Reflecting and eating Rainbow Chard Pakoras

I've had a busy week working from home made harder by the racism both here and in America,. The racism is not new, it's continual, its painful and its gut wrenching, its real. I've cried these tears before, now I cry for young people who have had to witness the brutality against black bodies replayed over and over again. I know that pain. Black Lives Matter.

One of the reasons i started my blog was for my mental health and wellbeing.  It was my escapism. My space away from those racial  microaggressions in everyday interactions as my work evolved around discrimination and prejudices and social justice, I consciously made a decision not to write about those things here, because I did not want this space tainted by ugliness of other peoples behaviour, but people have become more emboldened in recent years that even i cannot pretend anymore.  

Subtle racism has even seeped from some food bloggers in the past. I often noted as a non white vegetarian food blogger that started ten years ago, I was often excluded from the collaborations that thrusted some white food bloggers into the 'limelight', they would never extend the invitation to me and in some cases 'actively' exclude me.  It still happens. They know they have this power, privilege and influence, but they would never admit that racial bias played a part in their interactions with me.  I know it did. I will write about that some other time. Today is not that day.

As the only brown face in white spaces there were no safe spaces for me, so Blogging became therapy from both overt/direct and covert/indirect racism.  Growing vegetables was therapy.  Cooking was therapy.  Baking was therapy. 

So without further ado here are some Rainbow Chard Pakoras aka Onion Bhaji's that I made last weekend.  I am missing seeing my family, my father and mother (who are shielding), my brothers and sister in laws, my nephews and nieces - my intergenerational family.  I look forward to joining them again to sit down and eat pakoras and samosas.  I don't make Pakora aka Onion Bhaji's that often partly because I do not have a deep fat fryer and partly it's something my sister in law will knock up for me when I got over, so Pakora's like Samosas always feel like a treat for me.  But the hankering for fresh pakoras got me motivated and it was perhaps one of the best recipes I've made with the last of the Rainbow Swiss Chard (that had begun to bolt in the garden).  I shallow fried the Swiss Chard Pakoras in a wide pot.  They were delicious, crisp and mildly spicy. 

Still as much as the Rainbow Chard Pakora were delicious, I long to eat again with my family and know that they are all safe, not just from coronavirus that is disproportionately affecting Black and Brown people in the UK, but also from the racism that constantly ripples in our lives, we are always on edge for the tirade, the racial tsunami ...

vegan Welsh Savoury Pancakes - Christmas Crempog Las

D said 'Is that supposed to look like a Christmas tree?
' Just take the picture' I told him.

Of course he is right, but lets not give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

This is a savoury and vegan take on Welsh Pancakes known as Crempog Las.  Crempog are more akin to American style pancakes in that they are thicker and a bigger than a blini and even pikelets. Crempog are often cooked on a Welsh griddle bakestone, which I am fortunate to own. There has been speculation in recent times that the word Crempog is a derivation of the word crumpet. I'm also quite  intrigued by the Las bit, as Lassi means savoury in Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi. Crempog is not the only word in Welsh to describe pancakes, there is also Ffroes, Cramwythen and Pancogen.

Anyway, top off these green Christmas Crempog Las in style with some homemade Welsh caviar; or failing that some cream cheese or cheese. 

I am sharing these vegan Welsh Savoury Crempog Las  with Gluten Free Fridays and also Treat Petite.  If you have any other green recipes please do share with #Eat Your Greens hosted by The VegHog, the rules are here;  My Legume Love Affair that was started by The Well Seasoned Cook and now administed by Lisa's Kitchen.  this month is is hosted by The VegHog;  Healthy Vegan Fridays hosted by Rock My Vegan Socks and V Nutrition. and finally The Food Calendar with Charlottes Lively Kitchen - Celebrating Christmas!

Aloo Tikki Bagel

It been an extremely busy week at work, so my blog post this evening will be short.  My evening dinner today is Pizza, don't diss me - its homemade pizza!  Check out my Instagram for the photograph, I promise you it will be very different from other pizzas you've seen.

