Chick pea battered summer vegetables
Chick pea batter
500g gram (chickpea flour) flour
½ tea spoon baking powder
½ tea spoon ground coriander
½ tea spoon ground cumin
500 ml cold water
Mix all dry ingredients together and slowly whisk in water
Hummus
1 can of chickpeas
1 table spoons ground cumin
1 table spoons ground coriander
2 table spoons tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt and pepper
½ cup of olive oil
Drain and wash the chickpeas well. Place them in a food processor and turn it on. Add the remaining ingredients in order listed finishing with the olive oil which needs to be added in a slow drizzle. If the hummus becomes too thick you may need to add a little cold water just to thin it out. Season and taste adding a little more lemon, tahini or spices as you like.
Ras el hanout
1 table spoons coriander seeds
1 table spoons cumin seeds
1 tea spoon ground ginger
1 tea spoon fennel seeds
3 cloves
½ tea spoon cinnamon
6 black pepper corns
½ tea spoon sea salt
Toast off the whole spices in a fry pan and grind in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle and mix with the remaining spices
Choose 5 or 6 of your favourite summer vegetables, I use asparagus, fennel, baby carrots, bok choy, okra and green beans. Chop each into required size and toss in the batter. Take each piece of vegetable in order of what will take longest to cook (ie carrots, fennel okra etc) and drop 1 by 1 into oil heated to 180˚ and fry till golden. Drain and season with ras el hanout, pop on a warm plate with hummus along side. Garnish with a lemon dressed peppery salad such as water cress and serve.