Indian Feast With Butter Chickpeas And Paneer Tikka

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C (fan)/ gas 6 and boil half a kettle

Peel and cut half your brown onion[s] (you'll use the rest later!) into thin wedges and cut your paneer into large cubes

Deseed your sweet pointed pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and chop into large pieces

Add the chopped paneer, chopped pepper and onion wedges to a bowl with 1/3 of your ground turmeric, 1/4 of your garam masala, 1/4 of your ginger & garlic paste and 1/3 of your natural yoghurt (save the rest for later!), then give everything a good mix up and then set aside to marinate

Peel and finely slice the remaining brown onion[s]

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper

Add half of the sliced onion, 1/4 of the garam masala, 1/3 of the ground turmeric and 1/4 of the garlic and ginger paste (you'll use the rest later!) to a large bowl

Add your gram flour with a generous pinch of salt and 2 tbsp [3 tbsp] [4 tbsp] cold water and massage the mixture for 30 secs, squeezing the onions to form a thick mixture

Tip: Squeezing the mix will release the natural moisture in the onion! Add an extra splash of water if it's still looking a bit dry

Scoop out 2 handfuls per person of the mixture, shape into rough bhaji shapes and add to the tray

Drizzle the onion bhajis with a little vegetable oil and put the tray in the oven for 25-30 min or until the bhajis are golden and crispy

While the bhajis are cooking, heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick with a matching lid) with a large knob of butter over a medium-low heat

Once hot, add the remaining sliced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 5-6 min or until softened

Drain and rinse your chickpeas and chop your coriander finely, including the stalks

Strip your mint leaves from their stems and chop them roughly, discard the stems

Add your basmati rice and 250ml [320ml] [500ml] cold water to a pot with a lid and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to very low, sprinkle over the remaining ground turmeric and cook, covered, for 10-12 min or until all the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked

Once cooked, remove from the heat and keep covered until serving – this is your turmeric rice

Once the onions have softened, add the remaining ginger & garlic paste and remaining garam masala and cook for 1-2 min further or until fragrant

Tip: Add a drizzle of vegetable oil if it's looking a little dry!

Dissolve your vegetable stock mix in 200ml [300ml] [400ml] boiled water and stir in your tomato paste – this is your tomato stock

Once fragrant, add the tomato stock to the pan with the onions and cook, covered, for 8-10 min or until thickened slightly – this is your curry base

Once the bhajis are golden and crispy, move the tray to the bottom of the oven to keep warm

Preheat the grill to medium-high

Add the marinated paneer & veg to a large baking tray (or two!), spacing the pieces out as much as possible

Put the tray[s] under the grill for 8-12 min, turning everything halfway, or until everything is cooked through and starting to char – this is your paneer tikka

Once the curry base has thickened slightly, add the drained chickpeas and 1/3 of the natural yoghurt

Cook for 3-4 min further or until the sauce has thickened and the chickpeas are warmed through – these are your butter chickpeas

Meanwhile, combine the remaining natural yoghurt with the chopped mint and a pinch of salt in a small bowl – this is your mint raita

Add your garlic & coriander naan[s] to a toaster for 1-2 min or until warmed through

Tip: For a little extra indulgence, butter the hot naan once it's out of the toaster