Right now though, I am sharing a fusion snack of Aloo Tikki Bagel.  I am constantly amazed at how much i eat is accidentally vegan.  Aloo Tikki is a South Asian snack made from spicy oniony mashed potatoes (aloo) that is shaped into cutlets or burger shapes, then coated in a spicy blend of chickpea batter and deep fried.  It important to eat it whilst it is still hot as that is when it is at its most deliciousness.  

You can eat the Aloo Tikki as you wish, we and I mean my siblings would often stuff it in roti aka chappati slathered in tomato sauce, it had to be a red sauce to temper the spices, then rolled up like burrito and munched on.  These days I tend to either stuff it in a burger bread bun or a bagel; and my siblings children in a tortilla wrap.

Like my Samosa Soup recipe: a combination of Dal and Samosa, Aloo Tikki is another firm favourite comfort food and not one I indulge in that often as it requires deep frying, but when I do, I ravish it within minutes.

This blog post is part of Vegan Month of Food.  The theme is memories and traditions. I am also sharing this with Soups, Salads and Sammies and this is kind of a sandwich hosted by Kahakai Kitchen;  

Vegan Indian Pasta, Indian Gnocchi, Indian Dumplings

When I say Indian, its more Indian style as I wish to embrace the diversity of all the countries in the Indian Sub-Continent - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and even the Maldives as they all embrace this way of cooking.  This is also in part to show respect to the many 'Indian' restaurateurs and take-aways  across Europe and the United Kingdom where the owners and workers are often of  Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage. 

I make Curried Red Lentil Dal all the time, its part of my South Asian heritage, however I made this particular version of Pigeon Pea Soup from Prashad's cookbook a couple of weeks back.   It does just look like a simple bowl of Red Dal, but its rather deceptive in appearance because once you take slurp of this soup you are hit first by the heady perfumed herbyness and then Boom - you taste the amazing spices - its really quite something special for some thing could easily be described as a peasant dish.  

Prashad's Curried Lentils with Indian Pasta actually reminded me of my Dal with Chilli - Coriander Gnocchi that I made many years ago, perhaps somewhere in the back of my psyche this is the reason I wanted to make it and see how it compared.  

So the verdict?!  I have to admit hands down, that Prashad's Curried Dal was far more better, in fact far more superior in taste than mine.  It had more depth of flavour from the infusion of different spices and the tempering  made a huge difference too as an enhancer. 

Normally I would serve an Indian style bowl of Dal  with chappati or roti, but was inspired further to try the accompanying Indian pasta from Prashad's cookbook which I must admit I have adapted just a little.  What's appealing about this Indian Pasta is that you don't even need a pasta machine to make it, just a good old fashioned rolling pin.  

The Indian pasta made a wonderful chewy textual change from chappati or naan bread.  If you do choose to have a go at making this, roll the dough out as thin as you can.  You will need a palette knife to remove them from the surface. I am sharing this with Inheritance Recipes hosted by Pebble Soup and Coffee n Vanilla;and  No Croutons Required hosted by Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen and Tinned Tomatoes. 

Zucchini - Courgette Skinny Fries - Chips

These courgette aka zucchini skinny fries have been my favourite snack of late.

 Vegan Mofo has asked us for something Quick, Easy and Delicious and I think these fit the criteria fantastically well.  They are also relatively healthy, tasty and baked. 

These crunchy morsels taste even better as the courgettes are home-grown.  I am hoping to try this with other vegetables, including squash - imagine squash chips or fries, and why not - we have sweet potato chips.  And even green french beans, the options are endless.  

Vegan Sweet Corn, Courgette and Red Pepper Cake

After enjoying participating last in Vegan MoFo. I have decided to do it all over again.   

For those of you who are not familiar with Vegan MoFo, it is short for 'Vegan Month of Food'.  Hundreds of vegan and vegan-friendly bloggers (like mine) sign up to commit to posting at least 20 posts in the month relating to vegan food.

