Indian spicy tomato curry with black mustard seeds

This spicy Indian tomato curry with cumin, fennel, coriander and black mustard seeds goes well with rice, quinoa or meat alternatives.

Serving size: The specified amount of 4 servings is sufficient for 3-4 main courses. The recipe only includes the curry, without any side dish.

Nutrient profile: According to GDA guidelines, one portion of this low-calorie dish provides over 50% of vitamin C and manganese. Some of the heat-sensitive ingredients are lost during the cooking process, which slightly reduces the amount per portion. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is 4:1, which is below the maximum recommended ratio.
You can find further information on this topic at the following link: Vegans often eat unhealthily. Avoidable nutritional errors .

Fennel seeds: Fennel seeds contain essential oils such as anethole, fenchone and estragole. Anethole soothes the stomach and has an antispasmodic effect. It is also mainly responsible for the typical aniseed taste and is also found in anise and star anise.

Coriander: Coriander seeds are spherical and have a bitter-spicy to sweet aroma. The ground seeds are used in the kitchen as spices. Coriander seeds taste particularly spicy if you roast them briefly and then grind them or crush them in a mortar. Ground coriander does not keep for long due to the high proportion of essential oil.

Cumin: Despite the similar name, cumin is not closely related to caraway and also differs greatly in taste. Ground cumin has a fresh and slightly spicy aroma, which it owes to the cuminaldehyde contained in the essential oil.

Black mustard: The ripe and dried, intensely fragrant seeds are used primarily in Indian cuisine. They are usually roasted in ghee or oil beforehand. The mustard seeds give the dish a slight spiciness, which is, however, very different from the taste of creamy mustard. Like all cruciferous seeds, mustard seeds contain oil, which in black mustard is around 30%, with a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids. Mustard seeds have a stimulating effect on digestion.

Curry leaves: Curry leaves are the leaves of the curry tree, which is native to Asia. The aroma of curry leaves is fresh, slightly fruity to smoky. The thin leaves do not need to be removed from the dish; they can be eaten. They are usually fried first before adding the other ingredients. In Ayurveda, the traditional Indian natural medicine, curry leaves are used to treat stomach upsets and digestive disorders, eczema and diabetes.

Tamarind paste: A distinction is made between sweet and sour tamarind fruit. The former can be found in well-stocked supermarkets. Tamarind paste is the concentrated pulp of the sour tamarind fruit. It can be found in Asian shops.

This curry can be served with wholegrain rice or quinoa, as well as vegan meat alternatives such as crispy lentil balls or tofu.

Reduce salt and oil: We have deliberately left out oil and reduced salt for health reasons. You can find more information on this topic in the book we describe in detail: "Salt Sugar Fat" by Michael Moss.

Spices: You can buy dried curry leaves, as well as fennel, coriander and black mustard seeds in any well-stocked Asian store. They keep for a very long time in unground form. You can buy fresh chili peppers there (they can be frozen well) or you can buy them pre-packaged and frozen.

To soften it: If you don't like it too spicy, you can remove the seeds from the chili and/or use less. The curry is relatively spicy and rather solid. If you like it milder and/or more liquid, you can dilute it with oat milk. This will give you a milder and slightly sweet curry.

Plant milk: You can use any plant milk instead of oat milk. In addition to oat milk, almond milk and coconut milk are particularly suitable due to their sweet taste. If you use canned coconut milk, make sure you use organic products and those that were not harvested using monkeys. Products from Sri Lanka and Vietnam are considered cruelty-free, whereas monkeys are often used in products from Thailand. Since coconut milk, contrary to popular belief, is more unhealthy than healthy due to its very high proportion of saturated (medium-chain and long-chain) fatty acids, we rarely use it.

Make your own oat milk: You can make your own oat milk, almond milk and coconut milk. Information on making oat and almond milk can be found under the links. To make coconut milk, put 80 g of coconut meat and 400 ml of water in a blender and mix until you have a white, creamy liquid (coconut milk). You can optionally press this through a nut milk bag or just use it as it is.

Thanks to the addition of flaxseed, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is 4:1, which is below the maximum recommended ratio. The fat content of flaxseed has around 50% of the polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the highest concentration of omega-3 fatty acids of all known seeds. Those who eat a lot of industrial food should increase the amount of flaxseed in their diet and correct nutritional errors in this regard.