Quick & Easy Vegan Fijian Curry

Vegan Fijian Curry, a vegan take on traditional Fijian curry. Made with curry roasted tempeh, potatoes and vegetables in a quick and easy sauce. 

A large proportion of the Fijian population is of Indian descent and they brought traditional Indian food culture to Fiji. Nowadays chicken and potato curry is a popular dish among all Fijians. 

Fijian curries are usually made with chicken and potatoes in a rich sauce without dairy. Our easy vegan version is a quick hands-off curry that is a perfect stress-free midweek meal. We use tempeh which absorbs the curry flavours well and roasts in the same amount of time as the potatoes. Roasting the tempeh and potatoes gives you time to prepare the sauce while they are roasting, meaning the finished dish will be done in no time. 

Curry Roasted Vegetables

Roasting the tempeh and the vegetables is a quick and easy way to cook vegan curries. This is a more hands-off approach to cooking a curry but still gives a wonderful depth of flavour as they roast in the spices and char around the edges.

Although potatoes are a traditional part of a Fijian curry you could use our roasting method to add any other vegetables to the dish. This is a bonus to cooking a vegan curry. There are some many different vegetables you can add to give a wonderful array of different flavours and textures. Add more root vegetables such as carrots or sweet potatoes. These will roast in the same amount of time as the rest of the ingredients. You could also add softer vegetables like courgette, green beans or broccoli. These will require less time to roast so cut them into small bite-sized pieces and add them to the oven when there are around 20 minutes remaining.

Serving Quick & Easy Vegan Fijian Curry

As with most curries, rice is the preferred side dish in Fiji. Roti is also a popular accompaniment enjoyed in most households. Cook up some fresh basmati rice while the curry is cooking and serve your quick and easy Fijian curry with rice and some shop-bought roti for a quick and easy midweek meal. 

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Quick & Easy Vegan Fijian Curry

A vegan take on traditional Fijian curry. Made with roasted tempeh, potatoes and vegetables in a quick and easy curry sauce.

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine Fijian

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

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Roasted Tempeh and Potatoes

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 200 g tempeh
• 4 potatoes
• 2 brown onions
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes optional

Curry Sauce

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds optional
• 1 small stick of cinnamon
• 1 spicy green chilli minced
• 8 cloves garlic minced
• 40 g ginger minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 400 ml vegetable stock or water
• 1 large green bell pepper diced
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• Fresh coriander for garnish

Instructions

 

• Preheat an oven to 180°C.
• Cut the tempeh, potatoes and onions into small bite-sized pieces. Place them all into a bowl with the vegetable oil, curry powder and optional red chilli flakes. Toss to coat thoroughly then spread out well on a baking sheet.
• Roast in the oven until the potatoes are cooked through and the edges begin to turn golden. Around 30 minutes, turning halfway.
• While the tempeh, potatoes and onions are cooking prepare the sauce.
• Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Once hot add the mustard seeds, cumin seed, fenugreek seeds and the cinnamon stick. Sauté until the seeds start to pop, around 30 seconds.
• Add the minced chilli, garlic and ginger. Sauté until aromatic, around 1 minute, watching not to burn the garlic.
• Add the tomato puree and sauté until it turns a deep red colour, around 1 minute.
• Now add the water, diced bell pepper, curry powder, Kashmiri chilli powder and garam masala. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and continue to simmer for 5 minutes or until the tempeh and potatoes have finished roasting.
• Once the tempeh, potatoes and onion have done roasting, add them to the pot with the sauce and stir everything together.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning. We added ½ teaspoon of salt and a good crack of freshly cracked black pepper.
• Serve your quick and easy Fijian curry with basmati rice and roti. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander.

Tried this recipe?Mention @mikeronm or tag #theveganplanetkitchen!