Many of you will know that I am not a vegan, but a vegetarian, however a lot of what I do cook from scratch happens to be vegan friendly.  Therefore, September 2014 this blog will be free of all animal products such as cheese, dairy, eggs and  honey. 

I do not  have a theme for Vegan MoFo, but if there was going to be a theme it would be seasonal vegetables, of course and I might even throw in some recipes inspired by my Welsh roots too.

So let it begin  with this family and crowd friendly vegan Sweet Corn, courgette and Red Pepper Savoury Cake.  

I made this savoury chickpea cake at the weekend, it was sliced and served with vibrant leafy greens. 

Broccoli Chickpea Cakes

A few weeks back I visited blogger friend Krys new vegan food blog Dine In Not Out and was intrigued by these crustless vegan 'Quiches' dubbed by her Breakfast of Champions.  I became first acquainted with Krys, obviously though blogging, but it was through Pay It Forward where Krys was the lucky recipient of my package when I lived in Scotland that we stayed in touch albeit it though social networking.  

Krys originally used to blog  at Two Vegan Boys, a blog dedicated to her two boys and their vegan eats and following their adventurous exploits.  Its was not a fancy blog, but down to earth, honest and genuine.  She recently started blogging at Dine In Not Out and shares her love for gardening, growing vegetables and of course cooking and baking. 

Over the years, I 've seen variations these savoury chickpea cakes often described as vegan crustless 'quiches' many many times, but I've not been that tempted to get up and make it, even when I have specifically asked for the recipe, but a few days back that was to change.  I actually made these yesterday and they pretty much were all gone, except for these two. 

Once you have made the chickpea batter and poured them into muffin moulds or small tins, you can top them off with whatever vegetable you wish, here I used broccoli florets from the garden.  D even enjoyed them, I thought he would find them much of a muchness and too dense, but he actually liked them a lot, so I will definitely be making them again, but with different filling and they will certainly be enjoyed throughout the day, not just for breakfast.  Thank you Krys for actually getting me motivated to make these tasty and filling morsels. 

Festive Vegetarian Christmas Burger

Firstly may I wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas.

I have taken a few days off from work.  We will be going over to my parents later this evening, and tomorrow morning travelling to D's mothers. Having rested the last couple of days, I thought I'd play catch up with a little blogging. 

As you can imagine, over the past few months I've created a number of seasonal dishes and some of these have been for the festive season.  The one I would like to begin with today is my Festive Vegetarian Christmas Burger. 

When I began my little business venture, I had no intention of serving burgers, well not on a daily basis, but people have been asking for them and they have been featuring on the menu for the past three months.  Variations include those made with beans and vegetables, such as beetroot, parsnip, pumpkins, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and the flavours are equally diverse, from Indian, Jamaican to Mexican, oh I even featured my Haggis Burger for St Andrews day last month.

These Vegetarian Christmas Burgers are served in a large granary roll, with winter greens, a slice of mock 'turkey' and a generous spread of cranberry sauce.  I am submitting these Festive Burgers to December-January editiion of Simple and In Season,  a monthly event created by Ren Behan at Fabulicious Food. This month it is being hosted by Lavender and Lovage. 

For those of you with left overs tomorrow, yes you will be able to make these left over cooked vegetables from you Christmas Party menu. 
Vegetarian Christmas Burgers
Makes 8 burgers
A2K Ingredients
100g Fairtrade whole Quinoa
175ml vegetable stock or water
1 medium parsnips, grated (or cooked and mashed)
1 medium carrot, grated (or cooked and mashed)
4 raw Brussels sprouts, grated (or cooked and minced)
1 medium onion, grated
200g chickpea flour
40g dried cranberries
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Vegetable oil to shallow fry
A2K Method
Rinse the Quinoa in cold water. Boil in 175ml water for 10 minutes covered with a lid. Remove the saucepan from the heat, mix in a little salt and level on side for 10 minutes covered. In large bowl, add the grated vegetables, stir in the flour, cranberries, herbs and season to taste. When the Quinoa has cooled down add to the bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. 

