After eating lots of raw food and cold salads recently, I was in the mood for a rich, warming dish.
In the Western world we use the word “curry” to mean virtually anything in a sauce with spices but it does seem a shame to lump everything together and forget that there are actually so many different dishes with flavours unique to their respective cultures. I have a few “curries” on Coconut and Berries:
Sweet Potato, Spinach & Coconut Dahl
Lemony Lentil, Potato & Pea Curry
Thai Tempeh & Vegetable Red Curry
Ethiopian Yellow Split Pea Butternut Stew
spanning Indian-style dishes, Thai, and Ethiopian. And today I’ve got another, completely different one.
I tend to favour South Indian recipes as they’re usually vegetarian by default but Pasanda is a popular North Indian and Pakistani dish. Typically lamb or chicken, cooked in a thick sauce made from a blend of cream, almonds and spices.
I’ve of course veganized it, using chunks of meaty tempeh to replace the lamb and non-dairy yogurt instead of the cream. The result was a wonderfully mild curry with a deliciously nutty and creamy sauce. This one is perfect for families as it’s so lightly spiced, but if you’re not feeding children go ahead and kick up the heat to your liking.

- 2T Apple cider vinegar
- 2T Tamari
- 2T Water
- 1t Minced fresh ginger
- I 225g/8oz pkg Tempeh, cubed
- 1T Coconut/Olive oil
- 1 Medium onion, roughly chopped
- 1 Small head of cauliflower, broken into small florets (3-4C)
- 1 Red Chili, minced
- 2 Cloves of garlic
- 2 Green Cardamom Pods, Bashed
- 2t Ground Turmeric
- 1t Ground Coriander
- 1/4t Cinnamon
- 1C Chopped Tomatoes (canned or fresh)
- 1C Ground Almonds
- 2C Unsweetened non-dairy yogurt (UK readers, I recommend Sojade organic soy yogurt rather than a thick coconut yogurt like Coyo which would make this too rich. OR, simply use less)
- 1C Vegetable Broth
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- Juice of 1 lime
- Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- Whisk together the first four ingredients and toss the tempeh in this mixture. Leave for 20-30 minutes to marinade.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the tempeh and sauté for approx 5 minutes until lightly browned on all sides.
- Add the onion, cauliflower and chili and cook for another 5 minutes, until the onion has softened.
- Add the garlic and spices and cook, stirring, for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes, yogurt, ground almonds, broth, salt and pepper and stir until everything is coated.
- Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time to ensure it’s not sticking. You may need to add more broth. The cauliflower should be tender and the sauce thickened.
- Remove the cardamom pods (if you can find them!), add the lime juice and scatter with fresh coriander and extra chili (if desired).
- Serve with flatbread (I adapted this grain-free flatbread recipe) or brown rice.
Do you have a favourite curry?
If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, Please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere: I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google + and Twitter!
looks sooo good! its too cold out here and i can barely get any cold smoothie or salad down me. its always hot stuff on the plate! i am all in for this hot and spiced up pasanda.
Thanks Richa
Luckily it’s actually not too cold right now here but this dish hit the spot all the same.
Reblogged this on Vegan Coyote.
You have some great curry recipes on here! I’ll definitely be trying a few of these ones out. Thank you.
Thanks! Let me know how you like them if you do get to try any out
Oh now that’s different and wonderful looking! Would love you to share this via my fab fusion foods challenge x
Thanks so much Deena. I just looked for the fab fusion challenge and can’t find it on your blog. P.S. Now following you. Why wasn’t I doing so before? Your blog is gorgeous!
Hello! Thank you for your very kind words, I’m so flattered. The challenge is here http://www.deenakakaya/challenge x
Any meal with the word “curry” in it is my favorite! I am a HUGE Indian food fan.
I know right? Crazy that i used to like the plainest of plain foods and nothing but growing up.
I’ve been eating hearty dishes lately from heavy Mexican food to creamy risotto and I need to try more raw foods & salads like you! Curries are hearty, full of flavors and utterly delicious. How interesting, I didn’t know South Indian recipes are usually vegetarian by default, how about South Asian curries hehe? Ah I recognized Waitrose, there are few products by Waitrose at an international supermarket in Paris. Thanks for the tip about the yogurt, I absolutely love Sojade and have never heard of Coyo, so thanks goodness I haven’t tried it yet! Your tempeh & cauliflower pasanda looks beautiful, tasty, colorful and lovely - I want this on garlic rice right away! My favorite curry is always Japanese kare - I make this 1 or 2 times a month! Wishing you a fabulous weekend! I’m so sorry for the delay, I’m back on track and I look forward to catching up your posts! x Rika
I still need to make your Japanese kare. I can still visualise your picture in my head!
Interesting that they have Waitrose products in Paris. It’s my favourite supermarket here though where possible I like to shop in independent stores.
I’m guessing you haven’t been to India yet? Must be one of the few places you haven’t visited!
