enough vegetable oil into a deep-fat fryer or large, deep saucepan to come up to 6cm and heat it to 160°C. Carefully place spoonfuls of the bhaji mix in the hot oil and fry in batches for 3–4 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to kitchen paper, to soak up any excess oil. Season with sea salt and serve with the yoghurt.
This is my take on classic Friday night comfort food. Making your own curry paste really enhances the flavour of any curry, so I really recommend giving it a go. Using two chillies does create a spicy sauce, so if you prefer less heat then stick to just the one. You can find coriander with its roots intact at Indian grocers or specialist grocers, though if you can’t find it, regular coriander (just the leaves and stems) will do just fine.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: around 50 minutes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp fish sauce
15g palm sugar
400ml coconut milk
400ml Vegetable Stock
2 sweet potatoes (around 600g), peeled and diced into approx. 1.5cm cubes
12 button mushrooms, quartered
8 stalks Tenderstem broccoli
100g fresh or frozen peas
1 × 220g tin sliced water chestnuts, drained
FOR THE GREEN CURRY PASTE
2 green chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
3 shallots, peeled
4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 lemongrass stalks
1 bunch of coriander (stalks and roots if possible)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
½ tsp table salt
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
To make the curry paste, put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the curry paste and fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until very fragrant.
Add the fish sauce and palm sugar and cook for 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding the remnants in the sieve.
Bring the curry sauce to a simmer and season to taste with salt (if needed). Add the sweet potato and cook for 10 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Cook the broccoli in a separate pan of boiling water for 6 minutes, until tender.
Add the broccoli, peas and water chestnuts to the curry, heat through and serve with fluffy rice.
AUBERGINE, FREEKEH AND CASHEW TAGINE
Freekeh is a roasted green wheat that that brings out nuttiness and earthiness in this tagine. It is similar in texture to bulgur wheat but is a little softer. It is readily available in most supermarkets. This is a great midweek meal as it is quick to prepare, but also very satisfying.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
100g cashew nuts
200g freekeh
6 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp tomato purée
400ml tomato passata or 1 × 400g tin chopped tomatoes
250ml Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp black treacle
50g dried currants
2 tsp saffron stands, soaked in 1 tbsp warm water for 10 minutes
2 aubergines, cut into 2cm dice
1 bunch of coriander, leaves chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SPICE MIX
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 tbsp plain flour
½ tsp table salt
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
Put the cashew nuts on a roasting tray and bake for 6–10 minutes until golden. Remove, leave to cool, then chop roughly. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3.
Cook the freekeh for half of the time on the packet instructions, then drain.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onions, season with sea salt and pepper and sauté for about 10 minutes until they are soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and ginger for the last 3–4 minutes. Add the tomato purée, the passata or chopped tomatoes, stock, vinegar, treacle, currants and saffron to the casserole and remove from the heat.
Heat a dry large frying pan over high heat and, when hot, add the spices from the spice mix ingredients and stir them for 3–4 minutes until fragrant. Transfer the spices to a mortar and crush with the pestle. Mix with the flour and table salt in a bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the frying pan and place back on the heat. Season the diced aubergine generously with the spiced flour and fry it in the oil, in batches, until golden, adding more oil with each batch as necessary.
Add half of the chopped coriander to the casserole and mix well. Add the part-cooked freekeh and the spiced aubergine. Sprinkle with three-quarters of the cashew nuts.
Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for around 1 hour until the freekeh is tender and the sauce thickened. Serve sprinkled with the remaining coriander and cashew nuts.
CARAMELISED CELERIAC, THYME AND HAZELNUT RISOTTO
A well-made risotto is something that takes time and cannot be rushed, but the end result is well worth it. Ensure you use a decent stock – it will really enhance the flavour and texture of the finished dish. This is the perfect opportunity to make your own stock, which will add a whole other dimension to your risotto. Always use carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice: the short, plump grains cook slowly with the centre remaining al dente.
Serves: 4–6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: around 40 minutes
60g blanched hazelnuts
3 tbsp vegetable oil
50g butter