Ingredients

• Splash oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 small onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1⁄4 tsp cloves, ground
• Pinch cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp veg stock
• Large pinch salt
• 90g red lentils
• 1 courgette
• 1 tin chickpeas
• 1⁄2 block of creamed coconut
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the mustard seeds in the oil on a low heat, cover & leave whilst the mustard seeds pop and release natural flavour and aroma.
2. Meanwhile chop the onion, add this to the pan when the mustard seeds have stopped popping.
3. Stir to cook onion & add the crushed garlic & chopped courgette and spices.
4. Once the courgette is starting to look cooked, add the lentils along with some water the tinned tomato, coconut, salt & stock.
5. Cover & leave the lentils to cook, stir occasionally to stop sticking, add more water if necessary.
6. Once lentils are soft add chickpeas and cook through until piping hot.
7. Serve with flatbreads or rice.

Created by chef Radhikah of Radikal Kitchen, this recipe can also be viewed on her Youtube channel.

Fresh baby spinach and chickpeas, slow-cooked with ginger, garlic, and onion with tomatoes and warm spices, finished off with a healthy dash of lemon.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 5 tbs olive oil
• 2 onions sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
• 1 tbs garlic paste
• 1 “ cinnamon stick
• 3-4 pepper corns
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2 red dry chillies – optional
• 250 gm spinach leaves, washed and coarsely chopped
• 1 veg stock cube
• ½ can tomatoes
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp harissa paste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Ready fried onions – 2 tbs for garnish
• ½ tsp ginger slivers, for garnish
• Salt to taste

Method

1. In a wide saucepan, heat the olive oil, add the red chillies and whole spices , then add the sliced onions and fry the onion in for 5 minutes or until the onion is softened, stirring occasionally.
2. dd ginger, garlic paste and cook on medium heat for 5 min.
3. Now add the tomatoes, cook for 5 min.
4. Add the spices, and salt.
5. Dissolve the stock cube in one cup of water. Add to the mix.
6. Add the chopped spinach. Mix well, simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
7. Add the harissa paste ; add more water and cook for another 10 min.
8. Add the ginger slivers.
9. Finally squeeze the lemon juice and sprinkle the fried onions on top.

These spicy savoury cakes with the fresh-flavoured raita make a very satisfying midweek supper. I like to serve them with a colourful salad made from red cabbage, radish, pomegranate seeds, coriander (cilantro), grated carrot, coconut flakes, pumpkin and sesame seeds. Leftovers can be enjoyed for breakfast with poached eggs.

Look out for Henrietta’s book The Natural Baker (£20, Jacqui Small).

Makes 18 cakes

Ingredients

Cauliflower chickpea cakes

• 1 small red chilli
• 8 spring onions (scallions)
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 20 g (¾ oz/3 tbsp) fresh turmeric, roughly chopped
• 20 g (¾ oz/3 tbsp) fresh ginger, roughly chopped
• ½ large cauliflower, florets only
• 1 tbsp coconut oil or EVCP rapeseed oil
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) cooked chickpeas
• 150 ml (5 fl oz/scant ⅔ cup) coconut milk, plus more if necessary
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• 20 g (¾ oz/scant ½ cup) coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
• 75 g (2¾ oz/⅔ cup) gram flour
• 25 g (¾ oz/scant ¼ cup) milled flax seeds
• Salt and black pepper

Lime and mint raita

• 250 g (8¾ oz/1 cup) natural coconut yogurt
• 200 g (7 oz) cucumber
• Generous handful finely chopped mint
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp lime juice
• Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
• Himalayan pink salt or coarse sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6 and line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Finely chop the chilli and spring onions (scallions) and cube the tomatoes. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the garlic, turmeric and ginger to form a rough paste.
3. Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until small pieces form resembling breadcrumbs. You need 350 g (12¼ oz) in total.
4. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil then add the ground turmeric, mustard and fenugreek seeds. After a few minutes, add the chopped chilli, onion and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes or until beginning to colour. Add the garlic paste and continue to cook. When everything has softened and is coloured, add the cauliflower and chickpeas, stirring to coat. Add the coconut milk, lime zest and juice. Heat until the coconut milk just begins to boil and then lower the heat and add the coriander (cilantro), gram flour, milled flax seeds and seasoning.
5. Stir everything to combine on a low heat for a further 5 minutes. If it looks a bit dry, add a little more coconut milk. Remove from the heat, leave to cool slightly and check for seasoning.
6. To make the raita, put the yogurt into a medium-size bowl. Peel and grate the cucumber, you should get about 160 g (5½ oz) grated weight, and add to the yogurt. Add all the other ingredients, stir and season to taste, adding extra chopped mint and lime if you want.
7. Make the cauliflower chickpea mix into 18 small cakes in your hands. The mix will feel a little wet but that’s normal. Put the cakes onto the lined baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven, turn each cake over and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown. The outer chickpeas become slightly crunchy while the inside stays perfectly soft.
8. Serve warm with the raita.
9. The cakes and the raita will keep for five days in a sealed container in the fridge.

This recipe was contributed by Henrietta Inman from her book Clean Cakes (£20, Jacqui Small).

Photo courtesy Henrietta Inman