Roasted cauliflower with buttered rice & coriander sauce

SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 15 MINUTES / COOKING 30 MINUTES

The smell of spiced cauliflower and chickpeas as they roast in the oven is enough to make anyone hungry. Pair that with buttered rice and a fragrant coriander sauce and you’ve got one of my favourite kinds of meals.

1 medium head of cauliflower, trimmed

and cut into large florets

1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained well 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon small handful fresh curry leaves pinch dried chilli flakes

4 tablespoons olive oil plain unsweetened yoghurt and roasted unsalted

peanuts, roughly chopped, to serve

BUTTERED RICE

1½ cups white basmati rice, rinsed well and drained 25g salted butter, melted

CORIANDER SAUCE

1 bunch (approx 100g) coriander, leaves

and tender stems, roughly chopped 1 green chilli, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 200℃. Combine the cauliflower florets, drained chickpeas, salt, spices, curry leaves, chilli flakes, some freshly ground black pepper and olive oil in a large bowl. Transfer to two baking trays and roast for 25-30 minutes or until tender and golden, swapping the trays halfway through to ensure even cooking.

To cook the basmati rice bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the rinsed rice and boil for 7 minutes, uncovered. Drain in a fine sieve, then return to the pan, cover with a tight-fitting lid and set aside for 15 minutes. Stir through the melted butter as you fluff the rice.

To make the coriander sauce, combine the coriander and chilli in a small food processor or blender and pulse until finely chopped. Add the lemon juice, olive oil and salt and blend until smooth and bright green. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Serve the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas on buttered rice, drizzled with coriander sauce and a few dollops of plain yoghurt.