Divide the mixture into 6 – 8 burger shapes and place on a tray. Leave to rest for a while to firm up. When ready to eat, heat oil in a wide frying pan and cook them gently, flip over and press them gently whilst cooking. Cook for about 3 - 4  minutes on each side until brown and crisp. Serve immediately.

Vegetarian Christmas Burgers with all the trimmings
To assemble into a proper Christmas Burger, you will also need
Large granary roll
a couple of slices of mock 'vegetarian or vegan turkery'
Cranberry relish
Winter Salad Leaves including some red leaves and optional pretzels in the shape of snowflakes.
Enjoy!
Updated: January 2013 - Fellow blogger Nic at Lemon and Cheese made a variation of these Burgers, follow this link to view.

Baked Carrot-Parsnip Quenelles

May I wish you all a Very Happy, happy New Year and thank those of you who left warm wishes on the previous posts. Each comment has been truly appreciated.  I personally have never looked forward to a new year as I am this one.  So to welcome the new year, new beginnings and change, I have changed my blog header that will gently lull my transition from Scotland to Wales in the next month or so.  Today though I am enjoying the company of family, playful nephews and nieces and good food.

As its a day of celebrations and one of tucking into posh looking edible morsels, I am pretentiously calling these Carrot-Parsnip Quenelles, but the homely cook in me has to admit that they are essentially just wintry oven baked fritters. 

These Carrot-Parsnip Quenelles are actually based on some Sweet Potato Falafels I made a few years back.  Although these can be reheated, I think they are best eaten fresh from the oven on the day that they are made.

I am sharing a plate full of these rooty bites with Ricki at Diet, Dessert, Dogs for her Wellness Weekend: 29th December 2011- 2nd January 2012.  
 

Carrot and Parsnip Baked Quenelles

Makes about 16 - 20
Ingredients
600g carrots and parsnip,s peeled and sliced
1 -2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 ½ teaspoons of ground cumin
½ teaspoon of ground coriander½ teaspoon cayenne
Juice of ½ lemon
120g besan, gram flour also known as chickpea flour
Olive oil to coat the baking tray

Optional 20g fresh herb, chopped
Optional: Generous sprinkling of sesame seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Either roast or steam the root vegetables, until very tender.  Allow to cool.  Then put the soft root vegetables along with the garlic, and mash well.  Then add the spices, lemon juice, herb if using and chickpea flour and combine well, so this either with a spatula or your hands.  Season well, and mash lightly until you have a smooth mix with no chunks. Put the bowl into the fridge to allow the mixture to firm up for about an hour.

 

Oil a baking tray.

Turn the oven to gas mark 6.

Using a couple of large spoons, put a well heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides. Or use a falafel shaper and put onto oiled tray.

Or use a falafel shaper to put onto oiled tray. 

Sprinkle the optional sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven. 

After 15 minutes, flip them over and give it another 5 minutes until golden.   

Parsnip-Carrot and Spring Onion Fritters

Parsnip and carrot fritters for light nibbles.

These were not binding as well as I had expected, so I decided to add some chickpea flour to the mixture.  When made these were served warm with the sweet garlic chilli sauce left over from the Spiced Sweet Potato Wonton Potstickers.

I am sharing these with Haalo for Weekend Herb Blogging #308.  WHB was the first blogging event I ever participated in, so its exciting to learn that this week WHB turns 6.  It was originally founded by Kalyn.

