Quick and easy to make, these are great served as a starter before your favourite curry. You might like to try your own veggie mixes: sliced mushrooms and green beans work well, or sliced courgettes or green peppers.
Ingredients:
115g chickpea flour 55g rice flour ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon turmeric ½ teaspoon coriander 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder 1 teaspoon cumin 2,5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 200ml cold water 2 large onions, thinly sliced 1 litre sunflower oil for deep-frying
Method:
Sift the flours, salt and ground spices into a mixing bowl, stir in the cumin seeds, ginger and garlic, then whisk in the water to make a smooth batter. Add the cauliflower and onions and toss gently the batter.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan to 190C, or until a cube of bread browns in 30 second. Carefully drop heaped dessertspoonfuls of the onion mixture into the hot oil. Cook for about 3 minutes, until golden brown.
Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Continue deep-frying the bhajis in batches until all the mixture has been used. Serve warm .
Weekends are special as we spend more time with our family. It is always
nice to cook something special, especially for evening snack when everyone is together playing games or watching a film. Bondas are very easy to make and you can do this using left overs from previous day. They have a crispy outside and fluffy inside.
Ingredients:
aprx 4 large potato
1 tin sweet corn
a large handful of fresh coriander
For the batter:
150g chickpea flour
1/2 baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne peeper
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Method:
For the batter, mix all ingredients. Slowly whisk in 175 ml water whisk to combine and get rid of any lumps.
Boil potato until the are soft then smash to make puree. Mix with the sweet corn and chopped coriander. Make medium, snowball-sized, balls from this mixture.
Add the potato balls to the batter and turn them, making sure they are all thoroughly coated.
Heat about 2 cm depth of oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium high heat. When the oil is hot enough to turn a cube of white bread light golden brown in 30-40 second, start cooking Bondas.
Cook for about 3 minutes, until crisp and golden brown on the base, then turn over and cook for another minute or two. Drain the Bondas on kitchen paper, then serve.
Firstly, apologies for not posting any Chickpea Chapter recently. I've been adapting to a career change - social care!
This week focusing on Burmese Tofu; exploring a few variations on the recipe from Mary of Mary's Test Kitchen. There is no soya in this recipe, despite the connotations of its name. Only chickpea flour, water and whatever seasoning you choose. Naturally the flavour is savoury and slightly eggy with a softer, creamier texture than firm soy based tofu but has enough structural integrity to be fried, grilled or deep-fried. Today we are going to try 2 simple flavour variations of this
Mary kindly allowed me to share her recipe as the base for my variations. Here is here video of how to make Burmese Tofu. You will need:
6 cups of water
2 cups of gram flour
Salt or veg. stock
I highly recommend browsing the rest of Mary's website, the amount of delicious vegan and allergen-friendly food is amazing.
Variation 1) Vegan Sea Sticks
Since becoming completely gluten intolerant 5 years ago, I haven't had many opportunities to enjoy the golden bubbly batter found mostly in chip shops. This is my attempt at making it possible for those following gluten-free and Vegan diets. If you don't fall into this niche, hopefully you can still take pleasure from this.
Ingredients: 1 pack of Nori sheets (untoasted or toasted)
250g Gram flour
250g Cornflakes
500ml water
salt
black pepper
white pepper (optional)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Enough oil to fill a saucepan 3cm deep
Method:
1. Make a batch of plain tofu as Mary brilliantly instructs in the video above
2.Once it has set firm, cut tofu into pieces (somewhere between the size of a fish finger and smart phone)
3. Sieve gram flour then mix with salt, pepper and garlic into the water
4. In separate bowl, crush the cornflakes well; into pepper seed size pieces
5. If your Nori sheets haven't been toasted, toast/dry fry them until they turn an emerald green
6. Double wrap tofu pieces in Nori, then fully dip into the gram flour and water mix
7. Once fully coated in the batter, roll the tofu in the cornflakes to coat evenly
8. Medium-heat the oil in a saucepan big enough to fit your sea sticks, once the oil is hot enough to brown and crisp a small piece of bread in 30-40 seconds you are ready to gently place the sea sticks in. Don't overcrowd the pan.
9. Ready when a dark-golden brown
10. Sit on a seaside bench and throw any scraps to the seagulls
2) Smokey Burmese Tofu
Very simple to make and versatile - smoked tofu steaks work well in a lot of dishes such as stir-frys or curries.
If you are using the same measurements as Mary does in the video, just add 4 teabags of Lapsang Souchong and 1tsp. of smoked paprika to the water when you add the stock/salt. Leave for 5 minutes so the teabags flavours can infuse, remove the teabags and continue as normal.
Thank you. I hope you have found this post informative, tasty and useful. See you next week for another Besan adventure.
