The ultimate mouth party: Spicy chickpea cakes with Red onion and coriander Salad

Throw a party for your mouth and embrace
Meat Free Monday in style. Perfect
pick you up for a cold and gloomy day
as it has tastes of summer. Don't stomp
on the citrus element of this dish. It's the
ingredient that makes it. 

Okay, so I have fallen in love. If you are people who love BIG flavours then these moreish little chickpea cakes are for you. They are fabulous for entertaining on a big scale because you can just multiple the quantities and batch cook them.

There is a definite nod to Indian cuisine and I went quite heavy on the green and red chilli because I like it spicy.

This recipe is an adaptation of Delia Smith's Chickpea Cakes in her fabulous book Vegetarian Collection (A book I can't recommend highly enough).

I've stripped down the rather long methodology and tweeked a few ingredients due to my own stock cupboard staples and the result is divine.

LEVEL: EASY
COST: SUPER CHEAP (approx)  £1 per person
TIME: 30-40minutes all in.

SERVE on top of a big salad platter. I added avocado to the salad just to balance out with the heat of the chick pea cakes.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 3 as a main or 6 as a starter) Makes about 12 cakes.

1 Tin of chickpeas
1 finely diced medium onion
1 red onion
1 bunch of coriander
1 tbsp of low fat mayonnaise.
1 egg
1 lemon
cup of flour.
2 medium garlic cloves
1/2 a green chilli
1tbsp fennel seeds
1/2 tbsp caraway seeds
1tbsp turmeric
pinch of dried red chilli flakes

METHOD

The smell that will fill your
house is amazing and will
make you feel instantly
uplifted. 

1. First thinly slice the red onion. Place in a nice serving bowl. Roughly chop half the bunch of coriander (approx 10-15 stalks) and then squeeze the juice of half a juicy lemon (1 full not so juicy lemon) and let sit whilst you prepare the rest of the meal. 

2. Place the caraway and fennel seeds in a heavy based frying pan. Warm and then add the diced white onion and cook until softening down and taking colour.

3. Add the garlic, turmeric and chopped green chilli. Stir for a couple of minutes.

Don't over blitz your chickpeas.
You want them to still hold some
structure and texture. 

4. Meanwhile: Using a blender, pulse the chickpeas and about 15 stalks of the coriander until they are broken down but retain some texture.

5. Add this to the frying pan with the onion mixture and give a good stir. Squeeze in the juice of half a juicy lemon. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

6. Add the mayonnaise and stir thoroughly.

7. Taking a table spoon, heap the mixture and then work in your hands until it becomes a small ball. Dust it in flour and then using a pastry brush, brush with beaten egg.

Would make a great buffet
party dish, too. 

8.
Fry off in batches until it takes a golden colour. Place on a baking tray in the oven for 10 -15 minutes whilst you prepare the salad.

Serve on one big platter and get folks to dip in.

TIP: They would be nice served with a pot of lemon mayo or a yogurt and mint raita. We served ours with a mango and apricot chutney we had lurking in the back of the cupboard (part of some random hamper we got at christmas LOL)