The Avant Garde Vegan's lentil curry recipe is our new go-to dinner

With over 568,000 followers on Instagram and 1.2million subscribers on YouTube, Welsh vegan chef Gaz Oakley, 28, is kind of a big deal in the cooking world. Author of the Plants Only Kitchen cookbook , a collection of over 70 simple plant-based recipes, Gaz' legions of fans love him for his easy-to-follow recipes (his vegan lasagne recipe has over 1 millions views, while his high protein vegan meal prep tutorial has been watched more than 6 million times).

This year in honour of Veganuary he teamed up with plant-based food brand Merchant Gourmet , who sell pouches of ready to eat lentils, quinoa, freekeh along with ingredients (also in the stylish pouches) including whole chestnuts and puy lentils, to create bespoke vegan recipes, including this tasty lentil curry.

Gaz Oakley lentil curry recipe

Serves: 4
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients  

1 Onion, peeled 
6 Cloves Garlic, peeled 
1 tbs Fresh Ginger 
1 tsp Sea Salt  
1 tbs Vegetable Oil, for frying  
1 Pack Merchant Gourmet Puy Lentils 
1 tbs Curry Powder 
1 tsp Mild Chilli Powder 
½ tsp Turmeric  
½ tsp Ground Coriander  
½ tsp Ground Cumin  
½ tsp Ground Fenugreek  
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon  
2 tbs Tomato Puree 
2 Potatoes, peeled & cubed 
2 cups / 480ml Vegetable Stock  
1 cup / 240 ml Vegan Cream, or Coconut Milk 
1 tbs Brown Sugar 

Serve with 

Fresh Coriander & Chilli Garnish 
Rice 

Method 

1. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and salt to your food processor with a splash of water and blitz to form a paste.  
2. Place a medium-sized, non-stick saucepan over a medium heat and add the spices. Pan roast them for a minute or two before adding the paste and the oil.  
3. Sauté the mixture for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato puree followed by the potato and lentils  
4. Keep cooking the mixture and stirring until everything is coated, then deglaze the pan with the vegetable stock and vegan cream  
5. Add the brown sugar, then pop a lid on the pan and let the curry bubble away for 15-20 minutes. Turn the heat down low and don’t forget to stir it every 3-4 minutes, as the potato has a tendency to stick.  
6. After 20 minutes of cooking, the liquid should have thickened considerably and it should smell beautiful.  
7. Serve the curry with rice or sides of your choice and garnish with coriander and chilli.

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