Fakeaway Friday: Dished by Kate’s quick creamy halloumi curry

This wonderful weeknight-friendly curry is a fab fakeaway idea. Photo / Kate Phillips

In 2024, it seems almost impossible to save money, buy good food and treat yourself all at the same time. Enter Fakeaway Fridays, a Herald series where we create fake takeaway (fakeaway) meals that are not only delicious and nutritious, but budget friendly and serve 2-4 people.

So instead of dropping $50 for a takeaway meal this Friday night, why not try a fakeaway! It’s easier than you may think with our simple tips and tricks, and partially made products already hiding on your supermarket shelves.

My go-to order at any Indian restaurant always includes something paneer-based and that’s what I’ve based this speedy, super easy, 25-minute halloumi curry on.

I love that it uses simple ingredients and turns them into something special. Creamy with a dash of coconut milk, beautifully spiced and packed with spinach for extra goodness, this wonderful weeknight-friendly curry is a fab fakeaway idea, that’s also great for meal prep.

Creamy halloumi curry

Ingredients

1½ cups long-grain rice - 60c

Salt -.01c

2 tablespoons canola oil - .05c

2 packets of halloumi - $11.98

1 onion, finely diced - .10c

2 teaspoons garlic paste - .08c

1-inch piece of ginger, grated - 0.8c

1 teaspoon curry powder - .13c

1 teaspoon garam masala - .05c

1 teaspoon smoked paprika - .29c

500g tomato passata - $2

½ cup coconut milk - .80c

150g spinach leaves, chopped - $1.70

Cost: $18.59 / $4.64 per portion

Method

Add 1½ cups of rice to a small pot you have a lid for (if you don’t have a lid use a plate or wooden board). Pour in 3 cups of cold water and a little salt, then place over high heat. Once the water looks cloudy and foamy on top, pop the lid on and turn the heat right down. Leave it there for 12 minutes, then remove it from the heat, with the lid still on, and let it sit until you’re ready to serve.

While the rice is cooking, add a splash of oil to a large, high-sided pan over medium heat. Add the cubed halloumi, and cook on each side for 3- 4 minutes until lovely and golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the same pan, still set over medium heat, then add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook the onion, stirring, until it starts to soften and change colour (it’ll look more transparent). This will take about 5 minutes.

Once the onion is nice and soft, add the crushed garlic cloves, ginger, garam masala, curry powder and paprika. Stir them through the onion for another minute, so the spices have a chance to bloom and become super fragrant.

5. Pour in the passata, stir, and simmer for a few minutes. Then, pour in the coconut milk and stir it through the sauce. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.

6. Once the sauce has thickened slightly, add the cooked halloumi to the curry and stir it through. Then add all the spinach, and mix it through the curry. It will look like A LOT of spinach when you add it, but it will quickly wilt down into the sauce as the heat cooks it. Remove the curry from the heat and get ready to serve. Divide the rice between plates, then top with the curry.