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I love these little lovage spiked fritters, and it’s a great way to use up my winter leeks. They’re brilliant as a snack, or as an accompaniment a good curry or dahl. I add black onions seeds to my batter, which give the fritters a beautiful flavour, but it’s the lovage leaves which I really want to shout about. They’re just so good in the mix!
Makes 8-10
Ingredients
4 medium leeks peeled halved, rinsed and thinly sliced
A large handful of lovage leaves (optional, but very good)
150g of gram flour
2 Tbls of curry powder
3 tsp of cumin seeds
3 tsp of coriander seeds
2 tsp of black onion seeds
1 tsp of chilli flakes
1 tsp of fine sea salt
About 150ml of cold water
To serve
350ml of natural yoghurt
A bunch of radishes thinly sliced
1 small handful of chives, parsley, mint and fennel tops all roughly chopped
Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbls of EV olive oil
Sunflower oil for frying
Method
Place the cumin and coriander in a small pan and set them over a low heat. Toast the spices for 1 – 2 minutes, tip them into a pestle and mortar and crush them.
Combine the sliced leeks and in a bowl with the gram flour, curry powder, crushed spices, onion seeds, lovage and salt. Add the water and mix well with a wooden spoon or with your hands. They’re usually the best tool for the job.
Pour the oil into a deep, heavy-based saucepan to a depth of 8 –10cm and place over a medium/high heat. The oil should be hot but not overly hot, to allow the bhaji to cook through without the outside burning. Test the temperature by dropping a small pinch of the batter into the oil. It should fizz and bubble and crisp within a minute.
Take large loose tea spoonful’s of the mixture and drop them carefully into the hot oil. Fry, turning if necessary for about 2 minutes. Lift the fritters out onto a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Combine the yoghurt with the sliced radishes and mix well. Add the chopped herbs, and olive oil and season with salt and pepper, stir well.
Arrange the fritters over a large warm serving platter and sprinkle with salt. Spoon the yoghurt and radish dip into a small bowl and serve alongside.
