Roasted tomato & chickpea curry with coconut & star anise

Ingredients

• 1 kg (2 lbs) medium-size, vine-ripened tomatoes
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) olive oil (plus more for tomatoes)
• Salt
• 6 cardamom pods, crushed for seeds
• ½ t fennel seeds
• ½ tsp black mustard seeds
• 6 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 1 small dried red chili or ½ t chili powder
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 t ground coriander
• ½ t turmeric
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarters
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced in half, germ removed
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 250 mls (1 cup) coconut milk (full fat)
• 400 g (14 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• Chopped coriander (cilantro)
• Rice and yogurt to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180° C (350°F)
2. Arrange tomatoes in a roasting tin and drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
3. Place in the oven and roast 10 to 15 minutes or until they just start to blister and split. Set aside a few of the nicest ones and reserve the others along with any juice.
4. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add the cardamom seeds, fennel, black mustard seeds, cloves and star anise. Place a lid over the top and cook, shaking the pan, until mustard seeds start to pop, and the spices begin to smell fragrant. Tip into a mortar or spice grinder, add the dried chili (if using) and grind everything to a fine powder. Combined with the ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and black pepper.
5. Chop the onion into quarters, slice the garlic in half and remove the germ, place both in the bowl of a mini food processor and pulse until finely chopped, almost to the point of purée. (If you don’t have a food processor, grate the onion and garlic by hand using a box grater.)
6. Heat the oil in a casserole or heavy-based saucepan. Add the finely chopped onion and garlic, ginger and a pinch of salt. Sauté over low heat, around 10 minutes, or until the mixture is soft and translucent. Add the spices and continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes, stirring to fully coat the onion mixture. Add the rest of the tomatoes and any roasting juices along with the coconut milk. Stir to combine. Heat to just below the boiling point, then lower the heat and simmer gently for around 15 minutes. Keep an eye on things, stirring now and then, the spices and the coconut milk can cause the ingredients to stick to the bottom of the pan.
7. Add the chickpeas and continue cooking, at a simmer for another 10 minutes. Add the reserved tomatoes and continue cooking at a simmer just till they are heated through, you don’t want them to fall apart. Serve sprinkled with plenty of chopped, fresh coriander and serve with rice and plenty of yogurt.