Mmmm curry. Nothing betters you!

Indian cuisine has to be my favourite. Growing up in Wembley (one of the largest Indian communities in London), meant weekly visits to one of the many Indian restaurants in the area.

However, although I developed a palate for hot, fragrant curries at a young age, it was not until I visited India a year and a half ago that I really started to appreciate the art of Indian cooking.

The food I ate on this trip was the most delicious, memorable, and inspiring I have ever eaten, and as soon as I returned home, true, home-made Indian food started to make up for the majority of my diet.

Tonight I cooked two of my favourite Indian dishes;

Stuffed baby aubergine and potato

Black eyed bean curry

Black Eyed Bean Curry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

pinch asafoetida powder

1 onion

1 table spoon ginger - garlic paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 tea spoon chilli powder

1 400g tin black eyed beans

3 large tomatoes

1 teaspoon Garam masala

1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

1. Add the sunflower oil to a heavy bottomed saucepan

2. Add the cumin seeds and leave to cook for around one minute before adding the onion and asafoetida.

3. Once the onion begins to brown stir through the ginger-garlic paste, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and salt and leave to cook for a few minutes.

4. Add the black beans and chopped tomatoes, followed by the sugar and garam masala.

5. Place the lid on the saucepan and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with fresh coriander before serving

Enjoy

Indian Spiced Sweetcorn Fritters

I became addicted to sweetcorn fritters whilst travelling around New Zealand when I was 18.

Unfortunately there are very few café's in the UK who's menu feature corn fritters...but they are easy to make and are perfect for a warm evening.

Indian Spiced Sweetcorn Fritters
with guacamole

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Fritters;
2 fresh sweetcorn cobs
1/2 a courgette
100 grams Gram (chickpea) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt & pepper
125 ml soya milk
60 ml water

Guacamole;
1 ripe avocado
1 red chilli
2 small spring onions
small handful of cherry tomatoes
juice of half a lime
2 tea spoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Guacamole;

1. Peel the avocado and remove the stone.

2. Place the flesh of the avocado in a bowl and mash with a fork

3. Finely chop and de-seed the chilli, cherry tomatoes and spring onion and add to the mashed avocado.

4. Mix through the lime juice and oil olive.

5. Season to taste with salt and pepper

Fritters;

1. Shave the corn kernels off the cob

2. Grate the courgette and add to the corn kernels.

3. In a mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, spices and seasoning

4. To the dry mixture add the soya milk and water and mix until combined

5. Mix the corn kernels and courgette into this mixture

6. Add one large spoon of the fritter mixture into an oiled pan

7. Cook the fritter over a medium to high heat until both sides begin to brown

Top the fritters with the guacamole and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lime

Enjoy