Very mild, but very rich summer vegetable curry (vegan)

 When I recently found out that spicy dishes, onions and garlic are not very good for my stomach I was devastated because I like hot dishes and could not imagine making curry without chilli or garlic. Apparently rice is also not very good for me, so I should not eat it very often. "Say good buy to Indian food" - I thought to myself at first but then decided to go for milder version and have curry on it's on (or with naan only). So I made this rich, but not too spicy summer vegetable curry and it was so satisfying and surprisingly filling - I never thought I will not miss a bowl of rice with my curry. 

I used some of my own home grown vegetables (woo hoo! for the first time I managed to grow my own and I am so proud of myself!) and added some boiled chickpea just to include more starchy ingredient and forget about the missing rice. I used milder shallot instead of sharp onion and reduced drastically amount of garlic (normally I would go for at least 4 cloves!).

It was sooooooo good!

Serves 4

2 tbsp of sunflower oil

1 medium shallot, peeled and diced

1 garlic clove, grated

1 piece of fresh ginger (walnut size), grated

2 tsp garam masala

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp whole yellow mustard seeds 

1 tsp black onion seeds (Nigella seeds, kalonji) and some extra for topping the dish 

400ml tomato passata or chopped de-seeded tomatoes 

400ml coconut milk

2 handfuls of fresh coriander, finely chopped with the stalks, some leaves reserved for topping the dish

2 big handfuls of French/green beans, trimmed (and optionally halved) 

1 medium courgette, halved and sliced  

1 cup boiled chickpea

¾ cup fresh peas
salt 

Heat the oil in large pan and add the shallots. Fry for few minutes, until slightly softened then add the garlic and ginger and stir fry for about one minute. Next add the garam masala, turmeric, mustard seeds and black onion seeds and fry until very fragrant and start to pop. Add tomatoes, coconut mil, season with some salt, stir and bring to the boil. Then add the chopped coriander, beans, cover and simmer for about 7 minutes. Next add the courgettes, chickpea, stir and simmer for about 5 minutes. Next add the peas and simmer for 3 minutes.

Adjust the seasoning before serving and sprinkle with some fresh coriander and some black onion seeds.