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Spicy carrot and cardamom soup with carrot and cashew koftas
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 2 large onions, halved then finely sliced
- 3tbsp ghee, for frying
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced into shreds
- 2tsp ground cumin
- 1tbsp ground coriander
- 1tsp turmeric
- 1tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)
- 1⁄4tsp cardamom seeds
- 1⁄2tsp salt
- 2 medium tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
- 550g carrots, roughly grated
- reserved coriander stalks (see below)
- 1 litre vegetable stock
For the koftas
- 100g unsalted, unroasted cashews soaked in cold water for 5 hours or overnight
- 4tbsp chick pea flour, dry roasted
- 450g carrots, finely grated
- 1 clove garlic, grated finely
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 1⁄2tsp garam masala
- 2-1tsp turmeric
- 1⁄2tsp ground coriander
- 1⁄4tsp chilli powder
- 3tbsp ghee, for frying
To serve
- 1⁄2tsp freshly crushed cumin seeds
- 15g coriander, leaves removed, stalks retained for the soup
Method
Drain the cashews and put in a food processor and blitz to a thick paste. Set aside.
To make the koftas, put the chick pea flour in a dry frying pan over a low heat and stir until the flour turns a pale beige. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool completely. Add the carrots and remaining kofta ingredients except for the ghee, along with 1⁄4tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix to a dough.
Divide the dough and cashew paste into 12 nuggets each and roll the dough into balls. Push in a nugget of the cashew paste into each one and reform the dough around it. Heat the ghee in a wok and fry the balls in batches until evenly golden. Remove the balls and set aside.
To make the soup, fry the onions in the ghee for 5 minutes until softening then remove half with a slotted spoon, leaving the ghee behind, and put into a large pan. Set aside. Continue to fry the rest of the onions in the ghee until crisp. Add the chilli and fry for a minute. Drain on kitchen paper.
Add all the spices to the onion in the large pan and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the carrot, stir and sweat for 8 minutes, mix in the stock, season with salt and simmer for 20 minutes until very tender. Leave to cool a little.
Process the soup in a liquidiser to a smooth purée and put back in the pan when ready to serve. Once the soup is hot add the koftas to heat through, and the cumin seeds. Mix the coriander leaves with the reserved crispy onion and chilli, and add some to the top of each bowl to serve.
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