Vegetable Balti

Ingredients for  4  Servings

• For the Paste

• 12

  Garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 3 x 5cm

  Pieces of fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 8

  Red chillies, roughly chopped (use less if you don't like it too spicy)
• 3 tbsp

  Ground cumin
• 3 tbsp

  Ground coriander
• 1 tbsp

  Ground cinnamon
• 3 tbsp

  Garam masala
• 3 tbsp

  Tomato purée
• For the Balti

• 1 tsp

  Vegetable oil
• 1

  Onion, thinly sliced
• 300g

  Long-grain rice, such as basmati, rinsed, to serve
• ½

  Small cauliflower head, cut into medium florets, root thickly sliced
• ½

  Small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
• 1

  Courgette, cut into 2cm thick slices
• 2

  Peppers, seeds removed, cut into large chunks
• 400g tin

  Chopped tomatoes
• 1

  Vegetable stock cube, crumbled
• 160g

  Frozen peas
• 1

  Lime, finely grated zest and juice
• -

  Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp

  Roughly chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

Approximate Times

• Preparation :

  Less than 30 minutes
• Cooking :

  30 minutes to 1 hour

Method

1. To make the paste, blend the ingredients together in a food processor with 125ml water. Use one quarter in this recipe and decant the rest into ice-cube trays or small sealable containers to freeze.
2. To make the balti, heat the oil in a wok, saucepan or karahi pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 3–4 minutes, or until just softening.
3. Meanwhile, place the rice in a lidded saucepan with 600ml water, stir well, then bring to the boil. Turn the heat down as low as it will go, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to stand with the lid on until the balti is ready.
4. Add a quarter of the balti paste to the onions and cook for 2–3 minutes. Add the cauliflower, squash, courgettes and peppers and stir well. Add the tomatoes, then refill the tin with cold water and add that to the pan with the crumbled stock cube. Simmer over a medium heat for 15–20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
5. Stir in the peas and cook for 2 minutes. Season with the lime zest and juice, salt and black pepper.
6. Divide the rice between serving plates and spoon the balti alongside. Scatter with coriander and serve.