Easy Food Recipes and Cooking - Indian-Style Ploughman's
Serves 6-8
• 250g paneer* or haloumi, sliced
• Naan bread, to serve
• 1 butter lettuce or 2 baby cos lettuces, sliced
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 bunch coriander, leaves picked
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Curry powder, to sprinkle
Pickled onion bhaji
• 1/4 cup (35g) chickpea (besan) flour
• 1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 leek (pale part only)
• 2 carrots
• 2 long red chillies, seeds removed, thinly sliced
• 4 spring onions, trimmed
• 2 large pickled onions, drained, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 5 curry leaves, crumbled
• Olive oil
For the bhaji, put the flours, baking powder, spices and 1/2 tsp of sea salt into a bowl. Whisking as you go, gradually add 2/3 cup (165ml) water until you have a bright yellow batter.
Cut the leek and carrots into long matchsticks. Add them to the batter with the chilli, spring onion, pickled onion, mustard seeds and curry leaves, and mix well.
Put a large non-stick frypan over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add a splash of oil. Lift heaped forkfuls of the bhaji mixture out of the bowl and drain off as much excess batter as you can before placing in the frypan, pressing each one with the back of a fork to flatten slightly. You don't want them
touching so you may need to do this in batches. Cook for 3 minutes or until golden and crisp on the bottom, then flip and cook for a further 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
Place a chargrill pan over a high heat until screaming hot. Chargrill the paneer or haloumi, then chargrill the naan and cut it into soldiers.
Make a salad by tossing the lettuce, carrot and coriander leaves in the lemon juice, a splash of oil and a pinch of curry powder, salt and pepper. Serve with the bhaji, naan, cheese and top with your favourite chutneys.
* Paneer is a firm white Indian cheese with a mild flavour; it's available from the chiller aisle in supermarkets.