Nadiya demonstrated this flavoursome dish on the Big Kitchen Stage at the BBC Good Food Show Winter 2022!
Onions are the starter of every good dish; without them, there is often no base, no sweetness, no foundation. But for once let’s allow the allium to be the main star of the show. When cooked gently, onions are sweet, and here they are roasted to perfection and baked in a simple sauce for a curry that’s conveniently all done in the oven.
You can catch Nadiya cooking live in the Big Kitchen on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th June at the BBC Good Food Show Summer 2023!
Ingredients
50g clarified butter or ghee
5 onions, halved
1 teaspoon salt
For the sauce
5 garlic cloves
6 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tsp fine salt
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder
To serve
Basmati rice
Fresh coriander
Double cream
Method
Start by preheating the oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6. Take a large flameproof casserole dish (with a lid) that’s big enough to comfortably lay down the onions.
Add the clarified butter or ghee to the casserole dish and pop onto the hob to melt the butter. As soon as it’s smoking hot, add the onions, flat side down. They should sizzle. Sprinkle with salt. Leave the onions on the heat for 5 mins. Once all the onions have sizzled, pop into the oven and roast for 20 mins.
Make the quick curry base by adding the garlic, peeled tomatoes, tomato purée, tamarind and salt into a food processor. Add the curry and chilli powders and blitz to a smooth paste.
Take the onions out of the oven and reduce the heat to 180C/ 160C fan /gas mark 4. Flip the onions over onto their rounded sides. Pour the curry mixture in and around the onions, put the lid on and place back in the oven to cook gently for 25 mins.
Meanwhile, cook the rice and chop the coriander. Take the dish out of the oven and remove the lid. Drizzle on the cream, sprinkle on some coriander and it’s ready to dig into.
Credit: Nadiya’s Everyday Baking (Penguin Michael Joseph, £25) is available now
