Tempeh Curry With Leeks
This curry, made primarily with tempeh, leeks and tomatoes, is very simple, but so good. It’s almost meaty in both texture and flavour. In the best way though. If you haven’t tried tempeh curry before, give this recipe a go. Serve with rice or flatbreads for an easy, yet satisfying plant-based meal.
CT made this curry a couple of weeks ago. It was really delicious and I wanted to eat it again. It was an off the cuff creation and he couldn’t quite remember how he did it. However, I’ve had a go at recreating his recipe and we both reckon it’s pretty similar. So here it is for you too.
Dive Right In
- Why Make Tempeh Curry?
- Easy Tempeh Curry With Leeks
- Ingredients
- How To Make Tempeh Curry
- Other Tempeh Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- Pin It
- The Recipe
Why Make Tempeh Curry?
Tempeh is a brilliant food for plant-eaters. It’s full of protein and as a fermented product it’s good for the gut too. So the more tempeh recipes you have at your fingertips, the more likely you’re going to enjoy it. This tempeh curry with leeks is a particularly good one.
Here are a few excellent reasons as to why you’ll want to make this tempeh curry.
- Flavoursome Simplicity – Seasoned with just salt, cumin seeds, curry powder and lemon, it’s a straightforward recipe without being overwhelmed by spices. Despite its simplicity, it still delivers delicious layers of flavour.
- Fuss Free – With minimal ingredients and no complicated techniques, it’s an easy dish to make on busy weeknights yet satisfying enough to feel special.
- Nutritious and Balanced – Tempeh is high in protein and a great source of probiotics. Meanwhile leeks, tomatoes and carrot provide fibre, vitamins and antioxidants. Serve it with brown rice or whole grain flatbreads and you have a well-rounded, nourishing meal.
- Perfect for Meal Prep – If you want to get ahead you can make this tempeh curry in advance. It reheats well and the flavours develop over time.
- Plant-Based Eating – Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian or simply looking to reduce your meat consumption, this curry offers a delicious, satisfying option with plenty of protein and fibre to keep you full.
Easy Tempeh Curry With Leeks
The idea of this curry is that there are no obviously recognisable ingredients in it, other than the tempeh. You want the majority of the ingredients to cook down to a mush, as CT puts it.
Finely chopped leeks and tomatoes provide both flavour and bulk. A grated carrot helps with the process.
Serve the curry with either brown rice or wholemeal flatbreads for a satisfying, delicious and nutritious meal. A side of chayote curry works well too.
The portion sizes I’ve given in the recipe card at the bottom of this post are quite generous. This means you may find the amount will feed three not quite so hungry people rather than two hungry ones. How far it stretches will also depend on what other dishes you serve with it.
Once cooled down, you can store the curry in the fridge for a couple of days. Just reheat well before eating. I’ve not tried freezing it, but I don’t see why this wouldn’t work. I wouldn’t keep it for more than three months though.
Ingredients
Unusually for a curry, the ingredients in this one are few. Although very simple, it’s still delicious. Sometimes less is more.
Carrot
The addition of a grated carrot to the curry adds extra flavour, nutrition and bulk.
As you can see from the image above, I used a purple carrot. Personally, I don’t find purple carrots as tender or as tasty as orange ones, so when I get some in our fortnightly veg box, I’m always looking for ways to use them up. However, the purple pigment contains anthocyanin which is a powerful antioxidant, so they are a useful veg to add to one’s diet.
Leeks
Leeks are the key to this tempeh curry. They have a lovely mild oniony flavour and if you cook them for long enough they sort of disintegrate, which is just what’s needed in this instance.
You want plenty of them, so use two largish leeks or one mega one as I did.
Lemon
Adding half a lemon to the curry was a stroke of pure genius on CT’s part. The lemon imparts a zesty flavour to the whole. But it also softens the lemon, so when you come to squeeze out the juice at the end, it flows like a dream.
Tempeh
Tempeh is a highly nutritious form of fungally fermented soy beans. It’s not only packed with protein, but also various vitamins and minerals too. Because of its fermented nature, it’s also a prebiotic. What’s more, it’s low in both sodium and carbohydrates. (Ref: Healthline)
If you can get unpasteurised tempeh, so much the better. It has a better flavour and it’s better for gut health too. Sadly, unless CT makes it, the only one I can find locally is pasteurised. It’s been several years since he’s made any, but I keep hoping.
If you can’t get hold of it, or really don’t like it, you can substitute it with seitan or tofu instead.
Tomato
Tomatoes provide much of the umami flavour in this recipe, yet it doesn’t taste obviously tomatoey.
A well flavoured large cooking tomato is ideal for this tempeh curry recipe. Cooking tomatoes are fleshier and have less seeds than many other types. I used a homegrown Brad’s Black Heart.
One of these is more or less the equivalent to a tin of tomatoes. So if you can’t get a flavoursome cooking tomato, use a tin of good quality tinned plum tomatoes instead. Whole tinned tomatoes are generally better than ready chopped ones.
The tomatoes are more likely to disintegrate, which is what you want in this recipe. Tins of ready chopped tomatoes usually have additional ingredients added to them which you don’t find in the whole ones.
Seasoning
Other than salt, you only need two seasoning ingredients to make this tempeh curry. The first is cumin seeds, which are little powerhouses of fragrance and flavour. Fry them in oil before adding any other ingredients and you’ll find the resulting aroma irresistible.
