Diary of a Rocket Gardener…Recipe Inspiration

Amazing. I’ve just returned from France fully expecting to have missed all my lovely veggies, but they’re still going strong and I’ve been able to harvest all sorts! Among the more exciting are asparagus peas and okra, neither of which I have grown before. Asparagus peas are, I have to say, particularly pleasing as they are such pretty plants with their red wine coloured flowers.

So it was with some smugness that I rustled up a really scrummy dish which I am calling “Nearly Bombay Potatoes” using freshly harvested veggies straight from the garden. Here’s the recipe:

Nearly Bombay Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 750g-1kg potatoes (I used pink fir potatoes which worked amazingly)
  • 2 large onions, roughly chopped
  • 4-5 okra (you could always substitute for spinach or chard if you’re not growing okra)
  • 1 chilli (or more, depending on how hot you like it)
  • 2 inch piece root ginger, peeled
  • 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • Big bunch of Vietnamese Coriander leaves

Method:

  1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the potatoes (whole if small enough or halved if they’re too big) and boil until tender. Drain and leave to cool. Once cool, chop into bitesized pieces.
  2. Use a microplane to finely grate the ginger and garlic (or pop them through a blender with a tablespoon of water to make a paste.)
  3. Dry fry the cumin seeds and mustard seeds in a large non-stick pan
  4. As soon as the seeds start to pop, add the coconut oil and onion.
  5. Cook the onion for 3-4 minutes and then add the ginger and garlic.
  6. Cook the mixture for 1 minute, then add all the other spices and stir.
  7. Add the tomatoes and okra, and stir well.
  8. Once the okra is nearly cooked through add the potatoes with a splash of water to loosen the mixture. Lower the heat and cook for 5 mins.
  9. Add the Vietnamese coriander and season with sea salt before serving.

That’s it – it’s a really simple dish that would work brilliantly either as a dish alongside other curries and dals, or as a side to a cumin and yoghurt flavoured BBQ butterflied lamb. Delicious!

 

ps. If using spinach or chard, just chop the leaves roughly and add them in at the same time as the potatoes at the end.