8 Spice Balinese Curry

This 8 spice Balinese curry is a fresh idea for an adventurous, super simple and incredibly healthy dinner. The curry paste can be whipped up in 5 minutes with dinner on the table in 30 minutes. Add your favorite veggies and serve with your favorite rice.

This curry is often made with candlenuts which are mildly toxic when consumed raw. Since that’s out of the question with an 18 month old running around the house, macadamia nuts or cashews can be substituted. The oil and flavor of macadamia nuts are more similar to candlenuts, but cashews were all I had on hand. So that’s what worked for me.

I’m all about using what’s in my cupboards to make my life easier. Many of these versatile ingredients were used to make Thai curry paste and Indian cholar daal a few dinners ago. I had a huge bag of dried chilies which has come in handy for a bunch of meals. Purchasing bulk ingredients from a great local Indian grocer has proven to be much more affordable rather than the average the last minute supermarket purchases.

Explore new recipes and you may be pleasantly surprised that you already have many of the ingredients right in your kitchen. Forget the 20 hour flight, just take an international tropical adventure right in your own kitchen! Global thinking is MUCH easier than most would think 😊

Here’s what you need:

1 tsp turmeric

3 garlic cloves

4 black peppercorns

3 whole cloves

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 inch peeled ginger

1 tsp cumin

3 red chilies (I used dried)

1 cup unsalted cashews

2 cans of full fat coconut milk.

1. Blitz everything (but not the coconut milk) in a high speed blender (I use a Vitamix) or food processor until a thick paste forms. Add a bit of water if needed.

2. Add desired amount curry paste to coconut milk. The more paste, the spicier your dish will be. You can always serve more paste on the side for those people who love super spicy food (aka my husband)

3. Add tempeh, sweet potatoes, kale, cashews and serve over steamed jasmine or basmati rice. Or just toss whatever veggies you have in the fridge.

Go on, get creative😊

Selamat makan!

Enjoy!