To be honest, I wasn't expecting this meal to be very nice. So the fact that I am sharing it means that it was way nicer than my expectations, and it was easy to make. I found this recipe on the Woolworths website and made my own changes to it.
Instead of cream, I used oat cream. You may wonder why I swapped to oat cream. A couple of reasons:
It has less than half the kilojoules of regular cream: Oat cream = 602kJ/100ml vs Dairy cream = 1400kJ/100ml
Saturated fat: Oat cream = 1.2g/100ml vs Dairy cream = 23g/100ml
It appeals to our vegan friends (but not our coeliac friends - it doesn't specify that the oats are gluten free).
It is also lactose free for those that are avoiding lactose.
It was a bit of an experiment, as oat cream doesn't work with all recipes and I don't think it would whip very well. But it worked beautifully with this meal.
I also added more veggies to the curry. I used mushrooms and eggplant (aubergine). You could use whatever veggies you prefer. As far as health benefits go, it is better to have variety as you get different vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients with different veggies. The curry flavour masks the flavours of the veggies well, so it might be a good way to try a veggie you are not too sure about yet. That way you can eat more veggies without the flavour not being to your liking. You still will have to deal with texture and I know a lot of people struggle with texture. Don't forget dried mushrooms are a good alternative to fresh for those that don't like the texture of mushrooms.
Again, for the vegans, just leave out the halloumi or use some tempeh or tofu as an alternative. It has plenty of protein rich beans in the curry that you could just leave this out. I just added it as I enjoy the flavour and the combination was great.
I have been known to make my own naan before as well. This time I bought some, but I think home made naan is delicious and you get to choose what goes in it. Store bought naan has lots of preservatives that I prefer to avoid when I can.
For those that are not a fan of kale, a simple swap to baby spinach or regular spinach would be nice. You could also chop it up a bit more and mix it through the curry while it is cooking if you prefer it cooked. There are health benefits for both options, so unless you have a medical condition related to kidney stones, low calcium intake or thyroid issues or you take warfarin then you should check with your doctor before increasing these types of foods. The rest of us, should make sure we are getting plenty of leafy greens like kale and spinach. They are both rich in anti-inflammatory antioxidants and have many health benefits.
I found this great table to compare kale and spinach at "Healthline" for those who are interested. RDI is the Recommended Dietary Intake or how much of the nutrient is recommended to have each day.
