This mild, mellow carrot and mango curry with home-made spices has enough gentle spice to win fans of all ages, while the balancing sweetness of the mango helps ensure there’s plenty of flavour without heat. And the 5 minute naan bread is bound to be a winner.
This recipe is a great way to get hands-on and experience the joy of growing and cooking your own meal. It’s a fantastically satisfying and healthy option for lunch or dinner.
If you don’t have time to make the mild curry powder yourself, you can, of course, substitute it for the shop-bought variety, but grinding your own is a lovely starter activity as the children can explore the different shapes and colours of the spice seeds, and be treated to some lovely aromas as they get to work with the pestle and mortar.
Ingredients
For the home-made mild curry powder
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
For the curry
- 1 tsp home-made mild curry powder (or shop bought mild curry powder)
- 1/4 mango
- 180g (6.5 oz) potato
- 180g (6.5 oz) carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 pint of reduced salt vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Coriander for decoration
For the naan
- 250g (8.75 oz) white bread flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 150ml (5 oz) water
- Olive oil for frying
Instructions
Make the curry
Gather the spices together.
Add the cumin, coriander and mustard seeds to the pestle and mortar. Grind the seeds well – it will take a few minutes and require a bit of elbow grease. You might like to take it in turns.
Here’s a fun fact to discuss as you work: ‘eye of newt’, an ingredient famously used by witches in Macbeth is actually an old term for mustard seeds!
Add the turmeric and cayenne pepper, and grind for another minute or two.
Peel the carrots and onions but leave the skins on the potatoes, then dice everything up quite small. A safety peeler allows children to get involved with supervised peeling, just make sure they hold the carrots by the green part and peel away from their hands.
The potatoes are quite soft and can be cut with an ordinary dinner knife, so kids can continue to get involved while a grown up slices the onion.
Put the olive oil in a pan, place the diced vegetables into it and sprinkle on 1 tsp of mild curry powder. As you’re working with heat, this part will require a grownup.
Fry on a medium heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the flour and stir through.
Add the stock and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. What happens to the stock? You can talk about how the colour changes, and how it reduces as the water evaporates and is absorbed by the veggies.
While the curry is simmering dice the mango. Again, mango is nice and soft, so kids can help chop it up and maybe help themselves to a chunk or two!
Add the mango to the curry, give it a stir and return to the heat for 5 minutes. Smell the curry and notice how the aroma sweetens now that you’ve added the fruit.
Done and time for a sneaky taste before serving.
Make the 5-minute naan bread
Add the flour and baking powder to a bowl and mix together.
Measure out the water – this is a great chance to talk about where water comes from, and to practice measuring by volume. Tip into the bowl.
Mix together. You can use a spoon or your hands for this, if you like.
Turn on to a floured work surface.
Knead in more flour until no longer tacky. This is great fun for little hands.
Divide into four.
Roll out each naan using a rolling pin. You can talk about whether they are the same size and how they feel (springy/stretchy/soft).
If you need to stack them up for space, just keep a piece of baking paper between each naan to stop them sticking.
Bring 2 tsp of olive oil up to a high heat in a frying pan and cook the naans on both sides for 2-3 minutes each side, or until starting to brown. The pan will be hot, so this is a job for grownups.
Serve the naan folded with the curry and enjoy! You can talk about the little golden patches that appear, and compare the texture of the naan from how it was raw, to how it feels now.
Want more cooking with kids ideas? Try my carrot and runner bean stacks or egg and cress sandwiches on carrot soda bread.
Let me know if you try this curry and what your children thought of it.
And if you’d like to print this carrot and mango curry recipe out to try it at home, just click ‘PRINT’ on the recipe card below.
Curry with homemade spices and 5 minute naan bread
Ingredients
For the home-made mild curry powder:
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) mustard seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) cayenne pepper
For the curry:
- 1 tsp home-made mild curry powder or shop bought mild curry powder
- 1/4 (0.25 ) mango
- 180 g (6.35 oz) potato
- 180 g (6.35 oz) carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 pint (0.5 pint) of reduced salt vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Coriander for decoration
For the naan:
- 250 g (8.82 oz) white bread flour
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- 150 ml (5.07 floz) water
- Olive oil for frying
Instructions
Make the curry:
- Gather the spices together.
- Add the cumin, coriander and mustard seeds to the pestle and mortar. Grind the seeds well – it will take a few minutes and require a bit of elbow grease. You might like to take it in turns.
- Here’s a fun fact to discuss as you work: ‘eye of newt’, an ingredient famously used by witches in Macbeth is actually an old term for mustard seeds!
- Add the turmeric and cayenne pepper, and grind for another minute or two.
- Peel the carrots and onions but leave the skins on the potatoes, then dice everything up quite small. A safety peeler allows children to get involved with supervised peeling, just make sure they hold the carrots by the green part and peel away from their hands.
- The potatoes are quite soft and can be cut with an ordinary dinner knife, so kids can continue to get involved while a grown up slices the onion.
- Put the olive oil in a pan, place the diced vegetables into it and sprinkle on 1 tsp of mild curry powder. As you’re working with heat, this part will require a grownup.
- Fry on a medium heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir through.
