Green Spring Bhajis
Because bhajis don't have to be brown. These ones celebrate the verdant crunch of spring with pea, French beans, asparagus and the occasional crunch of whole spices.10 minutes prep
10 minutes cook
Ingredients
- 130 gdefrosted frozen peas
- 100 g gfine asparagus, chopped
- 100 gfrench beans, chopped
- 30 gmint, roughly chopped
- 60 gcornflour
- 50 ggram flour
- 1 tspflaked sea salt
- 1 tspfennel seeds
- 1/2 tspblack mustard seeds
- 1 tspcoriander seeds
- 1/2 tspbaking powder
- 50 mlwater
- 200 gthick Greek yoghurt
- 15 gmint leaves
- 1 tsplemon juice
- 1 tspcumin seeds
- 1 tspsugar
Mint yoghurt sauce:
If they weren't deep fried they would almost feel virtuous. As is, they are still pretty healthy feeling - light and vibrant rather than stodgy and greasy. The perfect starter or side snack. You could even serve some between bread...
Method
Prepare the veggies. Whisk together the cornflour, gram flour, baking powder, salt and whole spices.
In a large bowl, toss the vegetables through the flour mixture and add the water. Toss until you have a batter than clings to every vegetable and binds them together if you pick them up on a spoon.
Heat the oil to 180°C. Take two tablespoons - use one to scoop up the bhajis, the other to push them into the oil. Fry until they are crispy and cooked through, roughly 5 minutes. The flours don't go as brown as plain wheat flour, and you wouldn't want them to in this recipe - you want the green of the spring vegetables to shine through.
When they are ready, drain them on a cooling rack while you whizz up the mint yoghurt sauce.
More recipes from Hugh Woodward...
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