I recently opened up my first restaurant in Southampton specialising in Mauritian Street food called "Lakaz Maman" which means "mums house" in creole (native language spoken on the island) so I'm constantly trying out new recipes and twisting up classic dishes.
When I won MasterChef back in 2012 my dream was always to open up a restaurant that served up the food that is close to my heart and every day is so different but cooking is still at the heart of what I do every day. We have some classic dishes but then we also have some different ones.
These aren't currently on the menu but they're something my Mum cooked for me last week and as soon as I ate them I realised I needed to update the specials showcasing these delicious crispy and addictive morsels.
These are what we call 'Gateaux Bringelle' meaning aubergine cake, similar to ad pakora or bhaji but lighter in flavour and texture.
Serve warm in a baguette or slathered with a hot sauce of your choice!
Makes 20-25
INGREDIENTS
3/4 finger aubergines sliced into 1cm rounds
2 red chilli
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3tbsp finely chopped coriander
1tsp turmeric
1tsp cumin seeds
180g chickpea flour
100ml warm water- or enough water to make a batter of dropping consistency
Salt to taste
Oil to shallow fry
METHOD
1. In a medium pan add some oil enough to shallow fry and bring up to 180
2. Place the chickpea flour, chilli, garlic, cumin seeds, turmeric, salt, coriander and enough warm water to make a batter of dropping consistency.
3. Coat the sliced aubergine one by one then immediately lower into the oil and allow to cook. They take 3/4 minutes to fry until golden brown
4. Remove excess oil by draining on a paper towel over a plate then serve warm
Shelina Permalloo
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