For home cooks looking to create more plant-based meals, the rich, creamy texture of coconut milk is a common curry cornerstone. Yet, for those mindful of saturated fat, its frequent use presents a culinary dilemma. A reader named Jill recently sought advice from The Guardian's Feast column, asking for alternatives to the ubiquitous tin, prompting a roster of chefs and cookbook authors to share their top tips for lighter, yet deeply flavourful, vegetarian curries.
Simple Swaps and a Shift in Mindset
While coconut milk provides silkiness and a sweet richness that mellows spices, several straightforward substitutes can work. Karan Gokani, author of Indian 101, suggests simply replacing it with vegetable stock for a lighter base. For those who consume dairy, John Chantarasak, chef and co-owner of London's AngloThai, recommends yoghurt. "That's normally hanging about in the fridge," he notes, making it a convenient and tangy alternative.
However, Sirichai Kularbwong of London's Singburi restaurant proposes a more fundamental shift: exploring curries that never call for coconut milk in the first place. He points to two main realms: dry curries and wet curries. A dry curry involves frying a paste (often with dried chillies) and seasoning with vegan fish sauce, tamarind, and sugar, served with root vegetables and rice. For a wet version, he highlights gaeng om, a broth made with a simple paste of garlic, chillies, and lemongrass boiled with good vegetable stock, perfect with pumpkin, mushrooms, or pak choi.
Hearty, Creamy Curries Without the Coconut
For a satisfying, batch-cooked meal, John Chantarasak starts by roasting cauliflower or squash with oil, salt, and garam masala. He then creates a luxuriously creamy sauce by sweating onions, garlic, and ginger, adding fenugreek leaf, green cardamom, and nuts like cashews or almonds. Once sautéed, the mixture is blended with water until smooth, returned to the pan, and finished with yoghurt before the roasted veg is stirred through.
Vivek Singh, founder and executive chef of the Cinnamon Collection, also champions the humble cauliflower. He advises starting by crackling whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaf in oil. Onions are then caramelised before adding ginger-garlic paste and ground spices. Chopped tomatoes and diced potatoes (and carrots if you like) go in next, followed by cauliflower florets. After a brief sweat, water is added, and the curry simmers before a final flourish of garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves, fresh coriander, and a squeeze of lemon. "Don't forget to serve with chapatis," he adds.
The Comforting Simplicity of Rasam
For a truly soothing option, especially as the weather turns, the experts point towards a classic South Indian broth. Karan Gokani recommends a simple pumpkin rasam, describing it as a "tomato and black pepper broth" that's "brilliant just sipped from a cup." This light, fragrant dish, perfectly captured in a recipe by Meera Sodha, offers deep comfort without any heaviness, proving that sometimes the most satisfying curries are those that forego creaminess altogether.
The collective advice from these culinary professionals underscores a delicious truth: moving beyond coconut milk opens up a vibrant world of textures and flavours, from rich, nutty sauces to cleansing, brothy soups, ensuring that vegetarian curry night never becomes routine.
