Seasonal Veg Pakora

With the new season's spring veg springing up in the garden and coming into the shops it's the perfect moment to make these delicious Seasonal Veg Pakora from Grace Regan's appetising new book, Spicebox.

"On almost every city street in India, you’ll find a food vendor tending to giant karahi of floating pakoras in bubbling oil" says Grace, who runs the Spicebox curry house in Walthamstow. "The battered veg varies depending on what’s in season but soft, faster-cooking vegetables are preferable, such as onion, aubergine and spinach."

Below she's listed seasonal veg and combinations that work well. "The harder the vegetable, the smaller you have to cut it. For root vegetables, grating works best." (There are some useful tips on cooking veg in the book which includes 100 spicy curry house recipes.)

"Traditionally, just gram flour is used but Grace finds that adding rice flour and baking powder makes for a crisper batter at home."

Serves 4–6 as a starter/side

For the batter

Veg oil, for frying, around 1 litre

100g gram flour

50g rice flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp ajwain seeds (also called lovage or carom seeds; swap for fennel or nigella (black onion) seeds if you can’t find them)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp tsp ground turmeric

A thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated

1 green chilli, thinly sliced

A small bunch of coriander (stalks included), finely chopped

2 tsp garam masala

Salt

Put the gram and rice flours into a bowl, along with the baking powder and the rest of the batter ingredients. Slowly pour in 500ml water and whisk until a batter is formed – you’re looking for the consistency of a thin pancake batter.

Pour the oil into a large saucepan or wok – it needs to be 5–7cm deep – and place on a high heat.

Test the oil to make sure it is the right temperature by dropping a piece of batter into it. It should fizzle and turn golden in around 30 seconds. If you have a thermometer to hand, the oil should be 180°C.

Drop a small handful of your chosen veg (see below) into the batter and make sure it’s evenly coated. Allow any excess batter to drip off, then gently drop the veg into the oil. Fry until golden on one side and then turn over, using a slotted spoon (they will take around 1 minute 20 seconds on each side).

When the pakora is golden on both sides, lift it out of the oil and drain it on a piece of kitchen paper. Season with a generous pinch of salt on both sides. Repeat until all your veg are cooked. You can cook two or three pieces at the same time, depending on the size of your pan and the veg.

Grace recommends these with date and tamarind Chutney or green (mint and coriander) chutney, recipes for both of which are in the book.

Spring/summer veg

Cabbage, finely shredded

Brussels sprouts, finely shredded

Beetroot, grated raw, or cooked and sliced

Carrot, grated raw

Celeriac, grated raw

Butternut squash, roasted and sliced

Potatoes, boiled and sliced

Sweet potato, roasted and sliced

Cauliflower, cut into thin steaks

Kale, finely shredded

Leeks, thinly sliced

Onion, thinly sliced

Parsnips, grated raw, or roasted and sliced

Autumn/winter veg combos

Grated apple and beetroot

Grated pear and celeriac

Sweet potato and sliced spring onion

Kale and potato

Brussels sprout and beetroot

Cauliflower and leek

What to drink: Lots of possibilities here - a crisp dry Italian white like Falanghina, a fresh Provençal rosé, a dry riesling, a sylvanier, dry cider, a pilsner, a lemon or mango flavoured soda ...

Extracted from SpiceBox: 100 Fresh, Vegan Curry House Favourites by Grace Regan (Ebury Press £20). Photography by Joff Lee and James Lee

Five-spice smoked tofu nuggets

Tofu has never been my favourite ingredient to be honest but these brilliant smoked tofu 'nuggets' from my friend Elly Curshen's book Let's Eat are positively addictive.

Elly writes: These things are ridiculously delicious and I can't recommend them enough. They're great on the end of skewers and dipped into the satay sauce as party food. But if you don't want to serve this as a canapé the cubes of tofu are delicious on a bed of brown rice with some pok choy and the sauce drizzled over the top. (I actually served it with a crunchy vegetable salad based on the noodle salad in Elly's book. I'm not giving the recipe for that so you have to buy it!)

The tofu you choose is important. You want to look for one that comes as a big, solid, wet cube and nearly always in a cardboard box. The recipe requires this soft, wet kind to create the steam inside the crust that makes it puff up.

Make the dressing first so the nuggets stay nice and crisp.

Note: this recipe contains peanuts

Five-spice smoked tofu nuggets

Vegetarian, vegan.

Makes 8 (although I cut them slightly smaller to make 16. That might serve 4 at a pinch though don't bank on it)

1 x 225g box of smoked tofu
2 tbsp cornflour
¼ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
a large pinch of smoked paprika
300ml vegetable oil
2–4 tbsp Satay Dressing (see below)
flaked sea salt

Lay the block of tofu on a few sheets of kitchen paper. Fold another sheet of kitchen paper and use to press down gently on the top to absorb the moisture.

