Leftover Christmas Day Vegetable Curry

Leftover Christmas Day Vegetable Curry

This one is genuinely one of our favourite things to make in the days after Christmas. You've got all these brilliant roasted and steamed veg sitting in the fridge, and instead of picking at them cold, you turn them into something that tastes like you actually planned it. The curry base is fragrant, warming, and deeply spiced, and it gives those leftovers a whole new life. We love how the veg soaks up all that sauce and goes from 'sad fridge drawer' to 'actually incredible dinner' in about 40 minutes. Make this tonight and you'll wonder why you ever just reheated stuff plain.

Cook: 40 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Food processor
  • Large saucepan

Ingredients

  • 2 long shallots
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 20g fresh ginger
  • 2 green chilli
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp madras curry powder
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 cinnamon stick
  • 400ml tin of coconut milk
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1.4kg leftover roast vegetables
  • 1 lime
  • salt
  • toasted cashews
  • basmati rice

Method

1

For the curry base

  • Peel and roughly chop the shallots, garlic and ginger 
  • Deseed the chillis
  • Blend the shallots, garlic, ginger and chillis in a food processor until you have a smooth paste. You may need to add water to help the paste combine
2

For the curry

  • Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the curry base and salt and saute for 5-7 minutes until the delicious aromas are released. Add the curry powder, turmeric and cinnamon sticks are fry for a minute, taking care not to burn the spices. Pour in the coconut milk, 500ml water and the vegetable stock cube. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes so that the curry thickens
  • Stir through the maple syrup and roasted vegetables- we used parsnips, carrots, potatoes and brussel sprouts. Allow them to warm through
3

Serve

  • Add the juice of 1 lime to the curry. Taste and season to perfection
  • Serve the curry with steamy bowls of rice and a sprinkle of roasted cashews

Tips & Variations

  • Use whatever veg you've got: This recipe is totally flexible. Roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, sprouts, cauliflower, squash, it all works brilliantly here. Don't stress about exact quantities, just use what's in the fridge.
  • Go easy on the chilli first: We'd suggest starting with less chilli than you think you need, especially if your leftover veg is already quite sweet from roasting. You can always add heat at the end but you can't take it away.
  • Serve it right: We find this works really well with fluffy basmati rice and some warm naan on the side. A dollop of coconut yoghurt on top is a little touch that really elevates the whole thing, trust us on this one.

Why This Works

The trick is building the curry base properly. Blending the shallots, garlic, ginger and chilli into a paste and then sautéing it low and slow is what gives this curry its depth. Don't rush that stage, because those 5-7 minutes are where all the flavour develops. The leftovers do the rest of the work for you.