lamb meat. [Calories in square brackets, if you're counting]

Love Jamaican food? Why not try my Jamaican jerk chicken, or fresh twist on saltfish and ackee?

Jamaican Curry Powder

This is an authentically flavoured Jamaican Curry powder, perfect for dishes like 'Curry Goat'

The curry powder itself is mild, and you add the heat to the curries with chillies - namely scotch bonnet chillies!

The main ingredient which denotes it as a Jamaican curry powder, is the allspice (also known as pimenton), a fundamental flavouring in many Jamaican dishes.

This will make approximately 135g of curry powder (using 15ml tablespoon measures), and for example, you'd use approximately 1/2 tbsp per person for curry goat at approximately 10 calories per 1/2 tbsp.

Pork Vindaloo Curry - Thermomix method

A fiery curry, popular in Goa which is packed full of flavour

Although it's not the hottest of all the curries, vindaloo is known as being notoriously hot - however, the chilli is just one dimension of the flavours of a vindaloo.

Some versions have cubed potato in them, although this is not traditional and I tend to think that if you're serving it with rice and/or flatbreads and potentially other dishes, potato is unecessary.

Serves a generous four or modest six (or more with other dishes) from 209 calories per serving. For the non-Thermomix version, click here.

Pork Vindaloo - with Skinny Suggestions

A fiery curry, popular in Goa which is packed full of flavour

Although it's not the hottest of all the curries, vindaloo is known as being notoriously hot - however, the chilli is just one small part of the flavours of a vindaloo.

Some versions have cubed potato in them, although this is not traditional and I tend to think that if you're serving it with rice and/or flatbreads and potentially other dishes, potato is unecessary.

Serves a generous four or modest six (or more with other dishes) from 209 calories per serving. All the flavours of the classic fiery Goan dish of pork with vinegar and garlic, with the option to cut the calories right down for fast days. If you’re confident handling meat, you could buy a whole leg of pork, de-bone and cube it, and add the bone to the curry along with the meat for extra flavour (removing before serving).

Beef Madras - Slow Cooked (with Thermomix instructions)

Without exaggerating, I can honestly say that I was gobsmacked by the success of this dish!

Unfortunately, I can't really take the credit for it either (I wish I could!), aside from offering tips gleaned from my own experience, and lots of warnings about what might happen to the meat in the Thermomix if it was cooked on the wrong setting etc.! Well I knew the flavours were going to be good, as we've been cooking our version(s) of beef madras for years, loosely based on an authentic recipe which has evolved over the years, but would probably originally have been cooked with hogget (sheep) or lamb; but this one is down to my lovely man, Mike. Don't worry, the non-Thermomix way of cooking it is included below, for once (rather than on top). But this is a bit of a breakthrough in Thermomix land, so it has to come first on this occasion!

I have resisted cooking anything which should be slow-cooked in the Thermomix ever since I've had one. Don't get me wrong, it's an absolutely amazing machine. It does things you can often only dream of doing without one. However, previously I wouldn't have dreamed of slow-cooking in it, much like I wouldn't dream of stir-frying in it either (although I do have ways around this for certain dishes which I think can work). I'm a bit anal about cooking (well, you might have noticed...!), to say the least and for me, slow cooking occurs in a large, earthenware, ceramic or cast iron vessel in a low oven (much like stir-frying generally occurs in a nice hot wok where I can toss the food around to my hearts content).

Ordinarily, I have great faith in Mike's cooking - which is well deserved as he is a fantastic cook (I don't think I could live with a 'can't cook, won't cook' type of person who didn't love good food!). But I was on tenterhooks for him, expecting at best tough meat that needed to go into the oven for an hour or so, and at worst, babyfood. Especially after the 'crime' caramels...

Anyway, it didn't happen. Fantastic curry happened, and without further ado, here is the recipe!

Serves six as a main meal on its own, or more with other dishes. 655 calories per portion - worst case scenario (for a sixth) - however this is based on full fat stewing steak, plus every tablespoon of oil you skim off at the end is about 145 calories, so if you're counting, you can get this down a fair amount! [Calories in square brackets]

Prawn and Coconut Curry (includes Thermomix method)

A quick and easy curry with minimal preparation - on the table in under half an hour.

A simple, tasty curry that you've probably got most if not all of the ingredients for already! If you want something quick and mild but still delicious, just leave out the chilli and ginger and other optional items (in italics), leaving you just an onion and a couple of garlic cloves to peel and chop in the preparation.

 

You can use any prawns you like - they don't have to be raw tiger prawns or anything fancy, they can be a packet of ready-cooked and peeled little prawns, or some de-frosted cooked and peeled jumbo prawns. Just reduce the cooking time to heat them through for a minute or so, so you don't over-cook them. If you've got them with head, shell and everything else intact, the lovely Gordon will show you how to deal with them here.

This recipe serves two, and it's easily doubled. Calories from 243 per serving (using light coconut milk - 265 calories including all the options. Serve with 200g cauliflower rice for an extra 70 calories). [Calories in square brackets]

Thai Green Chicken Curry (Gaeng Khieo Wan Gai) - with FIVE delicious variations!

There really is just nothing quite like a good Thai Green Curry...

And I absolutely love Thai green chicken curry - so much so, that I have included no less than five variations of it, a couple of which have a special place in my heart! (You may not be surprised to learn that I have more Thai green curry recipes which don't involve chicken...they will also be posted!)

Green curry is the most classic of all Thai curries. It generally thinner, hotter and more pungent than red curries. My recipe for making your own green curry paste is here (and is what is used for the purposes of calorie counting below). You could however buy a ready made curry paste – if you do, I would suggest buying a decent quality one such as “Thai Taste” brand, (which is available from oriental supermarkets and Ocado, Sainsbury’s etc. in the UK) and following the instructions on the packaging (generally 1 tbsp per serving).

