Michael Mosley summer cookbook recipe: Made-in-Minutes Goan Prawn Curry with Spinach
I love curries and this one is simple, with lots of flavour and a wonderful, creamy, coconut base.
Every day this summer, we’ll publish a favourite recipe from an Australian author, dishes made with affection for family, friends or someone special.
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Back in 2012 I discovered, through a blood test, that I had type 2 diabetes. I shouldn’t have been surprised as my father had developed diabetes at the same age (I was then 55), but it was still a nasty shock.
I managed to get rid of it, without medication, by creating the 5:2 diet, where you cut your calories a couple of days a week, to around 800 calories, while eating a healthy, lowish-carb Mediterranean diet on the other days.
More recently I have come around to embracing a low calorie keto approach, at least for the short term, because of new studies showing how effective this is for reducing hunger and leading to rapid, sustainable weight loss.
So what are you going to eat on such a diet? Well, that is where my wife Clare’s recipes come in. She’s been a GP for more than 30 years and also a serious foodie, keen to create meals that are tasty, simple and filling.
I’ve eaten all the recipes in the her new book, lots of times, so it is hard to pick a favourite, but I am going to go with the Made-in-Minutes Goan Prawn Curry with Spinach.
SUMMER COOKBOOK: THE WAY TO THE HEART
Minestrone (Mum’s vegetable soup)
This soup is a message of comfort via comfort food — delicious, nutritious, foolproof, cheap and feeds lots of people.
Tuna with pasta
Maybe I love this dish because it takes me back to when two pots and a black-and-white TV was enough, and there was nothing that could not fixed by a pint and a shared laugh.
Made-in-Minutes Goan Prawn Curry with Spinach
I love curries and this one is simple, with lots of flavour and a wonderful, creamy, coconut base.
Monster mash
My mash consistently makes women moan and gentlemen raise their eyebrows. The secret is simple muscularity.
Slow-cooked rabbit
A couple of decades ago I started to collect rabbit recipes from here and across the world, and ended up with hundreds.
Sri Lankan omelette
This is my favourite meal in the whole world. In particular, Sri Lankan omelette is my go-to comfort food. I can make it quickly and eat it three times a day.
My Humble Pie is the greatest to exit an oven
It may be humble in terms of cost, but it is bold, brash, punchy and delectable with a Stroganoffish zest. It will change your life. Humbly.
Raspberry and elderflower trifle
This dish tells a story of my life. I grew up eating custard, real custard made from cornflour and eggs and milk, along with fools and flummeries.
A roast chicken comfort dish
I love the way the roasting smell fills the house. It reminds me of so many wonderful family dinners.
Beef keema
What I love about keema is how forgiving it is and how easy it is to make. This is the homely dish that introduced my children to their Pakistani side.
Triple ginger bar cake
This is cooked in a loaf tin and is flexible; delicious naked, slathered with butter, or more traditionally iced with a loose glace to become a perfect tea cake.
Peter Craven’s Duck a l’orange
Any kind of duck is grand but duck as the French do it, and especially duck a l’orange, is a joy forever.
Selvie’s chicken curry with curry leaves
When our spice couriers managed to get their contraband through customs, there was much celebrating – usually in the form of Mum’s fragrant chicken curry.
Ice cream with caramel and cherries
And then the dessert comes... It slides into that part of our experience that is pre-politics, pre-speciality, pre-peculiarity and even pre-sophistication.
Lamb scrag end neck chops stew
This is the meal I constantly cook because my husband will live on it quite happily for a week, saving me a lot of bother ... he is not a modern man.
Creme brulee with candied rhubarb
More than 30 years ago, I gave a formal sit-down dinner party for 30 people. Dessert was the piece de resistance, individual creme brulees with candied rhubarb.
Borsch for the busy person
With the right mix of ingredients, borsch is a tangy but sweet and belly warming mouthful of delight.
Virginia Woolf Brittle
The impact of Virginia Woolf Brittle on a current partner or potential mate, particularly when fed by hand and in combination with a reading in the late sun, cannot be overstated.
Wakame beurre blanc
This sauce has become such a staple that I douse all grilled, poached, or pan-fried seafood in it at all times of the year.
Lemon Chicken
When our children were growing and my wife Steph was teaching evening classes, lemon chicken was the go to meal – simple and tasty.
Crispy Latkes
Creamy mashed, crispy smashed, jacket roasted and anointed with butter, pan fried with sliced onions, deep-fried to limpness, over-salted and wrapped in newsprint – however they come, I love potatoes.
Lamb Moussaka Therapy
Imagine a dish as therapeutic to eat as a lasagne, but instead of beef it’s made with lamb and has layers of potato and eggplant as the pasta sheets … Imagine no more, champions!
Odd couple share recipe for great summer reading
They’re one of the less likely duos to be found discussing the filleting of trout or basting of chicken – but Tom Keneally and Nat’s What I Reckon have all bases covered.
Summer Cookbook
Australia’s favourite authors share their most meaningful recipes.
I love curries and this one is simple, with lots of flavour and a wonderful, creamy, coconut base. It is low-carb, has plenty of protein (which is important to keep you full and preserve your muscles) and is packed full of nutrients.
Although this recipe is based on frozen prawns, you can substitute chicken or tofu, which work just as well. And if you use cauli-rice (grated cauliflower, microwaved without water for 5 minutes), then you get an authentic-tasting curry which is less than 340 calories and contains less than 9g of carbs. Enjoy!
1 small leek, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
20g fresh ginger (no need to peel)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
1 vegetable stock cube
1 small tomato, quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
1 × 400ml can full-fat coconut milk
100g frozen spinach
400g frozen raw, peeled king prawns, defrosted
Juice of ½ lemon (optional)
Cook’s tip:
Get ahead with this recipe by creating the curry base up to the point the coconut milk is added. It will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Non-fast day:
Serve a double portion and/or serve with 2–3 tablespoons cooked brown rice.
This luscious dish has the feel of a curry that has been laboured over for hours. The flavour is condensed into a paste, creating the most fabulous, creamy, coconut base for the spinach and prawns. Although it has quite a few ingredients, most are found in the cupboard or freezer. Serve with cauli-rice and steamed leafy greens.
1. Place all the ingredients up to and including the tomato in a food processor and blitz until smooth.
2. Tip the paste into a saucepan, add the oil and fry over a medium heat, stirring from time to time, for 3–4 minutes.
3. Pour in the coconut milk and add the frozen spinach. Simmer for 3–4 minutes to allow the flavours to mingle and the spinach to defrost.
4. Finally, add the defrosted prawns and cook for no more than 2 minutes, until they have just turned pink.
5. Stir through the lemon juice, if using, and serve.
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The #1 international bestselling author of The Fast Diet, The 8-week Blood Sugar Diet, The Clever Guts Diet, The Fast 800, Fast 800 Keto and Fast Asleep, Dr Michael Mosley trained to be a doctor at the Royal Free Hospital in London before joining the BBC, where he spent three decades as a science journalist and executive producer. Now a well-known TV personality, Dr Mosley is renowned for bringing together the latest scientific research to create easy-to-follow, sustainable weight loss programmes
The Fast 800 Keto Recipe Book by Dr Clare Bailey with foreword by Dr Michael Mosely, Hachette