theveganpea

This dish is an Indochinese recipe made of crispy gram flour battered broccoli stir fried with spring onions, chillies, ginger and red peppers. It is so addictive…and despite it tasting like naughty good-ness it is actually full of vitamins, minerals and protein from the broccoli and gram flour. It is spicy and so using the mixture to fill lettuce wraps or cups is really good. There are so many other health benefits to using gram flour, for example it is gluten free and it contains way more folate than wheat flour.

Preparation time: 30 minutes (including cooking time)

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• 1 broccoli head
• 2 1/2 cups gram flour
• Sparkling water (use accordingly depending on how well the batter coats the broccoli)
• 1 tsp coriander cumin powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• Pinch of asafoetida
• 1 red pepper (diced)
• 3 green chillies (sliced finely)
• Thumb sized knob of ginger (cut into thin strips)
• 4 spring onions (sliced finely)
• Olive Oil (for frying)

Method:

1. Cut the broccoli head up into nugget size pieces, including the stalk
2. Mix the gram flour with the coriander cumin, turmeric, red chilli and asafoetida powder, and the salt and lemon juice
3. Add sparkling water to the mixture a tbsp at a time until the mixture becomes looser but fully coats the broccoli
4. Taste the batter to check for salt adjustment levels (if too salty add a pinch of sugar)
5. Mix the broccoli nuggets in the batter and deep fry in batches until golden and crisp
6. Drain the crispy broccoli on kitchen towel to prevent them getting soggy or from being oily
7. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the battered broccoli
8. In a wok heat 1 tbsp of oil and wait until it is sizzling hot
9. Add the chillies, ginger and spring onions to the wok and wait to soften and brown
10. Add the pepper to the pan and cook for 2 minutes
11. Toss the broccoli in the wok with the masala mixture and add extra salt (or soya sauce if you fancy) if needed
12. Enjoy my Little Peas!

Like I said all the way up there…it does make a great lettuce wrap filling!