- ¾ cup chickpea flour
- ¾ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika or chilli powder
- ½ level teaspoon salt
- 1 small cucumber
- ¼ cup sour cream
- A small bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 leek, trimmed
- 2 carrots, peeled
- 3 spring onions, trimmed
- 2 red onions, peeled
- 2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil, for frying
- A pinch of mustard seeds
- ¼ pound arugula, washed and spun dry
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- Put the flours and ground spices in a bowl and slowly pour in 1 cup water, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon or a whisk to make a bright yellow batter. Stir in the salt, then put to one side.
- Peel strips off the cucumber with a speed peeler and put them to one side. Mix the sour cream with the cilantro and the lemon juice. Add a splash of olive oil, season, and put to one side.
- Cut the leek, carrots, spring onions and red onions into thin strips – try to get them the size of long matchsticks. Mix with the chillies and ginger and set aside.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a large non-stick frying pan and heat until very hot. Mix the vegetables, a little at a time, with some of the batter, add the mustard seeds and drop a tablespoon of the mix into the hot oil. Repeat with the remaining mix – you may have to fry the bhajis in batches. Press the bhajis down with the back of a fork and make sure they aren’t touching each other or they might stick together. Fry for a minute or so on each side until crispy, then drain on kitchen paper towels.
- Arrange 2 or 3 bhajis on each plate with some arugula leaves and the cucumber strips, drizzle with the sour cream dressing and serve with the lemon wedges.