Parsnip - Carrot and Spring Onion Fritters
Makes about 16 x 2 inch fritters
Ingredients
300g Parsnips, peeled and shredded
200g Carrots, peeled and shredded
75g spring onions, sliced
50g plain flour
50g chickpea flour
2 teaspoons rapeseed oil, plus extra for frying
Salt and pepper to taste
 120ml water
Method
In a large bowl, combine the parsnips, carrots and spring onions. Mix well. Add the flours, oil, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Add the water and mix until the batter holds together when squeezed. Add more water if needed.
Preheat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Form about two tablespoons of batter into a ball, to form 2-inch wide pancakes. Add enough batter to the pan without crowding, leaving enough space to turn the fritters over. Cook each side for about 2 ½ to 3 minutes until both sides are golden brown.  Drain on kitchen towels and eat immediately.  Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance  by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Crispy Okra Fries

Okra or green lady fingers as my Dad would often call them in order to make them appeal to me and my siblings curiosity; and in the hope that we would enjoy eating them as an exotic vegetable.  It didn't work, the gelatinous texture always deterred us.  However we were always in awe at its enchanting name 'green lady fingers' to us sounded like 'Green Goddess'.  Just imagine if they had been purple - 'the purple lady'.  Purple okra does exist, I remember last year fellow blogger, little black fox mentioning them and the possibility that she may be growing some this year, I wonder if she ever did. 

In the past I've shared one okra recipe that I could stomach eating.  Here is another one that I think you may also approve of.

Crisp Okra translated and known in the South Asian community as Akri Bhindi or Kurkuri Bhindi.  Imagine tempura and french fries combined, well I can only describe this as okra fries.

In order to elevate this recipe further, you do need to have a well stored spice cupboard as this relies on ingredients that are not often found in some peoples kitchen.  The two that I am referring to here are Garam masala and chaat masala.  Garam Masala is a blend of aromatic warm spices that includes coriander, cumin and cloves.  Garam Masala is often used as a flavouring in South Asian dishes sprinkled on dals, stirred into natural yoghurt or here as an additional seasoning.  Chaat masala is also a spice blend.  It traditionally consists of dried mango powder (amchoor), black salt (kala namak), coriander, cumin, dried ginger, black pepper, asafoetida, salt and chili powder. This spice combination produces a sweet and sour taste, reminisce of tamarind but in powder form. It is used to flavour a number of South Asian fast food dishes found at melas and fairground attractions, such as Aloo Chaat, dahi puri,and golgappay.  Its also great just scattered over sliced fruit like oranges, apples and pears.  I find that there is something quite addictive about chaat masala - In the past, I would often found myself dipping my fingers into the container.  I know, I know its a bad habit - that's why I don't do it anymore, not particularly hygienic.

I am not expecting you to go out and buy spices to make your own garam masala or chaat masala as there are plenty of supermarkets that now sell the spices ready made.  I hope you can find some.  If not, you can still make this recipe without, it will still be fine - just not as spicy.

You can enjoy the crispy okra fries simply as light nibbles, but I wanted to make more of a meal of it so made some spicy tomato sauce and served it with plain Basmati rice.

Crisp Okra Fries
Serves 4
Ingredients
260g fresh okra
Optional: 4 red chilli peppers
1 small onion
1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon Garam masala or chaat masala 

60g chickpea flour
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Method
Cut the okra, chilli and onion into think julienne strips.  Add all the spices and flour and mix well to coat all the vegetables, you may need a teaspoon of water to combine.
Heat the oil and then fry the okra mixture until crisp and browned.  Drain and serve immediately; or stirred into the spiced tomato sauce.

For the spicy tomato sauce
Ingredients
8 tomatoes, roughly chopped or 1 x 400ml tin of tomatoes
2 - 4 long red chillies
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped
2 teaspoon of ground cumin
½ teaspoon of turmeric
2 teaspoons of paprika
2 teaspoons of garam masala
Salt to taste
6 tablespoons of sunflower oil
Optional: Handful of fresh coriander, minced
Method
In a food processor, blend the tomatoes, chilli, ginger and spices to a smooth puree. Season with salt to taste. Then in a wide pan, heat the oil. Add the blended sauce to the pan and fry over high heat for a few minutes. Then lower the heat and simmer for 35 – 40 minutes, about halfway through the process add about 200ml water to loosen the sauce.
When sauce is ready, gently add the crisp okra fries and heat together for a few minutes.  Garnish with optional coriander.