Unlike some curries, this is actually incredibly easy to make – you just fry the curry paste, add the coconut milk and sauce ingredients, then drop in the chicken (and vegetables) for a few minutes until cooked. That’s pretty much it, so do have a go – you can’t go far wrong!

From 348 calories per serving between two (see variation 1, which is pictured), or from 178 calories per serving between four as part of a meal.

Thai Green Curry Paste (Nam Phrik Gaeng Khieo Wan)

One of the foundations of Thai curries, a good green curry paste is essential and not at all difficult to make.

This is the base for the most classic of all Thai curries, used in curries with coconut milk/cream, garnished with kaffir lime leaves, chillies and Thai sweet/holy basil. Green curries are generally thinner, hotter and more pungent than red curries.

Makes approximately 160g in total (including a tbsp water) therefore 10 servings of 16g each (approximately one tbsp) at 14 calories per serving.

Thai Pork with Green Beans (Pad Prik King Moo)

A simple, spicy and light dish - something a little different to do with pork and beans!

Easy to throw together, really tasty and another one to add to the 'Red Curry Paste' collection. If you prefer, you could substitute chicken, or even turkey. The red pepper is a little tweak just added, when my daughter cooked it with me this week (she's 10 - well, she cooked it for everyone, and I helped her!).

Serves two, easily doubled, or serves more if part of a meal.

Calories: 279 per serving for two people (plus 4 calories if served with shirataki/zero noodles - rinse very well and snip up into very short lengths before cooking). Good served with noodles (whether zero, glass or rice noodles; or courgette/zucchini 'noodles' for around 32 calories a 200g portion) or rice (or cauliflower rice for around 70 calories a 200g portion) to make a main meal. 236 calories a portion if you use the same weight of boneless, skinless chicken breast instead.

Easy Thai Pork in Chilli Sauce (Nam Prik Ong)

Another one to use up that red curry paste (that you might have made or bought by now!)

Well, I can't have people making up a job lot of curry paste, and running out of ideas of things to do with it! (There's a Thai Green Bean and Bork dish to come too, and some Thai fish / crab cakes as well, just in case my Thai Red Duck Curry and Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Salad haven't convinced you to have a go at my recipe for Thai Red Curry Paste...)

This is a dish from Northern Thailand, often sold on the street with deep-fried pork rind – can be eaten as a ‘dip’ with raw vegetables (baby gem lettuce leaves and chicory leaves are good to serve it in/on – would look nice in a small bowl on a large plate surrounded by individual leaves etc. for people to help themselves to), Thai crispy rice cakes, or sticky rice – you could even serve it with (zero or glass/rice) noodles mixed in to make a main meal, or on top of steamed Jasmine or cauliflower rice, for a low carb, light meal.

To make eating it easier, and just a little less messy, you could serve up the pork in a separate bowl, and put your chosen toppings already in the lettuce cups! You could substitute minced chicken or turkey if preferred, but pork is traditional.

The Thai Pork in Chilli Sauce is to the bottom right of the photo, the top left is my Chinese Lettuce Wrapped Chicken (or Pork) – San Choy Bau.

This will serve up to four as a main (257 calories per portion) or up to eight as part of a sharing platter or starter at 129 calories each.

Thai Red Duck Curry (Gaeng Phed Pet Yang)

I do love the exciting mix of different flavours and textures in a Thai red duck curry... they're amazing!

I don't think there's another curry *quite* like it, especially if you go the whole hog and make your own Thai red curry paste! (I thoughtfully posted my recipe here for you, including Thermomix instructions which will keep for a few weeks in the fridge, or freeze in portions and keep for months, just before I posted this, the first of my Thai recipes including red curry paste - or if you don't want to make your own, you could use one of the better bought brands, e.g. Thai Taste).

 

This recipe serves two, and is easily doubled (or serves more as part of a meal with accompaniments).

Calories (if you're counting) are 472 per serving, if made with full fat coconut milk and served to two people; 350 per serving if made with ‘light’ coconut milk.

Chicken Tikka and Tandoori Chicken (includes Thermomix method)

I've included these in the same post, as essentially one is historically derived from the other...

...and I see no reason in complicating things (as sometimes life can be complicated enough!) Basically, chicken tikka (usually boneless pieces of chicken marinated in yoghurt, ginger, garlic and spices cooked on skewers in a tandoor - or over hot coals, sometimes on the bone in Punjabi cuisine) is the boneless version (and derivative) of tandoori chicken (whole chicken, or sometimes portions on the bone, again cooked in a tandoor, or sometimes on a barbeque grill).

Serves eight - don't panic, easily halved! Plus you can freeze it raw or cooked for future use, or keep it in the fridge for a couple of days after cooking for easy lunchboxe fillers, to go on salads including my Indian cachumber salad (tomato, cucumber and onion with coriander and spices), even as a filler for wraps and sandwiches etc. and especially use it in my healthy Chicken Tikka Masala (which starts from only 281 calories per serving). It's so good it's worth making up at least the marinade in bulk, if not the chicken - a great recipe for barbeques, having friends over, the whole family, or to cook and use up in all kinds of ways over a few days.

I’ve used pre-ground spices in this recipe, for ease of use – but if you prefer, roast the coriander and cumin seeds whole (used heaped spoon measures, then toss in a dry pan and keep moving so they don’t burn, until fragrant), then grind them for a fresher flavour in a spice grinder, or pestle and mortar (or thermomix!).

Calories per serving: 160 if using chicken breasts, 218 if using chicken thighs (without skin).