Prawn and Mango Curry Recipe

Today's post is written by Jenny Phillips who specialises in supporting cancer patients with diet and lifestyle interventions. She herself recovered from breast cancer over 10 years ago. 

Jenny has kindly shared a recipe with us which contains turmeric, a spice which can make a positive contribution to your health. 

The Golden Spice: a recipe to brighten up your day

Turmeric is the bright yellow spice most often used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. It adds a golden colour and is frequently used along with other spices to create a curry flavour. In this easy to make recipe it is paired with cumin in a creamy coconut sauce. The mango adds a subtle sweetness. 

The active ingredient within turmeric is curcumin, and this has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It is one of the ten supplements discussed in a review by the Society of Integrative Oncology (1), who quote:

“Curcumin has been shown to prevent a large number of cancers in animal studies. Laboratory data indicate that curcumin can inhibit tumor initiation, promotion, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis.”

Although this curry will not deliver curcumin at therapeutic levels, eating this spice within meals increases its absorption, and may make a small but positive contribution to overall health.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp coconut oil

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp turmeric

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

• 2 onions, chopped

• 200g butternut squash, roasted, peeled and diced

• 2 tsp bouillon powder

• Salt & pepper

• 1 x 420ml coconut milk

• 200g frozen King prawns, defrosted

• ½ medium mango, diced
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the cumin and turmeric for a few seconds. Add the garlic and chilli and continue to sauté for 30 seconds.
2. Add the onion and sauté to soften. Tip in the butternut squash.
3.  Stir in the bouillon powder, seasoning and the coconut milk, simmer for 10 minutes. Add the prawns and mango, stir well and garnish with chopped coriander.

To find out more about Jenny and the work she does at Inspired Nutrition, please visit the website.

Find more of Jenny's creations on the recipes page.

(1)    Moshe Frenkel et al. Integrating Dietary Supplements Into Cancer Care. Integr Cancer Ther 2013 12: 369