- Add the stock and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. What happens to the stock? You can talk about how the colour changes, and how it reduces as the water evaporates and is absorbed by the veggies.
- While the curry is simmering dice the mango. Again, mango is nice and soft, so kids can help chop it up and maybe help themselves to a chunk or two!
- Add the mango to the curry, give it a stir and return to the heat for 5 minutes. Smell the curry and notice how the aroma sweetens now that you’ve added the fruit.
- Done and time for a sneaky taste before serving.
Make the 5-minute naan bread:
- Add the flour and baking powder to a bowl and mix together.
- Measure out the water – this is a great chance to talk about where water comes from, and to practice measuring by volume. Tip into the bowl.
- Mix together. You can use a spoon or your hands for this, if you like.
- Turn on to a floured work surface.
- Knead in more flour until no longer tacky. This is great fun for little hands.
- Divide into four.
- Roll out each naan using a rolling pin. You can talk about whether they are the same size and how they feel (springy/stretchy/soft).
- If you need to stack them up for space, just keep a piece of baking paper between each naan to stop them sticking.
- Bring 2 tsp of olive oil up to a high heat in a frying pan and cook the naans on both sides for 2-3 minutes each side, or until starting to brown. You can talk about the little golden patches that appear, and compare the texture of the naan from how it was raw, to how it feels now. The pan will be hot, so this is a job for grownups.
- Serve the naan folded with the curry, sprinkle with fresh coriander and enjoy!
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Laura H says
I remember growing stuff like this in primary school! Would’ve loved to have been able to do it at home too :)
Helen Costello says
We are definitely advocates of learning about how what you eat is grown. Mild curries go down incredible well in our house – we do have the odd fight over who is going to chop mushrooms though as they are a firm favourite to chop! Love the pics of the little hands doing the work.
Leah Lander-Shafik says
This looks yummy and it looks like the Sow and Grow is from the innocent brand. Which I love! x
Charli Bruce says
How delicious does this sound, I think it’s great to get the kids involved!
francesca says
My boys would love this!!! They would also enjoy helping as yours did!!
Natasha Mairs says
This just looks sooooo good! I have pinned it, so I can have a go at making it myself
nicol says
ooo ive never thought about adding mango to a curry! this looks absolutely amazing and a great way to get the kids involved
Fashion and Style Police says
Good to see your kids helping out with the meals. Love the recipe.
Lianne says
Love this, great way to get kids involved in healthy cooking and eating!
Baby Isabella says
The Sow & Grow campaign sounds amazing. I once picked corn on the cob from a farm field then when home and cooked it with my mummy. It tasted so much better as I picked it x
Jade Bremner says
My son enjoys growing vegetables this year we plan to grow lots. I have never tried to make my own naan but yours looks amazing I’ll have to give it a go x
Beth Owen says
OH wow. That looks SO delicious and easy to make. I think I’ll have to make this with the kids!
The London Mum says
What an amazing launch and campaign for kids! My son would love getting involved in this!
Mel says
Growing your own food and then harvesting it, prepping it, cooking it and then eating it is quite magical, isn’t it? The initiative by Innocent is a great one, as the love of good food stems from knowing where your food comes from and appreciating that growing food is a long process that requires dedication. Stunning-looking curry too!
Daniella Keating says
Mm this looks so delicious! I didn’t realise naan bread was so easy to make.
Rachel says
This looks and sounds absolutely amazing, the brightness of colours is really quite something x
ALi Rost says
What beautiful photography! I love anything with mango .. and naan, don’t even get me started. Can’t wait to give your recipe a try. Thanks so much for sharing it with us
Sam Jeffery says
It must be so satisfying to cook with ingredients you have grown yourself! What a lovely campaign!
Rhian westbury says
I remember growing loads of things when I was a kid. This recipe looks amazing, love naan bread x
joanna says
Looks delicous I’ve never made my own curry or naan bread before
hannah says
This sounds a great recipe to make, curry is one of my favorite foods
Jo says
I love vegetable curry’s and this one sounds delicious with the added mango! x
Dannii says
It’s so important to grow things yourself and teach kids where their food comes from. This looks like a great way to use carrots.
Donna Ashworth says
I have to fess up and say I don’t normally get excited about a curry with no meat and yet this really truly looks delicious!!! I am tempted to try it, how will I convince my 3 boys to dig in though!!! Maybe just for me – all me!!
Jodie Whitham says
This looks lovely! I really shouldn’t look at recipes like this as it’s making me hungry (especially pre-lunch) x
Lisa prince says
oh i so need to give this a try i love the idea of homemade curry and the naan looks so easy to make x
Claire says
I think my boys would love this. There two favourite things. Curry and cooking. I’ll give it a go
Lynne Harper says
Absolutely love the idea behind this. Something we haven’t done as a family yet but the kids grow in school. My little guys aren’t interested at all in cooking but it’s something I really should try and encourage more if even from a learning stance. On the other hand my teenage girls love cooking. Fabulous post and it’s given me a few ideas now x
Cathy @ tips4livingbetter.com says
This is a a great recipe and looks delicious and easy to make. Would love to try it out with my kids .
I must say I like how your home grown carrots, tried to grow carrots at home 2 years ago and they come out with different weird shapes.
danasia fantastic says
This looks so delicious! I love curry and Naan.