Cut the tofu up into 8 (or 16) equal-sized cubes. Put the cornflour in a shallow bowl, add the five-spice powder and paprika and mix well. Toss the tofu cubes in the spiced cornflour until they are dusted on all sides.

Pour the vegetable oil into a wok and place over a high heat. Once hot, shake off any excess flour then very carefully lower each nugget into the hot oil using a slotted spoon or tongs. Deep-fry, turning regularly (and very carefully), for 4–5 minutes until all sides are golden brown and crisp. Remove the tofu from the pan using a slotted spoon or tongs and drain on kitchen paper.

Sprinkle the cubes with flaked sea salt while they are still hot – this helps to keep them crispy. Put them on to skewers and serve with the dressing for dipping.

Satay dressing

Makes 6 portions

1 tsp light soft brown sugar
2 tsp lime juice
4 tbsp peanut butter (smooth or chunky is fine, and I actually find the cheaper, bog-standard versions work best)
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1¼ tbsp vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil
1¼ tbsp Sriracha (or more to taste)
2 tbsp sesame oil

Dissolve the sugar in the lime juice, then put it into a blender with all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust as you see fit. That’s it. Once made, it will keep fine in the fridge in a jar for ages.

What to drink

The sauce is more important than the nuggets when it comes to finding a pairing. Winewise I'm thinking an off-dry riesling or young semillon. A medium-dry cider would also be good.

Elly Pear's Let's Eat is published by Harper Collins at £20.You might also like to try Elly's Smoked Salmon and Radish Salad from her first book, Fast Days and Feast Days.

Cheesy Three-Root Bake

If you're a fellow potato fan you'll absolutely love this warming recipe from Jenny Linford's new book Potatoes.

As she rightly points out "Cheese and potatoes are one of those simple but satisfying combinations. "

"This homely dish makes an excellent mid-week supper. Serve it on its own for a vegetarian meal or accompany it with grilled/broiled bacon or sausages."

SERVES 4

500 g/171/2 oz. waxy potatoes, peeled

2 carrots, peeled

200g/7 oz. celeriac/celery root, peeled and cut into chunks

30g/2 tablespoons butter

1 leek, washed and chopped

2 tablespoons plain/all-purpose flour

300ml/11/4 cups milk

100g/1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the potatoes, carrots and celeriac/celery root in boiling, salted water until tender; drain. Slice the potatoes, carrots and celeriac/celery root.

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) Gas 6.

Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Add in the leek and fry gently over a low heat, stirring, until softened. Mix in the flour and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes. Gradually mix in the milk, stirring as you do so.

Bring to the boil, stirring, so that it thickens into a white sauce. Stir in 75 g/3/4 cup of the cheese until melted and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place the root vegetables in an ovenproof baking dish. Pour over the cheese sauce and mix gently, so that the vegetables are coated.

Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve at once.

What to drink: I'd probably go for a glass of dry white wine with this like an unoaked chardonnay or chenin blanc but cider would work well too.

This recipe is extracted from Jenny LInford's book Potatoes which is published by Ryland Peters & Small at £14.99. Photograph ©Clare Winfield,

Baingan Bharta - roasted smoky aubergine

I've been lucky enough to eat my friend Romy Gill's food on many occasions - she's an inspired home cook - so it's great to finally see her recipes in print.

This is one of her favourites from her lovely new book Zaika, which she describes as her 'ultimate desert island dish'.

Romy writes: The beauty of Indian food is that it not only has regional dishes but families cook each of these in so many ways. If you don’t like one method, you can just cook it another way! Baingan bharta with dal and roti would be my ultimate desert island dish; the perfect balance of smoky aubergine and the warmth of the green chillies is so divine.

The aubergines are roasted on the hob and then left to cool down before peeling off the skin and mashed; this recipe is how my mum made it, so I give her all the credit.

30 minutes

SERVES 3

2 medium-sized aubergines

6 tsp rapeseed oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 medium onions, finely chopped

3 green chillies, seeds in, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, finely chopped

20g coriander leaves, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp salt

Roti, to serve (there is a recipe in the book)

Roast the aubergines over a gas burner on the hob over a medium heat using a pair of tongs to hold them, or under a preheated hot grill. Either way, turn the veg regularly for even roasting. Allow to cool, then when cool enough to handle, peel off the roasted skin. Mash the flesh in a large bowl.

Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds, then add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the onions and chillies, cook for 4–5 minutes over a high heat and keep stirring. Once the onions are translucent, add the chopped tomatoes and coriander to the pan and cook for 3–4 minutes. When the tomatoes have broken down into the onions, add the rest of the spices and salt and mix together well. Finally, stir in the mashed aubergine and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat.

Serve with roti.

What to drink: I'd probably drink lassi with this or one of the lovely soft drinks in the book but you could drink a light aromatic white like a sylvaner or riesling (I know Romy's favourite is the Kung Fu Girl riesling) or a rosé.

Extracted from Zaika: vegan recipes from India by Romy Gill, published by Seven Dials at £20. Photo ©Del Sneddon.

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