Chadwiko and I like to think that we’ve both changed each other for the better in a lot of ways. He’s probably encouraged me to be more outgoing and understanding, both of which are reasonably good things. But I like to think that I’ve got the trump card- I introduced him to Indian food.

Early on in our relationship, I took him to an Indian restaurant. From the first bite he took, he was smitten. He feel for the food much faster than he fell for me, and ‘Indian’ is now an entire food group in his nutritional pyramid (right alongside ‘beer’ and ‘BBQ Shapes’).

I had bought the ingredients to make a couple of authentic Indian dishes this week, but I’ve been under the weather with recurring sinus headaches and just didn’t have the energy to follow through. So I took the true Australian way out, and settled for some inauthentic, but delicious, bastardisations of Indian favourites.

First was a tofu tikka masala- a veganised version of Chadwiko’s old favourite, paneer tikka masala. This was a tester recipe for the lovely Carla, whose Vegan Bake Sale is on its way in the new year. If the recipes in that book are anywhere near as simple, quick and tasty as this curry was (and I’m sure they are), I’ll be looking forward to getting a copy.

Tonight I also made a batch of Isa’s cashew vegetable korma- despite reading how much this recipe makes and then deciding to halve it, I was still surprised by the sheer quantity of food here. A half recipe barely fit in the biggest pot that I own. I was initially somewhat skeptical due to the inclusion of curry powder, which I think I’ve only ever cooked with once (my little jar of the stuff has been at the very back of my pantry since we moved here)- I usually prefer to use individual spices and adjust them as I need. But I gave it a try and it works well here… and no one needs to know how you did it.

It’s a good thing that this was so creamy, smooth and completely delicious, because we’re going to be eating it for days. That’s a definite winner for this achey, lazy vegan.