Hara Bhara Green Cutlets with Cashew Cachumba Chaat
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- Serves: Makes 10–12
- Preparation: 20
- Cooking: 30
- Passive: 60
- Ready: 110
Perfect as a starter or small plate, these nutritious green beauties are absolutely dreamy and will wow anyone you make them for!
Ingredients
For the cutlets
- 150 g fresh or frozen peas
- 150 g spinach, or use 175 g frozen spinach, or substitute other dark leafy greens like chard or kale
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (optional)
- 2–3 heaped tablespoons gram flour (chickpea flour)
- 5 cm/2 inch thumb of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped, or use 2 heaped
- tablespoons ginger paste
- 1–2 green finger chillies, finely chopped, or use 1 scant teaspoon dried chilli flakes flakes
- 1–2 tablespoons culinary coconut oil, or use good-quality vegetable oil
- 20 g freshly chopped coriander leaves and stalks
- 2 sweet potatoes (about 950 g), peeled, cubed, boiled and mashed (about 700 g of mash)
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder, or use juice of 1 small lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- coriander yogurt and lemon wedges, to serve
For the chaat
- ½ cucumber, roughly peeled, fully deseeded and cut into 5 mm/¼ inch dice
- 1 small red onion, cut into 5 mm/¼ inch dice
- freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
- 2–3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds, or use frozen and defrosted
- 60 g cashew nuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander and/or mint
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder, or use dried mango powder
Method
Place the peas in a small pan of boiling water and simmer until just cooked. Leave to drain and dry slightly in a colander or sieve. Using the same warm pan, dried of any water, wilt the spinach. (If using frozen spinach, defrost fully and squeeze out all the water; for chard or kale, cook for 5–10 minutes with a splash of water until completely softened.)
In a small dry pan, toast the cumin seeds over medium–high heat until their aroma is just released. Add the gram flour and toast for another minute. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
To the same pan, add the ginger, chillies and a teaspoon of the oil. Cook over low–medium heat for 2–3 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the peas, cooked greens and fresh coriander to a blender or food processor and blitz to a rough paste. (If using kale, this may require extra blending to make it smooth.)
Add the green paste to the large bowl with the cumin and gram flour, then add the mashed sweet potatoes, ginger mixture, chaat masala powder and salt. Mix really well using your hands.
Shape the mixture into 10–12 small patties, approximately 2 cm/¾ inch thick and 6.5 cm/2½ inch diameter. Arrange on the lined baking sheet and place in the fridge for 30–60 minutes to set.
Prepare the chaat salad by mixing all the ingredients together, except the fresh herbs and chaat powder. Set aside.
Place a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add ½ tablespoon coconut oil to the pan, then place the cutlets into the pan, cooking in two batches if needed. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Add a little more oil to the pan if needed.
To serve, add the fresh herbs to the salad and mix well. Place a couple of cutlets on each plate (or use one big platter). Top each cutlet with a heaped tablespoon of the salad, and sprinkle the top of each portion with a generous pinch of chaat masala powder. Serve with coriander yogurt and lemon wedges.
Additional notes
Recipe taken from Healthy Vegan Street Food by Jackie Kearney, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£20)
Photography by Clare Winfield © Ryland Peters & Small
“If I still had a street food menu, I’d definitely serve this dish. These little green beauties are naturally vegan and gluten-free, and packed with nutritious greens. You can reduce the spicing of the cutlets for younger palates. Chaat salads are a great way to wake up your raw food, and can be sprinkled on lots of other dishes. This little chaat salad is adaptable to most nuts and salad veg – try walnuts and ceviche courgette/zucchini (dice extra small and marinate in citrus for 20 minutes). Buy pomegranates in season, and pop the seeds in the freezer.”
