Vegetable curry with chickpea pancakes

30 June 2010

Chickpea flour is made from ground chickpeas and is also known as besan or gram flour. It’s a staple for Indian cooking and is used for making batter for deep-fried vegetable-based snacks like bhajis and pakoras.

Besan also appears in other cuisines. I’ve had delicious little Spanish shrimp tortillitas made with it and it’s used for making the pizza-like Mediterranean flatbread socca. I’ve also seen it used in shortbread and dumpling recipes from the Middle East.

It is low in saturated fat, contains no cholesterol, is very low in sodium and high in dietary fibre, magnesium and manganese. It’s a good source of calcium and it is also gluten free.

After having a surfeit of animal protein the other night at a teppanyaki restaurant, I needed a correspondingly good lot of vegetables the following day so decided on a vegetable curry. I was looking in the pantry for my pappadum stash to make some accompaniments when I found the chickpea flour and decided to experiment with that instead.

These pancakes are so simple to make and would lend themselves to a variety of fillings. Use this recipe as a springboard and come up with your own taste combos.

Savoury chickpea pancakes

150g chickpea flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ajowan seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 shallots, very finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red or green chillies, very finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
250ml water

Sift the chickpea flour and salt into a bowl, make a well in the centre and gradually pour in the water, whisking as you go. Lightly bruise the cumin and ajowan seeds in a mortar then add with the remaining ingredients to the batter, whisking well to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until required.

Heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick crepe pan over a medium-low heat and pour in two or three tablespoons of the batter, swirling the pan for even distribution. Cook until the surface loses its shine and has set. Flip the pancake and cook until the second side is done. Place in a dish in a warm oven and cover with a square of foil. Continue until all the pancakes are cooked. Makes about 8.

Cook the pancake on the first side until the batter loses its gloss

Flip and continue cooking until the underside is golden like the top

Vegetable curry

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red pepper, diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon each ground cumin, turmeric, ground coriander
1-3 teaspoons pepper flakes
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 bunch silverbeet, stalks and leaves cut separately
500g parsnips, peeled and diced
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cauliflower, broken into small florets

Heat the oil and gently sauté the red pepper, onion and garlic until tender. Stir in the salt and spices and cook for a further minute then add the sliced silverbeet stalks, parsnip and canned tomatoes, stir to combine then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the cauliflower and silverbeet leaves, cover and cook for 5 minutes then remove the lid, stir well and simmer for a further 5 minutes until the sauce is reduced to you liking.

Serve accompanied by the pancakes, a good chutney and perhaps a yoghurt, mint and cucumber raita. Serves 4.

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