Easy Indian Curry with Lemon and Ginger Rice
Who doesn’t love a curry, right? There’s something so decadent and delicious about the simply amazing flavours that you can find in every curry you have. In this recipe, we’re going to be making a simple, vegetarian Quorn or chicken curry, with some mushrooms and lime. I promise you will love this easy Indian curry!
We’ll be serving that alongside lemon and ginger rice: a dish I’ve only found at my local Indian which I believe is criminally underrated.
Check out my other rice recipes and curry recipes after you have made this one too.
How to make the curry easily
There are two elements to this recipe, making the rice and making the curry. You should be able to do the curry whilst the rice is cooking, give it a try.
Making the lemon and ginger rice
First things first, let’s get the rice on. We’re going to be steaming this rice, so it will take roughly twenty minutes from start to finish. First off, put all your ingredients – except for the rice – in the pan. That’s two cups of water, along with your lemon juice and spices.
Put that on the hob, and as it comes to heat, add the rice and put a lid on it. Make sure you keep a lid on your rice, otherwise it will boil instead of steam. There’s nothing wrong with boiling rice if it’s the way you happen to like it, I just massively prefer steamed rice. Once your rice is on, let’s get to the curry!
Making the curry
Here, I’m using some supermarket own-brand frozen vegetarian chicken. I’m doing it this way because I’m veggie and, to be honest, this one just tastes really nice!
If you were using regular chicken, you’d do the same thing here. Regular chicken would take longer to cook though so do factor that extra time in.
Add your chicken (vegetarian or not) to the pan, with a little light frying spray, and cook it until it’s cooked through. Make sure to season it as you’re cooking it!
When your chicken’s finished, add in your mushrooms along with your spices and lime juice.
Once you’ve added your spices, make sure to give them a few minutes over some heat in order to allow them to bloom.
This will allow them to fully release all the flavour that they have, and improve the overall taste of your meal. Once you’ve allowed your spices to bloom, add in your chopped tomatoes.
Once you’ve added your tomatoes, make sure the heat under the pot is very low and put the lid on.
Allowing your food to simmer for a long period of time will mean that the juices and spices become more intense, leading to a powerful flavour sensation in the end meal.
Just before serving
In the final few minutes of the cooking process, remove the lid from your pot and allow the curry to steam and release excess water.
This will further intensify the flavours that you’ve been developing during the simmering process.
When you’re happy with the consistency of the curry and the texture of the rice, serve!
There’s little better than properly cooked al dente rice, and this recipe allows for such a powerful kick of flavour from it that it’s hard to say no to seconds!
How to adapt this recipe
The easy Indian curry’s similarly powerful, with the rich flavour from the slow simmer beautiful complementing the sharp lime tang. If you aren’t a fan of citrus fruits, then this recipe perhaps isn’t for you.
Why not try plain boiled rice or egg fried rice? If you are a fan, however, then you’re sure to love it!
Check out my selection of Quorn recipes, all perfect for all the family whether vegetarian or not, some are vegan too.
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Indian Curry with Lemon and Ginger Rice
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3 Portions
- Category: Main Meal
- Method: Stove top, hob
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
A simple, vegetarian chicken curry, with some mushrooms and lime. We’ll be serving that alongside lemon and ginger rice
Ingredients
For the rice:
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups of water
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ginger
For the curry
300g frozen vegetarian chicken substitute.
Salt and pepper to taste.
200g mushrooms, sliced.
Juice of 1 lime.
3 tablespoons medium curry power.
800g chopped tomatoes.
Instructions
Add all ingredients for the side dish, aside from the rice, to a pot, and bring to a simmer. Add the rice, and then cook, covered, for twenty minutes, stirring regularly. When the rice is al dente, remove from the heat.
Add a little light frying spray to a pan, followed by the chicken substitute. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until fully cooked and piping hot all the way through.
Once cooked, add the mushrooms, lime juice, and curry powder. Stir to combine, and then cook for thirty seconds to a minute to allow for the spices to bloom.
Add the tomatoes and allow them to come up to heat, simmering gently. Cover the curry and allow it to simmer for ten minutes to ensure the chicken and mushrooms are fully cooked. Simmer for a further five minutes with the lid off so that the curry reduces a little, and the flavours become more intense overall. After those five minutes, serve!
Make sure that both the rice and the curry are hot before serving. Garnish with a few fresh coriander leaves, and maybe even serve with some hot, fresh naan bread.
Do comment and let me know below if you have enjoyed this easy Indian curry.
I’ve always put off making a curry because of the ingredients list being as long as my arm. But I was trying to impress my wife so I gave it a go. Really flavoursome.