Is it possible to smell curry through a computer screen? Wow, girl, your pictures are gorgeous! I’m putting this on my list of dishes to cook once this juice cleanse is over. Love, love, love it!
Thanks so much Heather. It did smell amazing cooking!
Emmmmmma! This is incredible! I made it for dinner last night and we both loved it! So glad there are leftovers for tonight…but barely. It was so good that it was hard to stop eating it!
Thanks for a delicious recipe. And I’m chuckling that my husband actually ate a bowlful of cauliflower without balking! Hee hee!
I’m so happy you both loved it!! Thanks for letting me know, you’ve made my day 😀
Back to use this recipe again. We LOVE it! Making it extra spicy this time with double the red chili…living on the edge. 😉
Fab! I need to make this again too! Good call on the chili 😀
This looks so much more appealing than traditional creamy ‘curries’ (I’m using the word in its broad form!). I love the sound of the spice mix and your use of cauliflower and tempeh. Thanks for educating me on pasanda as a dish, too!
Nice to teach you something new Kari! Thanks for your compliments. This one was mighty tasty
very much tempting caulflower pasanda. Love it with some hot rice.
Thanks so much Lisha! I was very pleased to have leftovers to enjoy. Sadly all gone now though.
Looks delicious. Very good-looking cauliflower on sale on the station platform near Inle lake in Myanmar this morning. Together with baskets full of fresh avocados !
Sent from my iPad
>
Thanks Mumsy
I think you would have enjoyed this one xxx
Oh wow, this looks seriously amazing! I saved the recipe and I hope to make this soon. I am a huge fan of this kind of dish. Plus tempeh!
Thanks Mihl. I’m glad that you’re a tempeh lover too. It never seems to get the spotlight it deserves.
I rarely see a picture of a tempeh dish that looks so luscious.
beautiful dish!
i tend to rather like “curries”, although i doubt anyone would call my fabrications a curry because i always leave all the heat out of it. I do like all kinds of spices and therefore a lot of flavours in “curry” (cumin, coriander, cinnamon etc etc) but i can’t stand the heat. i’ve always been rather bummed about this, because i know there’s entire world of cuisines out there i could just fall in love with, if it wasn’t for their use of hot spices.
x
I can’t handle too much heat either. I like the spices but not the burning! I’d love to see a raw “curry”!
Yum!! i always forget to use cauliflower in curry, i also seem to go for lentil/chickpeas options. Thanks for inspiring/reminding me! 😉
Chickpeas and lentils are my favourite so I have to force myself to try new combinations!
I’ve never thought of having tempeh in a curry, great idea! I rotate a few curries at home, usually Thai or Indian using beans/lentils for protein. Cant wait to try out this tempeh version, thanks for the inspiration
I usually go for bean and lentils too but I love tempeh so it was only a matter of time before it ended up in a curry 😉
that looks delicious - just the sort of thing that would go down well here and I could imagine it with chickpeas (as I can imagine everything with chickpeas) too.
I imagine everything with chickpeas too! I have to force myself to use other beans and proteins 😉
yum, that looks really nice. I am feeling chilly right now, and that looks so good and warming and hearty! I really like Isa’s curry recipes, and I use a lot of the curries from “Appetite For Reduction.” I love Indian food so much, but I agree with you that South Indian food is the A++ #1 Yums.
I really need to pick up my copy of “Appetite for Reduction” again. I’ve neglected it lately but I love how quick, easy, healthy but still creative all the recipes in it are.
And yay for South Indian food! I could do with a dosa right about now actually…
This looks amazing! You’re right that it’s wrong to lump all curries into one category BUT I’ve never met a curry I didn’t like- that’s an ok generalization to make right? haha. Love the tempeh addition!
Thanks Gabby! I think we’ll allow you that generalization 😉
Hey Emma! I’m loving your new site. It’s so clean and fresh ♥ (Mind you, I loved your old site too 😉 )
I spotted the pasanda recipe in the Waitrose magazine too and was intrigued to find out how a pasanda differed from a korma. I’m so happy to see your veganized version. It looks and sounds amazing! I can’t wait to give it a try 😀 xx
Thanks for your sweet comments Sharon
It’s really satisfying meaty dishes! Did you notice I copied the magazine’s styling?! hehe.
what do you do with the almond meal?
Thanks so much for catching that Natalie! It looks like I omitted it from the instructions. I’ve now updated the recipe. You add the ground almonds along with the yogurt, tomatoes and veg broth. Apologies.
any way i can substitute for the cardamom pods? not sure i can get them, but i have ground cardamom and also seeds
I’ve made this without the cardamom before and it’s still good but as you have ground cardamom I’d probably add a little (approx 1/8 t) along with the other spices. Let me know if you make it!
I just picked up some tempeh, haven’t cooked with it in years and this looks like a yummy idea! Will definitely go for a spicy version 😉
Tempeh is so wonderful, I’m lucky I can get it in my local health food store but I do wish it was more widely available.