Gunpowder bangers and… not mash
This is my tribute to Dishoom's fiendishly moreish side dish, reworked as a weeknight one-dish bake.
Ok, one-ish-dish. There's spuds to boil and spices to toast, and you can use the same pan, I suppose? Look, by my standards of dicking about this is basically a ready meal.
If you really can't face washing the extra pan and colander, you can start the potatoes roasting in the tray for 20 mins before the other stages.
Dishoom makes their gunpowder potatoes by blasting them under a hot grill, then tossing them in spice mix and melted butter. The result is - predictably - delicious. The fact that I’m not using butter here does not make it healthier. We’re using the fat from the sausages, after all. But it does come together into a fairly quick meal with big zappy flavours and a clear line back to the original.
Ingredients:
Sausages, 6 (Probably Cumberland)
Potatoes, 400g (baby new or a small salad variety, nothing too floury)
Onions, 1 medium
Broccoli, 1 medium head
Green finger chillis, 2 (more to taste)
Garlic, 6 cloves
Fresh coriander, about 40g
Spring onions, 3-4
Fennel seeds, 2tsp
Cumin seeds, 2tsp
Coriander seeds, 2tsp
Mustard seeds, 1tsp
Black peppercorns, 1tsp
Nigella seeds, 1/2 tsp
Serves 3 generously, 4 maybe, definitely with a side.
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 180°c
Toast the whole spices in a sturdy pan for a minute or two until fragrant, then grind them coarsely with a big pinch of salt.
Quarter the onion, roughly slice the garlic and one of the chillis. Put them into a big roasting pan that has plenty of space, along with the sausages and about 1tbsp of the spice mix. Add a big splash of oil, and toss it all together.
Roast for 12 mins while the potatoes cook.
As just implied: cook the potatoes. Specifically, halve them if they're chunky, and simmer them for about 12 mins until just tender. Then drain and set to one side.
Break down the broccoli into florets and cut the stem into chunks.
Roughly chop the coriander. Finely slice the greens of the spring onions, down to the start of the white, and finely slice as much chilli as you fancy.
At the 12 min mark, toss the broccoli together with the roasting sausages, more of the spice mix, and some more oil if it looks dry.
Roast for another 10 mins.
Raise the oven to at least 220°c
With a metal spoon or sturdy spatula, roughly divide the potatoes in half. We're not using a knife - which, yes, would be easier - so that the pieces have ragged edges for better flavour absorption and crisping. Halve the sausages likewise - you might need a knife here, I’ll grant, but the metal spoon approach ought to work.
Give everything a bit of a mix, and put it back in the oven for about 15 mins until the potatoes are going crispy. Take a look half way, and give it a mix if the crisp looks good. Give it another 5 mins if not.
To finish, remove from the oven and toss together with the last of the spice mix, the chopped coriander, spring onion, and chilli, and just a small squeeze of lime.
I have no idea what to serve this with, as it’s fairly self-contained. But a selection of pickles wouldn’t hurt (lime pickle goes well) and maybe a dal if you want to bulk it out?
To get the potatoes extra crispy, switch to the overhead grill at the end for a few minutes, but watch the broccoli doesn’t catch.