Malai Masala

(Roasted marinated broccoli in a creamy sauce)

"I love this recipe for many reasons especially because it’s a real showstopper that doesn’t feel like a side dish, whilst being quite simple to prepare. It’s packed with great nutrition and the elements can be batch cooked ahead of time. I always make double the sauce and freeze half. I like to switch up the broccoli for romanesco or cauliflower too."

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Ingredients

• 1 large head of broccoli, quartered lengthways, including stem

For the marinade:

• 2 fat garlic cloves, or use 2 teaspoons garlic paste

• 2.5cm/1in. thumb of fresh ginger, peeled, or use 1 heaped tablespoon ginger paste

• 60g cashew nuts, soaked overnight in cold water, then drained

• ½ teaspoon white pepper

• 1-2 green chillies, to taste

• ½ teaspoon salt

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon culinary coconut oil, or use good-quality vegetable oil

• 1 stick of cassia bark, or use cinnamon bark or a pinch of ground cinnamon

• 4 cloves

• Seeds of 4 green cardamom pods

• 2 brown onions, roughly chopped

• 5cm/2in. thumb of fresh ginger, peeled, or use 2 heaped tablespoons ginger paste

• 1 tablespoon paprika

• 1 teaspoon fenugreek powder

• ½-1 teaspoon deggi mirch chilli powder

• 400g can peeled chopped plum tomatoes, or use 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• Large pinch of salt

• ½ tablespoon date syrup, or use pure maple syrup or unrefined coconut sugar

• 2-3 tablespoons oat or soya milk or cream

To serve:

• 1 tablespoon fresh pomegranate seeds

• small handful of flaked almonds, lightly toasted

• small handful of freshly chopped coriander

You will need:

• Baking sheet, lined with parchment

Method

“This recipe is from my latest book, Healthy Vegan Street Food, a collection of sustainable & healthy plant-based recipes from India to Indonesia, published by RPS Ltd.” Instagram: @thehungrygecko

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as an accompaniment

Place the marinade ingredients and 2–3 tablespoons cold water in a blender or food processor and blitz to a smooth, thick cream.

Place the broccoli in a large bowl, add the marinade and thickly coat the pieces in the marinade. Set aside for 1 hour.

To make the sauce, place a heavybottomed pan over medium heat, add the oil, cassia, cloves, cardamom and onions. Fry gently until the onions are softened and fragrant. Add the ginger and powdered spices, and fry for a further 2–3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt, date syrup and 60 ml water, mixing everything well (if using tomato paste, add 350 ml of water to the pan). Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium–low and simmer for 7–8 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and take out the bark. Add the sauce to a food processor or blender along with the vegan milk or cream and blitz until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) Gas 7.

Arrange the broccoli pieces on the lined baking sheet and bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes until the broccoli is just tender and the pieces have started to lightly brown.

Heat the sauce and pour onto a large serving platter or into a wide bowl. Arrange the roasted broccoli pieces on top, then scatter with the pomegranate seeds, toasted almonds and coriander. Serve immediately with steamed basmati rice.

2.4miles better per portion