Ingredients

onions, chopped

garlic cloves, crushed

2.5cm

piece of fresh ginger, peeled & diced

300ml

good quality vegetable stock

2 tsp

ground turmeric

1 tsp

ground cinnamon

1 tsp

ground coriander

1/2 tsp

ground cumin

vine tomatoes, quartered or cut into chunks

medium aubergine, trimmed and cubed

250g

fresh spinach leaves, washed, trimmed and shredded

a handful

fresh coriander, chopped

to taste

sea salt & black pepper

"You can subtly change the flavour and aroma of this colourful curry but tweaking the spices and flavourings."

Top Tips from Petronella: Instead of ground cinnamon, add a cinnamon stick and remove before serving; add some cardamom pods; add some thickly sliced courgette or cauliflower florets.

Recipe reproduced with kind permission from Petronella Ravenshear's book The HBD Cookbook, published by Harper Collins Publishers Ltd 2023.

Method

Put the onions, garlic, ginger and stock in a large saucepan over a high heat. Cover the pan, bring the stock to the boil and then boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, remove the lid and cook gently for 20 minutes, or until the onions are tender, golden and syrupy.
Stir in the ground spices and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and aubergine, and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, or until just tender. Keep checking the pan to ensure you don't overcook the aubergine.
About 3 minutes before the end of the cooking time, stir in the spinach and cook until it wilts and turns a lovely shade of green, Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in most of the coriander.
Divide the curry between the 2 serving plates and sprinkle the remaining coriander over the top.