Courgette bhajis
We’re in full courgette glut season. Here’s a delicious way to turn your stockpile of courgettes into delicious crispy snacks. Or turn them into courgette bhaji burgers for a scrumptious Summer meal.
Serves 4-6 as a snack (or makes 4 massive bhaji burgers)
500g courgette (approx 2 medium courgettes)
1 teaspoon salt
100g (or 5 heaped tablespoons) of gram flour
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 good pinches of sea salt
black pepper
1 small onion, cut in half, then sliced thinly
For the raita:
Half a cucumber
A few tablespoons of greek yoghurt
Mint leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1) Firstly, cut up the courgette. You could grate the courgette but I prefer a chunkier cut. Cut them into matchsticks (roughly) and put in a large bowl.
2) Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt over the courgette and mix it through. Leave it to one side. The salt will start to draw the liquid out of the courgettes.
3) Weigh out the gram flour in a second large bowl. Then add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, two large pinches of sea salt and some black pepper. Stir briefly with a whisk to break up any lumps. (Alternatively you could sieve the flour and spices into the bowl).
4) Slice up your onion and put to one side.
5) Take the bowl of soggy courgette and grab a handful of courgette matchsticks and squeeze out any liquid. Put the dry handful of courgette into the bowl of flour and spices, then repeat until you’ve squeezed out all the courgette and put it all into the bowl of flour. Discard the salty courgette water (or drink it if you’re brave!)
6) Add the sliced onions to bowl of courgettes and flour and then mix it all together. It will seem quite dry at first but will soon get wetter as you mix it.
7) Heat up about 1cm of sunflower oil in a pan (I used a flat-bottomed heavy wok). Once it’s hot, take a handful of the courgette mix and shape it into a burger shape. You have to squish it together well to make sure it doesn’t all fall apart when it’s cooking. Gently lay it down in the hot oil. Repeat until the pan is full (don’t overload it too much as the oil will get cold) and then cook the bhajis over a medium heat for around 5 minutes. Once they are brown on the bottom, carefully flip them over and cook the other side.
8) Lift out the cooked bhajis with a slotted spoon or spider (a much underrated kitchen implement!) and keep warm in a warm oven on a baking tray lined with kitchen paper.
9) While the bhajis are cooking, make the raita. Grate the cucumber and squeeze out the excess water. Drink the cucumber juice - it’s delicious! Add the grated cucumber and chopped mint to some yoghurt. Add salt and pepper. Stir, taste and add more seasoning if required.
Serve as a snack, as a meal (in a burger bun) or as a side to a curry. Enjoy!
Bhaji burgers for lunch with Cat