You should be making this curry in late summer / early autumn when the tomatoes are just bursting with ripeness. It’s really only worth it if you can find amazing tomatoes, grown for flavour, rather than a consistent size and shape. We buy ours from a farm shop and you can really taste the difference.
Wine Suggestion: Tomatoes we often pair with higher acid and tannic reds like Sangiovese. However, combined with the creamy coconut and yoghurt we eased off on the acidity and chose Frasca La Guaragna Barbera d’Asti which has a mellow softness and depth. Both wine and food are comforting as the nights begin to turn colder.
Tomato Curry – serves 6
- 5 star anise
- 10 cardamom pods
- 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
- 1 heaped tsp coriander seeds
- 1kg top quality, very ripe tomatoes, lots of different sizes, shapes, and colours if you can
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- a big sprig of fresh curry leaves
- a large onion, finely sliced
- 5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 1 or 2 red chillies, finely sliced
- 40g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 x 400g tins of full-fat coconut milk
- 50ml natural yoghurt
- cooked brown rice, to serve
- fresh coriander, to serve
Heat the oven to 200C fan.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment, place all the tomatoes on top and drizzle generously with the olive oil. Season well with salt and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The tomatoes should be slightly caramelised but not totally collapsed.
Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the spices and fry for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the curry leaves and sizzle for a few seconds before adding the onion, garlic, chillies and ginger. Season generously with salt and mix together. Cook the onions over a low heat for about 15 minutes or until they are well softened.
Pour in the coconut milk, then rinse out both tins with a little splash of water and add that too. Simmer gently for about 40 minutes, or until thickened, then turn off the heat. Put the yoghurt into a bowl and pour in a ladle of curry sauce. Mix well, then pour the yoghurt mixture into the curry. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Gently add the baked tomatoes to the curry sauce, taking care not to break them up. Serve with brown rice and fresh coriander leaves.
(Original recipe from The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, Ebury Press, 2023.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 