Cumin seed broccoli with tomato kasundi and almond cashew cream

When Megan May challenged Al Brown to create a plant-based dish for the 2018 Little Bird Organics Plant-Based Challenge he produced something incredibly delicious that will have you salivating at the sight of broccoli.

For the tomato kasundi

1 cup	Sunflower oil
½ cup	Curry leaves
3 Tbsp	Mustard seeds
2 tsp	Fenugreek seeds, toasted and ground
2 cups	Onions, finely diced
⅓ cup	Garlic, finely diced
½ cup	Ginger, finely diced
1	Red chilli, minced
10	Cardamom pods, toasted
2 Tbsp	Cumin seeds, toasted and ground (Main)
2 tsp	Ground turmeric
1 ½ cups	Malt vinegar
1 ½ cups	Sugar
4 cans	Whole peeled tomatoes, 400g each, crushed (Main)

For the almond cream

1 cup	Blanched almonds, soaked overnight, then drained
1 cup	Cashew nuts, soaked overnight, then drained (Main)
3 small	Garlic cloves
½ cup	Olive oil
½ cup	Walnut oil
2 Tbsp	Sherry vinegar
¾ cup	Water

For the tempura broccoli

½ cup	Tempura flour
1 bottle	Sparkling water
2 medium	Broccoli, cut into florets (the size of a chestnut) (Main)
2 tsp	Cumin seeds, toasted
1 Ltr	Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
¼ cup	Almond flakes, toasted, and a drizzle of walnut oil to serve (Main)

Directions

1. To make the kasundi,place a medium sized heavy based saucepan on medium heat. Add the oil, and fry curry leaves, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, cardamom, cumin and turmeric. Turn the heat down, and sweat for 10 minutes, before adding the vinegar, sugar, crushed whole peeled tomatoes.
2. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Once it becomes a little "jammy" in consistency, turn off the heat and season to taste with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Refrigerate or pour into preserving jars.
3. To make the almond cream,place the drained nuts in a blender with garlic, olive oil and walnut oil. Blitz to a smooth paste. Slowly pour the vinegar and water into the blender with the motor running, until fully incorporated. Season to taste with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, then refrigerate until required.
4. To make the tempura broccoli,place the tempura flour in a large bowl. Whisk in enough sparkling water to create a thin and runny batter. Stir through cumin seeds. Place the broccoli in a separate bowl and pour over just enough of the batter to lightly coat. You can keep the remaining batter in the fridge, or discard. In a deep fryer or suitable sized saucepan, heat the frying oil to 180C. If you don't have a thermometer, you can gauge this by adding a piece of bread to the oil. When the oil is ready, the bread will turn golden and crisp in about 1 minute. Deep-fry the broccoli in batches for approximately two to three minutes at a time. Turn out on to absorbent paper and cook the remaining broccoli. Season with sea salt flakes.
5. To serve, spoon the almond and cashew cream on plates, and fill the centre with tomato kasundi. Top with hot tempura broccoli and a few toasted almond flakes. Finish with a drizzle of walnut oil.