Servings: 4 to 6

700g sweet potatoes 700g sweet potatoes
3 tbsp vegetable oil 3 tbsp vegetable oil
15g fresh coriander 15g fresh coriander
1–2 fresh red chillies 1 to 2 fresh red chillies
2 red peppers 2 red peppers
1 x 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk 1 x 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk
hot chilli powder, optional hot chilli powder, optional
½ lemon ½ lemon
a handful of flaked almonds a handful of flaked almonds
500g cooked basmati rice, or use 2 x 250g bags microwavable basmati rice, to serve, optional 500g cooked basmati rice, or use 2 x 250g bags microwavable basmati rice, to serve, optional
rotis (shop-bought or see here), optional rotis (shop-bought or see here), optional
salt and black pepper salt and black pepper
 
FOR THE CURRY SAUCE FOR THE CURRY SAUCE
6cm piece fresh ginger 6cm piece fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves 5 garlic cloves
1 onion 1 onion
1½ fresh red chillies 1½ fresh red chillies
4 cherry tomatoes 4 cherry tomatoes
20g fresh coriander 20g fresh coriander
1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp vegetable oil
6 tbsp tomato purée 6 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp ground almonds 2 tbsp ground almonds
2 tsp garam masala 2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt 1 tsp salt
a pinch of ground fenugreek a pinch of ground fenugreek
a pinch of ground turmeric a pinch of ground turmeric
500ml water 500ml water

First roast the sweet potato | Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 2cm cubes | Put it on the baking tray, pour over 2 tablespoons of the oil, toss to coat and sprinkle with salt | Put into the hot oven for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until soft and charring slightly at the edges | Remove and set aside
To make the curry sauce, peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a spoon | Peel the garlic | Grate the ginger and garlic into a bowl and mix with a tablespoon of water | Peel and finely chop the onion | Finely chop the red chilli and tomatoes | Roughly chop the 20g coriander
Pour 1 tablespoon oil into the medium saucepan and place on a medium-high heat | Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes | Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 30 seconds | Add all the remaining curry sauce ingredients except for the water and stir | Pour in half the water, stir and simmer for 10 minutes, until browned and almost all the water has evaporated | Pour in the rest of the water, stir then pour everything into the liquidiser | Blend until smooth
Prepare the rest of the curry ingredients | Separate the leaves from the 15g fresh coriander and chop roughly, then finely chop the stems | Rip the stems from the fresh red chillies and chop finely | Cut the peppers in half, cut out the stems and seeds and chop into chunks
Splash 1 tablespoon oil into the same saucepan and place on a high heat | Add the chopped coriander stems, chilli and red pepper and fry for 3 minutes, until slightly softened | Pour in the curry sauce and coconut milk | Add the roasted sweet potato and stir | Taste and add more salt and hot chilli powder if you like it hot
Simmer for 10 minutes, until the sauce is nice and thick | Take off the heat and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, catching any pips in your other hand | Taste and season to perfection
Heat the rice or cook it following the instructions on the packet
Plate up the tikka masala and garnish with the chopped coriander leaves and flaked almonds | Serve immediately