It was a cold dark night and I just felt a little fed up of eating soup and wanted something chunky with a bit of heat to clear my cold which didn’t want to go. This was just the recipe, adapted from a few different recipes I have tried over the past year and it isn’t realise Burmese or Indian or Thai, but I like the combination.

The Cauliflower is wonderfully comforting with the chick peas and spinach giving a lot of textures, makes you realise how easy it is to have three vegetables in just one sitting and no meat. The chick peas give us the protein to fill up even a hungry boy, while the spinach is packed full of iron and cauliflower full of vitamin C.

All in all this is a flu fighting recipe perfect for any one!

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower cut into florets
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
drizzles of olive oil
1 teaspoon chilli powder/ or cayenne
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 onions (roughly chopped)
4 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
1 heaped teaspoon grated ginger
400g tinned tomatoes
2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 juice of a lemon and zest
Spinach (2 large handfuls)
300g chick peas drained

DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle curry powder, salt, garam masala and turmeric over the florets of cauliflower and spread over a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil. Place into a preheated oven (160 degrees) for about 25 minutes, giving a shake occasionally to make sure no burning or sticking.

In a blender or food processor place the  onions, garlic, paprika, chilli powder and ginger and blitz into a thick paste.

In a large deep pan (I’m currently obsessed by my Jamie Oliver Tefal one Jamie O Tefal Pan) and fry the paste over a medium heat for about 6-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 300ml of warm water, the lemon juice and zest and fish sauce. Stir well and add in the cauliflower then bring to a simmer and place on the lid till the cauliflower is almost tender.

5 minutes before serving add chick peas and 2 large handfuls of spinach. Close the lid and once the spinach has wilted and the sauce is bubbling it is ready to serve.

We like this as it is, no carbs, pilled high in a bowl eaten with a spoon and fork but it would also taste great with some wild rice and a large dollop of raita.

(Tastes even better the next day so make extra as the cauliflower and chick peas have soaked in the tasty spices and the fire in the chilli has mellowed down)