Spice It Up: Cauliflower Chickpea Curry Cakes

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Alternative baking is the new baking! Whether you're eschewing grains, dairy or sugar (or in the case of this book, all three), Clean Cakes has a sweet or savory baked confection for you. Enlist the help of British pastry chef Henrietta Inman and an expanded pantry to reap the benefits of extra-friendly goodies everyone can enjoy. 

These spicy savory cakes with the fresh-flavored raita make a very satisfying midweek supper. I like to serve them with a colorful salad made from red cabbage, radish, pomegranate seeds, coriander (cilantro), grated carrot, coconut flakes, pumpkin and sesame seeds. Leftovers can be enjoyed for breakfast with poached eggs.

Reprinted with permission from Clean Cakes

Spice It Up: Cauliflower Chickpea Curry Cakes
No Ratings
Prep Time
35
minutes
Cook Time
40
minutes
Servings
18
cakes
Ingredients
  • 1 small red chili
  • 8 spring onions (scallions)
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 tablespoons fresh turmeric
  • 3 tablespoons fresh ginger
  • 1/2 large cauliflower
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil or extra-virgin cold pressed grapeseed oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 2 cups cooked chickpeas
  • Scant 2/3 cup coconut milk
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
  • Scant 1/2 cup coriander (cilantro)
  • 2/3 cup gram flour
  • Scant 1/4 cup milled flax seeds
  • salt and black pepper
  • 1 cup natural coconut yogurt
  • 7 ounces cucumber
  • Generous handful finely chopped mint
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 4 teaspoons lime juice
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • Himalayan pink salt or coarse sea salt
  • black pepper
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
  2. Finely chop the chili and spring onions (scallions) and cube the tomatoes. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the garlic, turmeric and ginger to form a rough paste. Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until small pieces form resembling bread crumbs. You need 12¼ ounces in total.
  3. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil, then add the ground turmeric, mustard and fenugreek seeds. After a few minutes, add the chopped chili, onion and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes or until beginning to color. Add the garlic paste and continue to cook. When everything has softened and is colored, add the cauliflower and chickpeas, stirring to coat. Add the coconut milk, lime zest and juice. Heat until the coconut milk just begins to boil and then lower the heat and add the coriander (cilantro), gram flour, milled flax seeds and seasoning. Stir everything to combine on a low heat for a further 5 minutes. If it looks a bit dry, add a little more coconut milk. Remove from the heat, leave to cool slightly and check for seasoning.
  4. To make the raita, put the yogurt into a medium-size bowl. Peel and grate the cucumber — you should get about 5½ ounces grated weight — and add to the yogurt. Add all the other ingredients, stir and season to taste, adding extra chopped mint and lime if you want.
  5. Make the cauliflower chickpea mix into 18 small cakes in your hands. The mix will feel a little wet, but that’s normal. Put the cakes onto the lined baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven, turn each cake over and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown. The outer chickpeas become slightly crunchy while the inside stays perfectly soft. Serve warm with the raita.
  6. The cakes and the raita will keep for five days in a sealed container in the fridge.
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