British Pub Style Vegetable Curry

British curry? Don’t you mean Indian curry or Thai curry? Nope, this recipe is for British curry, the sweet, thick kind you get from pubs all over the UK. Yes the Brits got the idea from India but they have adapted the flavours to their own palates, which is why British curries tend to be thick, sweet and not too spicy. In a British pub you can order curry with a jacket potato (baked potato), rice or chips (fries) or even half rice and half chips in many places. Expect a mild flavour, but you can ask for hot sauce if you want to liven it up a bit. British pub curries usually tend to be chicken, beef or vegetarian.

In the following recipe we are using potato, carrot, onion, bell peppers, and pineapple as the main ingredients, adding some sultanas or raisins too, and some peas or corn (or both) and coconut milk or cream. Add mild curry powder for flavour, and some salt and black pepper. It is important to simmer this curry very gently because that’s when the flavours blend nicely. Enjoy the delicious exotic smells in the kitchen while this cooks!

Change any ingredients you want, perhaps swapping the potato for an extra carrot or some button mushrooms or spinach. Some people like to add some cashews when they add the peas/corn, while others add a little hot sauce. Get creative with it and have some fun! This curry has potato in it so you might want to serve it by itself instead of with a potato side dish. If you don’t mind some extra carbs though, white rice or naan bread goes well. Head to any High Street in Britain and the odds are high you will find at least one curry house. Indian chefs who had immigrated into the UK started preparing lighter, milder curries in the 1970s, for the British palate, and today a high percentage of Brits enjoy curry at least once a week!

Curries range from sweet and mild to fiery hot and there are literally thousands of recipes for curry. This British pub-style curry is at the sweet and mild end of that spectrum, offering plenty of veggies, fruity flavour and creamy richness. This is a vegetarian curry, but if you wanted to add some chicken or beef and let it cook in the sauce, you could do that easily. In British pubs this comes as a jacket potato (baked potato) filling or with chips and/or rice, and perhaps naan bread too. This recipe has potatoes in it so consider serving it on a bed of white or basmati rice. This is so mild and fruity you will find the youngest members of the family love it too.