Crispy kale leaf chaat with stalk pakoras & herby chutney
Serves 6 - 8
More effort
Prep:
Cook:
Put kale stalks to good use by finely chopping and mixing them into a pakora batter. Served with a herby chutney, this makes an excellent starter
Skip to ingredients
Units:
- 300g whole-leaf kale
- 500ml vegetable oilfor frying
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 egg
- 100g gram flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp garam masalaor chaat masala
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 red onionfinely sliced
For the chutney
- 50g corianderroughly chopped
- 20g mintleaves picked
- 1/2 lemonjuiced
- 25g desiccated coconut(optional)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 green chillideseeded if you like, roughly chopped
To serve
- 100g Greek yogurt
- 5 tbsp tamarind chutney or concentrate
- 50g sev or Bombay mix
- 1 tsp garam masalaor chaat masala
- small handful of coriander leaves
Nutrition: Per serving (8)
- kcal213
- fat11g
- saturates2g
- carbs20g
- sugars6g
- fibre4g
- protein8g
- salt1.07g
Method
step 1
Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Cut the kale stalks away from the leaves and set the leaves aside, reserving a small handful of them. Roughly chop the kale stalks and reserved kale leaves and set aside. Roughly tear the remaining kale leaves and scatter over a baking tray, drizzle over 1 tbsp of the oil and 1 tsp of the cumin and season. Toss together, massaging the leaves, then arrange in an even layer. Roast for 15-20 mins until crisp, then remove and set aside.
step 2
Heat the oil in a deep saucepan over a medium-low heat, ensuring it is no more than a third full. Pour 100ml water into a bowl and mix with the egg. Tip in the gram flour, baking powder, spices and 1 tsp salt, and stir to make a thick paste. Stir in the chopped kale and red onion, adding more water if needed.
step 3
To check if the oil is hot enough, drop in a tiny speck of batter. If it rises to the surface in bubbles and starts to brown, it is ready. If not, increase the heat to medium-high. Once hot enough, carefully lower heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the oil, a few at a time. Cook for a few minutes, turning once, until evenly browned and crisp, about 3-4 mins. Drain on kitchen paper and season with salt.
step 4
For the chutney, tip everything into a food processor with 6 tbsp water and blitz until chopped. Add more water to loosen, if you prefer.
step 5
Arrange the pakoras and crispy kale on a plate and serve topped with dollops of yogurt, a drizzling of tamarind and the herby chutney, and sprinkled with the sev or Bombay mix, garam or chaat masala and coriander leaves.
