Besan Purae (Chickpea pancakes)

Besan purae are a great breakfast, brunch or afternoon snack with tea. You can serve them with ketchup as I have here (my favourite) or you any pickle or sauce of your preference. You will need a nice non stick pan to fry these, they are so quick to prepare and so yummy, you might ditch the toast for this gluten free, vegan breakfast!

Ingredients - Serves 2-3

• 1-1.5 cups water
• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 onion chopped finely
• 1 tsp each salt
• 1 tsp dry ground red chilli (optinal)
• 1 tsp Garham Masala
• 1/2 tsp ajowan seeds (optional)
• Handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves, or frozen pre-chopped coriander.
• Flavourless oil, like sunflower or groundnut oil.

Method

1. Whisk all of the ingredients together into a batter, adding a bit more water if you need to get a consistency that will spread out in the pan (it might take a couple of pancakes to get this right).
2. Heat a nonstick pan (I use an 8" frying pan) on medium heat and pour in about a dessert spoon of oil in. Ladle some batter into the pan (I just use my normal cooking laddle you can use a 1/4 cup measuring cup for this too) and swirl it swiftly to get a pancake (if it doesn't swirl easily, you need to add a bit more water to the batter).
3. Cook the pancake on one side until it’s almost completely dry on top and golden on the bottom (you may have to adjust the heat to keep it from burning). 
4. Drizzle another spoon of oil on top of the pancake and then flip the pancake and cook until the other side is golden too.
5. Serve hot with your chosen condiment. Enjoy! Can be eaten cold for picnics or yummy pack up lunch.
6. By the way if you have nay batter left, just put it in a sealed container in the fridge and will keep for up to a couple of days. 

Green beans and Quorn chunks

This meal was cooked in a phone call (a short on for me!), less than 20mins from prep to completion.
I normally cook fine green beans with potatoes (the traditional way) it is very yummy this way and would recommend you trying it.  However, as I had run out of potatoes so I substituted Quorn chunks you could have also quite easily used paneer (indian cheese) too.

So here is how I did it...

Ingredients for serving 3-4

• 500g of green beans
• 1 cup of quorn chunks (150g) OR potato chopped in to small peices OR paneer

• 3tbsp Light olive oil or ghee

• 1/2 Chopped onion ( I like to use red onion)

• 1/2" fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped/ grated

• 1 tsp Cumin/ Jeera

• 1/2 tsp Oregano seeds/Ajowan

• 1 fresh green chilli's chopped (the more you put in the hotter it gets) - Optional

• 1-2 tsp Garam masala

• 1tsp Turmeric/ Haldi
• 1-2tbsp tomatoe puree

• 1-2 tsp salt

• Hand full of fresh chopped coriander

Directions

1. Add your oil, set the pan at a slow heat. Add your cumin seeds and ajowan, when they begin to crackle add your onion.
2. Cook the onion till it is soft and then add your ginger and chilli, stirring frequently.
3. Continue to cook this till the ginger is brown too, if the ginger starts to stick to the pan just add a couple of tea spoons of water and stir until it comes free.
4. Once the mix is caramel coloured, add your quorn chunks as it starts to colour add your beans and then follow with the dry spices lowering the heat as you do so.
5. Cook for a few minutes and then add your tomato purée and half a cup of water.
6. Cover and cook on a medium heat for 5mins and then turn down to a lower heat for about 10mins or until the beans are cooked.  This can be reheated with no loss in quality.
7. Add the chopped coriander and serve as a main or side dish with roti, naan, or rice of your choice. We having it with paranta (fried breads) and yoghurt tonight.

Plantain subji

I love to eat green plantain just chopped deep fried, or sauté and salted.  They are similar to potato but still has a very yummy uniqueness.

You can buy them in most foreign food shops, i bought them from an Afghanistany shop in Cambridge.

Ingredients for serving 4

• 3 large green plantain, peeled and chopped into 1" chunks.

• 3tbsp Light olive oil or ghee

• 1/2 Chopped onion ( I like to use red onion)

• 1/2" fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped/ grated

• 1 tsp Cumin/ Jeera

• 1/2 tsp Oregano seeds/Ajowan

• 1 -2 fresh green chilli's chopped (the more you put in the hotter it gets) - Optional
• 2 fresh tomtoes chopped or 1/4 tin tomatoes - optional

• 1-2 tsp Garam masala

• 1tsp Turmeric/ Haldi

• 1-2 tsp salt
• 2tbsp fresh yogurt (optional)

• Hand full of fresh chopped coriander

Directions

1. Add your oil, set the pan at a slow heat. Add your cumin seeds and ajowan, when they begin to crackle add your onion.
2. Cook the onion till it is soft and then add your ginger and chilli, stirring frequently.
3. Continue to cook this till the ginger is brown too, if the ginger starts to stick to the pan just add a couple of tea spoons of water and stir until it comes free.
4. Once the mix is caramel coloured, add your dry spices and salt, you have now made your base (masala). Add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. 
5. Add the yoghurt in here if you are wanting to and cook for a further few mins.
6. Add 1 litre of cold water and bring to boil or boiled water, and cook for a few minutes, then add in your plantain chunks.
7. Cook on a medium heat for 20mins, you want a gentle rolling boil.  Check the plantain to see if it is cooked you can do this by stabbing it with knife as with potatoes and also notice the colour of the vegetable becomes less white and more translucent.
8. Add the chopped coriander and serve as a main or side dish with roti, naan, or rice of your choice!