Felafel

Felafel:

Ingredients:--

400 g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

155 g (1 cup) frozen broad beans, thawed and peeled

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon chickpea flour (besan)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

olive oil, for shallow frying

Herbed hummus, to serve

Procedure:--

Put the chickpeas, broad beans, cumin, ground coriander, chickpea flour, lemon juice and coriander leaves into a food processor and process until the mixture comes together to form a rough paste.

Using wet hands, shape tablespoons of the chickpea mixture into patties.

Heat a little oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, cook the patties in batches of four for 5 minutes, until crisp and golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel.

Serve the felafel with the hummus, madjara and tabouleh.

Fish masala

Fish masala:

This is a delicious and simple south Indian fish curry. Like all curries, it is best made ahead of time and reheated. I make the curry sauce and leave it for a few hours, then add the fish when I am about to serve.

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon chilli powder

½ teaspoon turmeric

6 fresh curry leaves

400 ml can coconut milk

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate

750 g firm white fish fillets (such as mackerel or mahi mahi)

200 g green beans, trimmed

1 zucchini, sliced

100 g cherry tomatoes

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, until golden. Stir in the coriander and fennel seeds and cook for 3 minutes, until fragrant. Add the garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric and curry leaves and cook for 5 minutes, until the oil separates from the spices.

Stir the coconut milk, salt, tamarind and 125 ml (½ cup) of water into the pan and simmer for 20 minutes, until the oil separates from the sauce. Add the fish, beans, zucchini and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, until the fish is just tender.

Smoky tomato salsa

Smoky tomato salsa

Ingredients:--

2 vine-ripened tomatoes

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, unpeeled

1 tablespoon coriander roots, scrubbed

1 chipotle chilli and 1 tablespoon adobo sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

Procedure:--

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high heat, add the tomatoes, red onion and garlic and cook until the tomato skins are blackened and split and the onion and garlic are slightly charred. Remove from the pan.

Coarsely chop the tomatoes, add to a food processor with the onion, peeled garlic, coriander root, chilli and sauce and lime juice and process until coarse – you don’t want it too smooth.

Set aside to allow the flavours to develop before serving