“It’ll put fire in your belly and tick all the boxes on the pure enjoyment front, which is exactly what you want! ”
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 tesapoon chilli flakes
- 1 medium cauliflower
- groundnut oil
- 15cm piece of ginger
- 9 cloves of garlic
- 20 finger aubergines
- 3 medium onions
- 2-3 fresh green chillies
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 150 g cashews
- 100 g coconut shavings
- 1 pomegranate
- SPICE BLEND
- 1 teaspoon cardamom pods
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 3 dried Kashmiri red chillies
- 7 cloves
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- INDIAN TEMPEH
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 small handful of fresh curry leaves
- 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
- Using a pestle and mortar, grind the fennel and coriander seeds, and chilli flakes until fine.
- Place the cauliflower on a sheet of tin foil, rub in half of the ground spices and 1 tablespoon of oil, and season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Wrap the cauliflower in the foil, pop it on a roasting tray and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes to give it a gnarly crust. Remove and set aside.
- Peel and finely grate the ginger and 6 cloves of garlic. In a bowl, combine two-thirds of the ginger, the grated garlic and the remaining half of the spice mixture.
- Make an incision in each aubergine with a small sharp knife, then rub the ginger mixture into each one, along with a drizzle of oil.
- Place the aubergines in a small roasting tray and cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until softened and starting to split. Set aside.
- Make your spice blend. Split the cardamom pods, add the seeds to a mortar with all the other ingredients, then grind well.
- Peel and finely chop the onions, then deseed and roughly chop the chillies and tomatoes, keeping them separate. Peel and finely slice the remaining 3 cloves of garlic.
- Place a large pan over a medium heat and toast the ground spices for 1 minute, or until aromatic.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of oil, followed by the onions, green chillies, sliced garlic, and the remaining ginger. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the onion and garlic are softened and coloured.
- Add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick and 200ml of water and let it simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes.
- In a blender, blitz the cashews with 4 tablespoons of water until you have a smooth paste, then stir this into your curry. Cook for 5 minutes, or until thick and fragrant.
- For the tempeh, peel and finely slice the garlic, then add to a frying pan over a medium heat with a splash of oil, the curry leaves and mustard seeds.
- Fry for 1 minute, or until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper.
- Chop the roasted cauliflower into florets and stir into the curry along with the aubergines.
- Top the curry with the tempeh and shaved coconut. Halve the pomegranate and bash it, cut side down, with a wooden spoon so the seeds come tumbling out. Scatter the seeds over the curry, then serve with chapatis on the side.
Source: Jamie Oliver