A French dish, the almondine is prepared with toasted, slivered or whole almonds, typically cooked in brown butter with seasonings such as lemon, garlic or capers, and commonly served with vegetables (green beans or asparagus) or fish (trout or cod). What sets this recipe apart is the use of broccoli florets coated with an almond malai sauce.
Method
Blanch the Broccoli
1. Heat water with salt until boiling.
2. Drop in broccoli for 1.5 minutes.
3. Immediately shock in ice water to preserve color and crunch.
4. Pat dry completely
Prepare the Malai–Almond Marinade
Mix hung curd, cream, almond paste, almond butter, grated cheese, ginger–garlic paste, chili paste, garam masala, pepper, honey, vinegar, and salt.
Finish with ghee for richness.
Marinate
- Coat broccoli generously in the malai–almond mixture.
- Rest minimum 20 minutes (up to 2 hours refrigerated).
Tandoor:
Cook until lightly charred, edges dark golden.
or Oven:
• Bake at 220°C for 10–12 mins,
Almondine Crumble
- Heat ghee, add almonds, toast until light golden.
- Add sev, chili powder, black salt.
- Toss quickly and remove
Almond-Lime Leaf Cream
In a small pan:
Cream + almond paste + lime leaf + sugar + salt, reduce on low heat for 2–3 mins.
Strain out lime leaf
Plating
1. Smear a spoon of almond-lime leaf cream on the plate.
2. Place the charred malai broccoli
3. Scatter the almondine crumble for crunch & visual contrast.
4. Finish with, micro coriander, few fresh almond slivers,tiny dots of chili oil for color