It's Wild Garlic, but is it Farinata or Socca?

A Wild Garlic Platter: Wild Garlic Crisps, Wild Garlic Hummus and Wild Garlic Farinata,

or is it Wild Garlic Socca?!

I've made flavoured variations of a chickpea pancake before, but was reminded of this deliciousness after reading a fellow bloggers blog and thought to myself wouldn't it be interesting to incorporate some wild garlic into the batter. I was confident that the outcome would be good, as in this past I've topped my chickpea pancakes with fresh herbs, roasted tomatoes and aubergine, even za'atar and enjoyed it.

Chickpea pancakes are really easy to make as it has three main ingredients: Chickpea flour, also known as besan, or gram flour, water and a little olive oil.  Once you have poured the batter into the pan, you can can bake them plain and simple; or for a flavoursome version you can top the batter with pretty much anything, but fresh herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and sunny vegetables such as red and yellow peppers, courgettes and aubergines work particularly well.  Its upon baking that the chickpea batter is transformed into a thick eggy pancake but without any eggs, I guess you could describe it as a vegan frittata.

Whilst posting for this blog I started reading more about this chickpea pancake and was suddenly rather confused as to whether I was making the Italian Farinata or the French Socca.

You see both Farinata and Socca are a thin, crisp unleavened pancakes or crêpes made essentially from chickpea flour. Well I know my version is not authentic, so its probably neither, but I've made it with a happy nod to both cultural cuisines.

I also had a go at making some Wild Garlic Crisps.  I simply deep fried the washed and dried leaves in some vegetable oil.  This is not something I'd recommend to the light hearted as the wild garlic spits and puffs up on contact with the hot oil, then it pops making you jump a little.  The Wild Garlic Crisps lost their flavour cooked this way, so were just okay.  I think I'll have a go at making some Wild Garlic Tempura next time.

Wild Garlic Farinata/Wild Garlic Socca
Serves 6 - 10 as a side dish
Ingredients
250g Chickpea flour
750ml warm water
Good handful of wild garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
Method*
Whisk the water into the chickpea flour a little at a time so as to avoid lumps. Add the wild garlic and season to taste. Let stand for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you have the patience.
When ready to bake, stir in the olive oil.  Set the oven to gas mark 7. Grease a 14 inch x 10 inch baking tin. Pour in the batter and let it bake in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until the batter has set and the top is golden brown.  Allow to cool down, before slicing and sharing as part of a platter or buffet. Its good cold too

*Although I have not tried it, I've read that you can make these on the stove top too.  I am guessing you could heat a large frying pan or cast iron pan. Heat the pan and drizzle in some olive oil. Pour in the batter and allow to fry until the bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook the other side until golden.

Beetroot - mint tea cakes

The name of these cakes somewhat suggest that these are 'cakes' are sweet and should be served with cup of tea, but I must clarify from the onset. These Beetroot-mint tea cakes are actually savoury. The 'mint tea' in the cake serves purely as an ingredient; or a flavour enhancer, and what a lovely addition it was too. These Beetroot cakes were neither earthy or spicy, somehow the mint managed to tame the rooty flavour of the beetroot.

These Beetroot cakes were also quite dense and had a bit of chew, unlike the autumnal beetroot fritters I've made before. I think these would be fantastic in a burger bun for flavour, texture and colour.
I have to admit, originally I was just going to use dried mint, then I remembered I still had some spicy mint tea sent to me last year by my best friend, so I used some of that for this recipe. If you don't have any just substitute with dried mint, I have no doubt it will work just as well.