P.S. If you'd like to add some extra flavour and outer crisp to the smokey tofu coat the strips in corn flour, finely chopped garlic, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast then shallow fry in a work like so:
Welcome to part 2 of the Chickpea Chapter! This week's dish is a gluten-free and vegan tart. Savoury pastry was one of the things I missed eating the most after I realised that gluten is a problem for me. Fortunately, on the back of the Doves Gram Flour packet is an brilliant gluten free quiche recipe; today's post is my adaptation of said recipe. This meal requires a
couple of ‘out-there’ ingredients, but they can actually all be found in supermarkets
and health food shops. I make this recipe a lot, as I unfortunately can not
digest gluten. However, my partner can and she still enjoys it.
2 tbsp. nutritional
yeast (optional, but will provide a nice tangy, cheesy flavour)
Pinch of Nutmeg
Pinch Salt & Pepper
1 tbsp. rosemary
1 tbsp. Thyme
First, make the
pastry.
Mix together the
flour, xantham gum and salt
Using clean hands, rub
the flour into the spread until it resembles breadcrumbs
Stir in enough water
to bring together a soft ball of dough, it may appear a little wet but will
absorb the liquid.
Wrap in cling film and
rest the pastry for at least 30 minutes
Roll the pastry out
between two pieces of lour dusted in cling film and leave it for at least 30
minutes
Meanwhile, we will
focus on the filling.
Grate the courgette
into a sieve above a bowl and mix in 2 tsp. salt. This will draw the water from
them, increasing their sweetness
Finely slice the
onions and cook them on a medium-low heat in some olive oil, with the rosemary,
thyme and pinches of salt and pepper. Ideally put a lid on the pan, so the
onions become soft and sweet. Should take 10-12 minutes
Mix the xantham gum,
gram flour, milk and nutritional yeast to a smooth thick-milk consistency
Now we will begin to
construct the pies.
Oil your chosen quiche
dish or ramekins
Roll the pastry out on
a well-floured surface, flour the rolling pin too
Cut out a piece of
pastry large enough for your dish and fit it in
Mix the cooked
vegetables into the xantham gum and milk mixture
Recently I learnt that 2016 is the ‘year of the bean’. If I was to elect a representative of this small, round, yet international family – it would be the chickpea. Over the last few weeks I have, on multiple occasions, been amazed by its versatility; savoury pies, delicious meringues and impressive flatbreads!
This has inspired me to post a chickpea-based recipe once a week for at least the next 5 weeks - maybe more if I make new discoveries. The first page of this Chickpea chapter will feature hummus and farinata; a well-known Italian style snack. Everyone knows what hummus is, but not many people seem to know how to make it. It's simple yet delicious.
Firstly though, some
context. Let me introduce you. These beige, spherical pulses grow in warm
climates such India, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Depending on their
form and which country you are in Chickpeas can have any of the following
names: Besan, Gabanzo, Gram Flour or Aqua Faba. Nutritionally speaking, the
Chickpea contains:
- 15g protein per
cooked cup,
- half daily
recommendation of manganese
and quarter of daily
recommendation of folate, iron and vitamin E
Eating them will help
to provide fuel for muscle and bone growth and repair (protein), processing
cholesterol and fuelling metabolism (manganese), promotes the breakdown and use
of protein and help to form red and white blood cells (folate), continue to
support you bodies ability to carry oxygen through the bloodstream (iron), help
to maintain healthy skin and eyes as well as strengthening the immune system (Vitamin
E).
Indirect benefits of
eating chickpeas, is that they aren’t a dead animal. Eating a plant-based diet
is better for the environment and animal welfare. Yes, I’m Vegan.
So now you are
familiar, let’s cook. Then eat. And pretend we have travelled to Genoa.
Farinata & Hummus
As my partner likes to
say, this course is Chickpea ‘Inception’ – Chickpeas dipped in Chickpeas. Farinata
is an Italian flatbread, fried liked a pancake, made from Chickpea flour. I
have included a basic recipe for Hummus so you can adjust it according to match
the seasoning you choose for your Farinata.
Farinata, serves 4:
300ml water
150g gram flour
15g fresh, sprigged
Rosemary or 1 tbsp ground cumin
Pinch of salt, pepper
olive oil
Chop the Rosemary
finely. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. The batter is now ready to be fried
like a pancake on low-medium heat. However, if you leave it out to ferment
overnight or longer the batter will become thicker, in turn making an airier
and spongier flatbread.
Hummus, serves 4:
Juice of 1 lemon
400g tin of cooked
chickpeas, drained
1 large garlic clove,
5 tbsp. olive oil
1 ½ tbsp. tahini
Crush and finely chop
the garlic to a paste, mixing in 1 tsp. salt to help soften it and bring the
juice out. Blitz everything in a blender, serve in a small bowl.
