Curry is one of my favorite meals.  Lucky for me, there are two amazing Indian restaurants on my fairly small island; unlucky for me, they are both on the opposite side, making it (almost) impossible for me to frequent them as much as I’d like.  To overcome this feat and take care of my spastic feminine cravings, J came up with a couple downright amazing curries <- yes, he gets full credit for this one.  This one, spinach and tofu, was my absolute favorite: it’s thick, creamy, super easy, and (best of all) cheap.  If we were currently living in the West, the tofu would probably be replaced with some amazing cheese – he reckons halloumi- but we’ve been working with what we’ve got here in small-town Korea.  The flatbread was also his brilliant idea and is even simpler than the curry.  It’s light, airy, and acts as the perfect vessel for dipping.  If you’re particularly hungry, add a dollop or two of rice on top of your curry at the end.  Ladies: do you have a chef for a partner? Show them this recipe, sit back with a glass of wine, and prepare to be blown away.  Enjoy!

Prep time: about 7 minutes for curry, 2 minutes for flatbread

Cook time: 20 minutes for curry, 2 minutes per flatbread

Ingredients:

• 6 large handfuls of spinach, washed and with ends chopped off
• 1/2 large onion, sliced or diced (whichever you prefer)
• 150 g firm or semi-firm tofu (soft will break apart), cubed
• 12 oz plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 c flour
• large handful of unsalted peanuts
• 6 garlic cloves (less milder taste), finely chopped or minced
• 1 large green chili, finely diced
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp dried basil, or several fresh leaves
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add spinach and allow to reduce down, stirring occasionally.  Once the spinach is cooked through (about 6 minutes), move it to a blender or food processor.  Add another 1/2 tsp of olive oil to your ready saucepan and lightly cook garlic, onion, and chili for a minute or two.

Meanwhile, blend the spinach until you achieve your desired consistency- I like mine with lots of larger pieces of leaf leftover.  Return the mixture to the saucepan to cook with garlic onion, and chili over medium-low heat; also stir in about 7 ounces of the yogurt and spices this time.  Add a few pinches of flour every few minutes and stir in order to thicken your curry.  After about 10 minutes, add the tofu and peanuts.  Allow to cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, but allowing the mixture to settle thickly.  Top with the freshly squeezed lemon juice for a fresh finish.

Heat a separate saucepan over medium heat.  About 5 minutes before the curry is finished, pour flour into a mixing bowl.  Slowly add the remaining 5 ounces of yogurt to the flour, mixing with your hand.  Knead a light and dry dough- you may need to add a bit more flour to make sure it is dry enough.  It will not be light and airy bread if the dough is too wet.  Sprinkle some flour onto a cutting board, and roll the flatbreads out, you guessed it, thinly.  J usually makes them about 5 inches long, but you can have a go at making bigger ones if you’d like.  Place as many flatbreads as you can comfortably fit (usually 2 or 3) on your pan and allow to cook for just a minute on each side.  As they are so thin, they are quite sensitive, so better to flip early than allow to burn.  You want to have just a bit of browning on each side.

Serve together and serve hot.

Yields 2 fairly large servings of curry; the number of flatbreads depends on how large you roll them out