The Curry Guy Veggie

by Rashmita Solanki

Vegetable franky with corn koftas (Saucy wrap with corn dumplings)

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Oil, for deep-frying

Gram (chickpea) flour, for dusting

4 tortillas, chapattis or rumali rotis

Yoghurt sauce

Mint and coriander sauce

Lettuce (optional)

Sliced onions (optional)

For the koftas

1 large potato (about 300g/ 101⁄2oz), peeled and diced

1 x 400g (14oz) tin (can) of sweetcorn (or cook 2 large corn on the cobs from fresh)

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 green chilli, finely chopped

3 tbsp finely chopped coriander

Salt

Method:

To make the koftas, boil your diced potato in water for about 10 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and mash.

Pound the corn in a pestle and mortar into a paste. Mix the corn and mashed potato with the chilli powder, cumin, green chilli and coriander. Season with salt to taste and form the mixture into short sausage shapes or small ball shapes. Heat about 10cm (4in) oil in a

wok or large pan to 170°C (338°F). If you don’t have an oil thermometer, drop a piece of the corn mixture in the oil. If it sizzles and rises to the top immediately, you’re ready to cook. When it reaches this heat, dust a kofta in the gram (chickpea) flour and place it in the oil. Repeat with the rest. (You may need to cook them in batches, depending on the size of your pan.) The koftas are ready once nicely browned and heated through, about three minutes.

To finish, smother the tortillas with a good dose of yoghurt sauce and mint and coriander sauce and divide the koftas between them. If you like, you could also add some lettuce, sliced onions or whatever you want. Then wrap it all up to serve.

Make it vegan

Use vegan yoghurt alternatives in the sauce recipes.

Chocolate and strawberry ‘pani’ puris

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 mins, plus chilling time

Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

300g (101⁄2oz) good-quality chocolate

20 puri shells (more or less)

3 large scoops chocolate and chilli ice cream

15 strawberries

1 tbsp icing (powdered) sugar

Method:

Roughly chop the chocolate into 1cm (1⁄2in) pieces. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring about 3cm (11⁄4in) of water to a simmer in a saucepan that is slightly smaller than the bowl with the chocolate.

Set the chocolate bowl on the mouth of the saucepan, making sure that the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Stir the chocolate until it is about 90 per cent melted and take off the heat. The residual heat will melt the rest of the chocolate.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray. Dip your puris into the melted chocolate so that they are nicely coated, then set them on the parchment paper and place in the freezer to harden for about 30 minutes. If you place the chocolate-coated puris in an air-tight bag, they will keep in the freezer for at least a week.

To finish the dish, melt the ice cream but ensure that it is still very cold. Pour it equally into four-six small glasses. This can all be done ahead of time and placed in the coolest part of your fridge.

When ready to serve, cut the strawberries into halves or quarters and fill the chocolate coated puris with them.

Place the puris on top of the chocolate-filled glasses and sift the icing (powdered) sugar over the top. You can now pour the cold melted ice cream over the strawberries and pop the whole thing into your mouth.

Sweet, spicy, chocolatey and crunchy… this one you have to try!

Make it vegan

Use a dairy-free chocolate and a vegan ice cream.

Chocolate & Chilli Ice Cream

Prep time: 10 mins, plus 30 Mins churning

Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

375ml (11⁄2 cups) double (heavy) cream

375ml (11⁄2 cups) whole milk

2 tbsp sugar (more or less to taste)

3 egg yolks

150g (51⁄2oz) best-quality sweetened dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

1 tbsp whiskey

1–2 tsp chilli powder

Method:

Pour the cream, milk and 1 tablespoon of the sugar into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat slightly. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks until they become creamy smooth. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and then whisk a little more. Pour the egg yolks into the saucepan. Do not allow it to bubble as the yolks will curdle.

Simply cook it over low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 6–8 minutes. Don’t rush this! It can take some time and if you turn the heat up too much you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. If you have a thermometer, the custard should be

ready when it reaches 71°C (160°F). Add the chocolate to the saucepan and stir until it is melted into the cream. Be sure the cream does not get too hot. Add the whiskey and chilli powder and stir to combine. Check for seasoning. I used 2 teaspoons of chilli powder. Allow to cool for a few minutes.

Now pour this into your ice cream maker and turn on the machine. Your ice cream should be ready in about 30 minutes.

Extracted from The Curry Guy Veggie by Dan Toombs (Quadrille, £15)

Photography © Kris Kirkham

Published 4th April 2019