Onion Bhajis

Yummy, scrummy and so easy (and cheap) to make.

I didn't have any gram flour (not so easy to find in a little town like ours) so I substituted for plain. Anyway, here's what I did:

Ingredients:
plain flour
chilli powder
turmeric
ground coriander
ground cumin
ground ginger
black pepper
salt
pinch of baking powder
1 large spanish onion, chopped
water
vegetable oil for frying

Method:
1. using approx 1/2 - 1tsp of all each of the spices and seasonings, add everything to a bowl except for the flour and water.
2. stir to coat the onions, then add approx 4 tbs flour
3. add small amounts of water gradually until you have a thick, sticky batter.  If it gets too wet, just add more flour - that's the great thing about this recipe, it's almost impossible to get wrong.
4. heat some oil in a pan (about 3 inches or so deep) and fry dollops of the mixture until golden on all sides.

Serve! (I served with some yoghurt and mint)

For our main, we had a quick potato and pea curry with boiled basmati rice.

Peas and broadbeans with mint

This was a side dish that accompanied yoghurt marinated chicken.

Ingredients:
frozen or fresh peas
frozen or fresh broadbeans, shelled (I didn't do this as I was pushed for time, though I do much prefer them shelled)
1 banana shallot (or small onion), diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
handful of fresh mint, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
sautee the shallot/onion in some olive oil until softened, then add the garlic
add the peas and broadbeans and cook until just done
stir in the fresh mint, leaving some to add on top when serving (so it doesn't all wilt in the heat)

Serve!

A fantastic variation would be to add some crumbled feta - with some warm flatbreads, it could also make a lovely light lunch....