So full confession, I stole the name of my recipe from my friend Alexx’s brilliant book Low Tox Life. However this actual recipe is all my own doing.

The idea is if you have a can of coconut milk and some passata or canned tomatoes and some curry powder or paste, you can make a meal.

I’ve written the recipe for using leftover cooked meat and vegetables, but you can also use raw. Just simmer in the curry sauce until everything is cooked through.

Feel free to play around with the quantities of protein and veg depending on what you have at home.

And if you do decide to run to the store and buy something to make this curry you can just change the name to ‘super simple curry’. Easy.

enough for: 2-3
takes: 15 minutes
1-2 tablespoons curry powder (or 3-4 tablespoons curry paste)
1/2 bottle tomato passata (1.5 cups) or 1 can tomatoes
1 can coconut milk (400mL / 14oz)
450g (1lb) cooked vegetables
200-400g (7-14oz) cooked protein (see below for ideas)
small bunch herbs or handful roast nuts, to serve

1. Heat a medium saucepan on a medium high heat. Add a little oil and then stir fry the curry powder for about 30 seconds.

2. Add tomato passata / tomatoes, coconut milk, veggies and protein. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes uncovered.

3. When the curry is hot. Taste and season with salt and more curry powder if needed. Serve with herbs or nuts on top.

Variations & Substitutions

protein ideas – any cooked legumes, meat, fish or poultry will work. You can also simmer some eggs in the sauce – they actually work really well in a curry. And feel free to use raw meat / fish / poultry, just simmer until they’re all cooked through.

veg ideas – any veg will work. I used cooked chard but feel free to use up whatever you have in the house. Frozen peas or spinach are a great addition. As with the protein, raw veg can be used, you’ll just need to simmer until they’re cooked through. Softening an onion or two before you fry the curry powder adds extra depth of flavour.

herb ideas – I love it with coriander (cilantro), basil or mint.

nut ideas – roast cashews or peanuts are my faves but any roast nuts or seeds will work – you just want something to make it look pretty and like it’s more than just leftovers.

no tomato passata / canned tomatoes – you could use tomato paste (about 3 tablespoons + 4 tablespoons water), a punnet of cherry tomatoes or replace with chicken or veg stock.

more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with steamed rice. Or add cooked noodles.

more substantial (low carb) – extra protein, extra nuts or serve on a bed of cauliflower ‘rice’.

richer – the coconut milk makes it nice and creamy but I also love it with a few tablespoons of peanut butter or cashew butter stirred in at the end.

no coconut milk / cream – either replace with chicken or veg stock. Or skip it and serve your curry with a big dollop of Greek yoghurt for the creamy factor.

Low FODMAP – just use low fodmap veg and protein.

family-friendly – use a very mild curry powder or try garam masala. And serve with chilli oil for the heat-seekers.

pantry meal – use canned chickpeas or beans as your protein and frozen spinach, cauliflower or broccoli as your veg.

Prepare Ahead

Absolutely! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the herbs / nuts separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, bring back to a simmer and top with herbs / nuts.