I am submitting this recipe to PJ of Seduce my Tastebuds who is hosting a food blogger event called Herbs and Flowers in my Platter. The idea is to cook and blog about a vegetarian or vegan dish using a herb or flower. The theme this month is mint.
Beetroot –mint tea Cakes
Makes 6
Ingredients
2 large raw beetroots, peeled and grated (about 300g)
1 small red onion, finely sliced
110g chickpea flour, plus extra if required
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon spicy mint tea or dried mint
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
Vegetable oil for frying
Method
In a mixing bowl, combine the beetroot, onion, chickpea flour, coriander and cumin seeds, mint, salt and chilli flakes. Mix until the dough hold together in a firm patties, adding more flour if necessary to aid the binding process. Divide the beetroot mixture into 6 and mould with your hands into round cakes, about 3 inches wide and ½ inch thick.
Heat the oil in a wide pan, add cakes. Fry on one side for 3 minute, before flipping over and cooking the other side, press gently with a spatula until browned and crisp. Adapted from The Artful Vegan: Fresh Flavours from the Millennium Restaurant.

Gobi Fritters with Carrot Salsa

Instead of having what some people do on a Friday night in Scotland - Fish Supper - we've had Gobi fritters and Beetroot-mint tea cakes. Many of you will be familiar with the word Gobi, its the Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi word for 'cauliflower' and I have to say they were very nice too. The Gobi fritters were lightly spiced. I'd go as far as describing them as cauliflower popcorn, as the bite size pieces were perfect to pick and eat with your fingers.

I accompanied the Gobi fritters and Beetroot-mint tea cakes with a light and refreshing carrot salsa. I really enjoyed the carrot salsa. It was sweet, spicy and herby. I will be making it again, perhaps to serve with some tortilla chips.
Those of you keen on the Beetroot -mint tea cakes will note that I have not posted the recipe, I promise to do so tomorrow.
Carrot salsa
Makes a large bowl
Ingredients
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1 small red onion, peeled and finely minced
2 tablespoons Jalapeño from a jar, roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, minced
Method
Mix all the ingredients together in a dishing dish. Chill for an hour before serving. Adapted from 'Tis the Season.
Gobi Fritters
Ingredients
1 small cauliflower
For the spiced batter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoons black mustard seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
100g chickpea flour, sifted
Enough water to combine
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Method
For the batter
Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl, then pour in enough water to combine and whisk gently. Season with salt and set aside for flavours to mingle.
Remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower. Rinse the cauliflower under water and then chop into bite sized florets.
Heat oil in a deep pan.
Add some of the cauliflower into the batter and coat well, then carefully place them in the hot oil in batches. Turning them now and again, so that they are browned and crisp all over. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon onto a kitchen paper. If you are not serving them immediately, they will keep warm in the oven on low heat for a little while, but they are best eaten immediately.

Home-made Chickpea chips or fries

About a month ago, I stumbled upon a tasty looking plate of snacks. Anna had eaten some chickpea fries at some place in America. These chickpea (or garbanzo) fries looked ever so appealing and got me excited. I just knew I wanted to try them. Obviously, I wasn’t going to jump on a plane, book a table and eat out at this place, the next best option for me was to follow the recipe. Unfortunately she did not have the recipe for them, I also learned later that I wasn’t the only one coveting a recipe for them.

I am not the most confident person in the kitchen, but I thought to myself, as a person who has grown up eating and loving various versions of spiced pakora aka onion bhajis (South Asian chickpea flour fritters) surely I should be able to create some in my own tiny kitchen. Well I set about challenging myself a few weeks ago and am delighted to report that they were a resounding and tasty success.
These chickpea chips were a really good. A nice change from the usual potato variety. I would describe these chickpea chips as a cross between the South Asian spiced pakora and the Italian farinata (chickpea pancake). We had them over a few days, on the first day I just baked them in the oven. On another, I deep fried them in sunflower oil. I actually preferred the deep fried ones, they were much more golden, crisp and even better, had crunch. I wouldn’t eat too many of these though as the soft doughy centre could sit heavy on the belly. I would suggest serving these chips or fries with a light green salad and some red onion rings; or even with a vegetarian chilli. You could even slice them into cubes and call them 'chickpea tofu'.