The second ingredient is a bit of a cheat as it contains several spices mixed together. If you don’t have it already, look for madras curry powder. It’s such a good one and you can get it in mild, medium or hot forms, so you can use whichever one you prefer. I use Steenberg’s which is not only organic, but good quality too.
If you like, you can finish off the curry with some coriander leaves. I didn’t have any, so I used some parsley from the garden. Neither are necessary, but I like to get some form of green into my meals if I can.
How To Make Tempeh Curry
This recipe for tempeh curry is easy-to-make and doesn’t require too much hands-on time. But it does take a while to cook. Use that time to prepare the rice, flatbreads or other accompaniments.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Prepare Leeks
Wash the leeks thoroughly. They often have bits of grit and mud attached to the inner leaves. The best way to do this is trim the top, but keep the root intact. Slice the leeks vertically almost down to the root. Then run the insides under a tap to remove any debris.
Give the leeks a good shake to dry them, then quarter them lengthways and slice as finely as you can. CT told me mine weren’t really sliced finely enough – harumph!
Step 2. Fry Seeds
Place a large lidded pan over a medium-high heat. Add the oil. As soon as its hot, add the cumin seeds.
Let them sizzle until they become fragrant. This will only take about thirty seconds, so be careful not to burn them.
Step 3. Fry Leeks
Turn down the heat to medium-low, then add the finely sliced leeks to the cumin seeds in the pan. Fry for a few minutes until translucent. Give an occasional stir to prevent browning and so that they cook evenly.
Whilst the leeks are cooking, grate the carrot. I’ve used a purple one here, but an orange one is absolutely fine.
Add the grated carrot along with a pinch of the salt. Stir the leeks and carrot together, then clamp the lid on the pan. Cook for about fifteen minutes, giving an occasional stir. If the leeks look like they’re catching, add a tablespoon of water to the pan. You don’t want the leeks to brown, just become very soft.
The aim is to get the leeks and carrots cooked down into a mush.
Step 4. Add Tempeh
Whilst the leeks and carrots cook, chop the tempeh into bite sized chunks. I went for rectangles as that’s how CT made his original recipe and I quite liked the shape.
Once the leeks and carrots look mushy, add the curry powder and stir well. Then add the tempeh and stir again.
Cook for a few more minutes with the lid on. If the mix looks too dry, add another tablespoon of water.
Step 5. Add Tomatoes
Whilst the leeks and carrot is cooking, chop the tomatoes as finely as you can. You want them to disappear into the general mix.
Add the chopped tomatoes along with the remaining salt and stir everything together.
Then press the lemon half, peel side down into the middle of the mix. Simmer for a further fifteen to twenty minutes with the lid on.
The curry is ready when the tomato has pretty much disintegrated and only a small amount of liquid remains.
Step 6. Serve
Remove from the heat and fish out the lemon half. As soon as it’s cool enough to handle squeeze the juice into the pan. Give one final stir and the curry is ready.
Serve with rice or flatbreads and a sprinkling of chopped coriander leaves (cilantro), if desired.
Other Tempeh Recipes You Might Like
- Gado gado: Indonesian vegetable salad
- Korean glass noodles with tempeh
- Marinated tempeh with roasted grapes & fennel
- Sticky gochujung tempeh
- Tempeh on toast
- Ukrainian dumpling soup
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this tempeh curry with leeks, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for making curries?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, tag me @choclette8 so I can see them.
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If you’d like more curry recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Tempeh Curry With Leeks. PIN IT.
Tempeh Curry With Leeks
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil (I used sunflower oil)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 leeks (I used one very large leek) – quartered lengthways and sliced finely
- 1 carrot medium to large (I used a purple carrot) – grated
- 2 tsp madras curry powder mild, medium or hot
- 200 g tempeh sliced into bitesized chunks
- 1 large tomato or 1 tin good quality plum tomatoes – chopped
- ½ tsp sea or rock salt divided
- ½ organic lemon
- coriander leaves (cilantro) optional
Instructions
- Place a large lidded pan over a medium-high heat. Add the oil, followed by the cumin seeds. Let the cumin sizzle until fragrant, about 30 seconds.2 tbsp neutral cooking oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds
- Turn down the heat to medium-low, then add the finely sliced leeks. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Give an occasional stir to prevent browning and so that they cook evenly.2 leeks
- Add the grated carrot along with a pinch of the salt. Stir, then clamp the lid on the pan. Cook for 15 minutes, giving an occasional stir. If the leeks look like they’re catching, add a tablespoon of water to the pan. You don’t want the leeks to brown, just become very soft.1 carrot
- Once the leeks and carrots look mushy, add the curry powder and tempeh chunks and stir. Cook for a further 5 minutes with the lid on. Add another tablespoon of water if it looks too dry.2 tsp madras curry powder, 200 g tempeh
- Add the chopped tomatoes and remaining salt. Stir, then push in the lemon half, peel side down. Cook for a further 15-20 minutes with the lid on.1 large tomato, ½ tsp sea or rock salt, ½ organic lemon
- The curry is ready when the tomato has pretty much disintegrated and only a small amount of liquid remains.
- Remove from the heat and fish out the lemon half. As soon as it’s cool enough to handle squeeze in the juice. Give one final stir and the curry is ready.
- Serve with rice or flatbreads and a sprinkling of chopped coriander leaves (cilantro), if desired.coriander leaves (cilantro)