1 Pot – Cauliflower, Coconut & Chickpea Curry

We love a curry at our house, how about over at yours? This is a simplified, not-very-authentic-but-still-really-delicious *sort of* biryani. In my quest for less washing up, less hands-on time, and more one pot dishes, this is perhaps my favourite. Of course you should feel encouraged to switch up the veg and spices (try pumpkin in the base or romanesco on top – try different curry powder blends – garam masala is gorgeous here), even remove the coconut in exchange for another mug of water of a tin of chopped tomatoes? This curry is simply a case of cooking the base, then layering on the rice and liquid (always add double the volume of liquid to rice, and don’t forget to rinse and drain your rice first), add the cauliflower carefully on top and bake with a lid until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Yum!

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 large white onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
• about 8 cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp of coconut oil
• 1 tsp each cumin & brown mustard seeds (optional)
• 6 tsp curry powder (4 in the base, 2 on top)
• a mug of basmati rice, rinsed and well drained
• 1 tin coconut milk
• a mug of water
• 1/2 a cauliflower, cut into florets
• salt and pepper to taste
• herbs eg coriander or mint & mango chutney or lime pickle to serve

Method

1. Turn your oven on to 200C and find a deep baking dish with a lid (or use tin foil or a baking sheet as a lid).
2. Mix the onion, tomatoes, chickpeas, coconut oil, cumin & mustard seeds, 4 tsp of curry powder and salt & pepper to taste in the dish. Place this base curry in the oven to bake for 10/15 minutes or until the onions are soft and fragrant.
3. Flatten out the base curry then sprinkle over the mug of rice. Stir the coconut milk and spoon it evenly over the rice. Then carefully pour the mug of water over the back of the spoon over the rice so as not to disturb the layers. Season the coconut rice layer with a pinch of salt.
4. Then carefully place the cauliflower florets on top of the liquid and season them with salt, pepper and the reserved 2 tsp of curry powder. Put the lid on the pan and place it back in the oven for another 20-30minutes until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
5. Serve in scoops with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and a spoon of an Indian chutney or pickle. Enjoy!