Vegan Sweet Pineapple Curry

Story Behind The Dish

Back at the start of March (2020) I went on holiday to visit the beautiful country of Bali travelling around all the amazing towns and villages, discovering the amazing tropical rainforests, rice padis, waterfalls, clear blue sea, amazing beaches, friendly local culture, everything about Bali is great, it's a must visit.

I came here while going through a break up (and yes we both traveled to Bali together), doing some quite deep self discovery/inner work, initially for a three week break, but then...Covid19

As the weeks tiptoed by, the Covid19 outbreak was all over the news and talk of lockdown was going on back in the UK (of which I was secretly watching over and praying I could stay in Bali).

With our return flight days away and still the talk of lockdown approaching and my visa a week away from expiring I made a decision not get on the return flight with the thought of flying to Australia instead, because if i'm going into lock down i'm going to do it somewhere warm.

The day I was meant to fly to Australia, they announced a travel ban to tourist.

Right, what now. After a few days of fear driven decision making I decided to book a flight back to the UK via Singapore. But guess what, the day I was meant to fly out, Singapore shut their borders and the flight got cancelled.

I decided it had to be a sign! I'd stay put, listen to what the universe is yelling out at me and surrender.

To make it even more obvious I should be staying here Bali then announced emergency visas for all 'stranded' tourists. Sorted, thanks universe.

So now after spending the last three months in, chilling and getting to know Bali more, I discovered this amazing recipe book hiding away in one of the hotels I was spending my extended holiday at. Tucked away inside was this incredible Indonesian dish: Sweet pineapple curry. After getting some local cooking tips I decided t0 give it a go. I kid you not after tasting it the first time, I haven't been able to stop making it and eating it (pre-warning you'll probably eat nothing else) What a dish.!

Maybe this is what the universe wanted me to share with everyone ;-)

So here you go, enjoy...

Vegan Sweet Pineapple Curry Recipe

Cook up a vegan treat for the whole gang. Serve with rice and parathas

Prep & Cooking time:

60 minutes

Portion size:

6-8 persons

Ingredients:

1 Fresh pineapple

3 Onions

2 Courgettes

6 Large mushrooms

1 Block of Tempeh

2 Pepper (1 red, 1 green)

1 Egg plant

1/4 pumpkin

3.5 cups of think Coconut milk

1 Tablespoon salt

80g Sugar

4 Garlic cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons Oil

1.5 Teaspoons turmeric power

1,5 Teaspoons cumin

2 Tablespoons coriander

1.5 Teaspoons fennel seeds

4 Cloves

Step 1:

Chop up pumpkin and courgettes into cubes. Place in the oven for 200 degrees 40 minutes.

Step 2:

Making the paste/sauce,

Dry fry - 1,5 Teaspoons cumin, 2 Tablespoons coriander, 1.5 Teaspoons fennel seeds. 3 minutes, low heat until fragrance starts to release.

1.5 onions (chop up), 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup of think coconut milk, 1 teaspoon turmeric power.

Place all into a blender, blend until a smooth paste/sauce

Step 3:

Chop up the rest of the fruit & vegetables, 1 Fresh pineapple 1.5 Onions, 6 Large mushrooms, 2 Pepper (1 red, 1 green), 1 Egg plant, 2 garlic cloves and fry until cooked (fry them however you like it cooked and once cooked place them all into a large saucepan, cook them separately if needed as there is a lot of veg.)

Cut the 1 Block of tempeh into strips and fry until golden brown on it's own.

Add the tempeh to the to the vegetables.

Add the cinnamon stick.

Add the 80g sugar and 1 teaspoon salt.

Add 3 cups of think coconut milk to the vegetables.

Place on a low heat.

Step 4:

Once the pumpkin and courgettes are ready add them to the saucepan.

Step 5:

Add the paste/sauce to the saucepan, mix all together and put on a medium heat for 20 minutes. Keep stirring throughout.

Step 6:

Cook up the rice and lightly fry the parathas.

Step 7:

Plate up and dig in!

I hope you enjoy!