Root vegetable korma

Serves 4 Starters and mains

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Method

Peel the onions, cut them into large pieces, then blitz in a food processor until roughly minced. Peel and roughly grate the ginger on the coarse side of a grater. Peel and finely slice the garlic cloves. Peel and coarsely chop the vegetables. Roughly chop half of the cashews.

Now deal with the spices: open the cardamom pods with your nails and scrape out the seeds, then crush them to a gritty powder. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds to a fine powder.

Put the oil or butter into a deep, heavy-based pan and stir in the onions, letting them soften but not colour. Stir in the grated ginger and the sliced garlic, continue cooking over a gentle heat for a couple of minutes, then introduce the spices – cardamom, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and the cinnamon stick. Continue cooking, stirring for a couple of minutes, until the fragrance of the spices begins to rise, then add the chopped root vegetables and the chopped nuts. Season with the thinly sliced chillies, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Stir in 750ml water, partially cover with a lid and leave to simmer gently for 45-50 minutes, until the roots are tender to the point of a knife. Toast the reserved whole cashews.

Carefully introduce the cream and yoghurt to the pan, allowing them to heat through but not boil. Should the mixture boil, it will curdle, and though the flavour will still be fine, the grainy texture will be offputting. Check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. Scatter over the toasted cashews and some chopped coriander.

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