Myself and Holly woke up at 6am on Sunday and I was trying to think of something quiet'ish to do whilst Tom had a sleep in. Making Indian bhajis are a nice idea, its relaxing, fun, educational and really tasty. I found a lovely recepie on the BBC website (UK tv channel) its really simple, we replaced the egg with our 'egg replacement flour' that we bought online from a health food shop and fried the bhajis in extra virgin coconut oil. The result is truly delicious. I served ours up green alfalfa and radish shoots (sprouts)
Ingredients
For the bhajis
- 150g/5½oz carrots, grated
- 150g/5½oz parsnips, grated
- 120g/4½oz gram flour
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten, we replaced the eggs with flax seeds, To make a flax egg, mix one tablespoon ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water. Mix together, and let sit in your fridge for 15 minutes to set up and thicken. It's that easy.1.5–2 litres/2¾–3½ pints oil, for frying
Method
- For the bhajis, put the carrots, parsnips, gram flour, cumin, curry powder, ground coriander and salt into a large bowl and mix with your hands to release some of the moisture.
- Add the eggs (or the flax mixture) and mix together well. The mixture should be like a thick batter. Almost like an uncooked carrot cake batter.
- Fill a deep-fat fryer or a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan two-thirds full with the oil. Heat to 150C (a drop of batter should sizzle and float to the top.) (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Working in batches, drop heaped teaspoons of the batter into the oil and cook for 3–4 minutes, turning the bhajis all the time so they are an even golden colour. Drain on kitchen paper while you cook the rest.
- To make the chutney, put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. Serve with the bhajis.