In the above picture, I have accompanied the chickpea chips with a homemade Jalapeno tomato sauce, which literally just took moments to make with a food processor. I have one regret, the way I have presented the chickpea chips here. I've presented this way before, you may remember the polenta chips. It just does not do justice to these tasty chickpea finger snacks.
If your not keen on the spices and herbs I’ve used, please feel free to vary the spices and herbs to your taste, minced fresh rosemary, thyme, parsley, garam masala, paprika would all work, maybe even, Mustard powder(?).

Chickpea Chips and Fries
You will need a 11 inch by 7 inch tin
Ingredients
½ litre water
1 teaspoon cumin, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon chilli flaked
1 tablespoon coriander (or parsley), minced
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
150g chickpea flour
Method
Sift the chickpea flour if it is lumpy.
Bring the water to a boil, the reduce the heat and begin whisking in the flour and the spices and salt. Stir continuously over medium heat until the mixture thickens, keep whisking otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook this way until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot.
Pour the hot mixture into a non-stick or lightly greased tin.
Allow to cool. I baked the slab in the oven for 20 minutes, (You can skip this step if you wish and leave it in the fridge overnight to set, but I didn’t want to risk that just in case it did not set). When set, turn out the chickpea slab onto a chopping board. Cut the chips into whatever size you wish: fat chips or slender fries or 'chickpea tofu' cubes.
For a healthy version, lightly coat with olive oil and bake in oven gas mark 6 for 20 minutes; or for a fast food version, deep fry in sunflower oil, wait until the chickpea chips or fries float to the top, they will turn gold a little. Eat and enjoy immediately. These are best eaten warm.

Spiced aubergine, tomato and chickpea pancake

If you didn’t know it before, you know now that Chickpeas are my favourite pulse, and the pakora (usually made with besan - chickpea flour) is my favourite kind of deep fried snack, so much so I decided to create a Welsh pakora recipe to celebrate my ‘cultural roots’ of sorts.

Anyway, during one of my walks through the cemetery my work colleague was raving on about her sister having made a delicious chickpea loaf, that she cut into slabs and ate for lunch during the working week. As a lover of chickpeas in all its forms, my little ears perked up and I demanded, yes demanded she get the recipe from her sister, and the following day via e mail there it was. I noted the recipe had come from Nadine Abensurs Cranks Bible, a book that I owned, so when I got home I checked it out. In the book the recipe was called aubergine farinata.
Farinata is actually a crispy thin pancake. I decided this was going to be something D. and me were going to be eating at some point.

Here it is, made with the last of my ailsa craig tomatoes (the picture above taken over a month ago). It turned out to be a thick chickpea square pancake, rather than a thin and crispy one, nevertheless it was rich and absolutely moreish.

It serves about 6 people, or you could eat it cold over a few days. I think this would also be good as a starter to a meal, in which case I would serve it with a green salad, as it is rich and quite flavourful. This is something I will definitely be making again and again. I poured the chickpea batter in a tray measuring 14 x 10 inches with tall sides. The spiced aubergine and tomato topping recipe I made is below. For the Aubergine: 1 large aubergine, cut in chunks, and then roasted on a tray with 1 tbsp of olive oil in an hot oven with a bit of salt for 20 minutes or until tender. Leave aside to cool.

For the tomato: Deseed 2 - 3 tomatoes, then cut into chunks and fry in 1 tbsp of olive oil with 2 cloves of finely sliced garlic, and gently cook until they just begin to disintegrate. Add the aubergine to this and season with salt and pepper, a handful of sliced black olives and a sprinkling of chilli pepper flakes and some roughly chopped coriander. Add to the chickpea batter. Adapted from Nadine Abensur’s The Cranks Bible: A Timeless Collection of Vegetarian Recipes