This is a warm-colored, warm-flavored sauce – I picked the spices because they look nice together, but as I have surmised before, this means they taste good together, too! This sauce is extremely versatile. I like it with cauliflower and petit peas, because the flavors and textures go so well. But it would also be good with just about any other vegetable, or with chickpeas, and probably with chicken, though, obviously I don’t know a thing about that!! It’s creamy but dairy-free, and it has a nice nutty, sweet, spicy taste loved by children and adults alike. It’s also quick and easy to make, which is always an advantage.

Here’s MF Doom with Tumeric.

Olive oil
1 shallot – finely diced
1 clove of garlic – finely diced
1 t. tomato paste
1/2 t tumeric
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1/4 t. mustard powder
pinch ginger
cayenne to taste (my boys like this, so I never make it too spicy)
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup cashew
1 cup diced tomatoes
1-2 cups water or vegetable broth
salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper
1 t. lemon juice
Cilantro leaves – chopped

1/2 head of cauliflower cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup petit peas (frozen is fine)

Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the shallot, cook a few minutes, add the garlic, cook a few minutes. When it starts to brown add the tomato paste. Add all of the spices and the nuts. Then add the diced tomatoes. Mix well and transfer to a blender. Let it cool for a minute or two, then add a cup of water or broth. Blend well. You want it to be smooth and quite thick – but add more water or broth if you need to.

Meanwhile – add a little olive oil to the pan you just used. Then add the cauliflower and peas, and cook till the cauliflower starts to brown.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables, and stir to combine. Cook till everything is warm and the cauliflower is soft, but still has some crunch. About 10 minutes, maybe. Stir in a teaspoon of lemon juice and salt and freshly ground pepper. If you like cilantro leaves, you can stir some of those in, too. They taste good with it, and adds a nice contrasting color.

This is good with basmati rice.