This recipe is from one of my favourite books, ‘Falastin‘ by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 small cauliflower , cut into 4-5cm florets (300g)
120g plain flour
20g parsley, finely chopped
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp Aleppo chilli flakes
½ tsp baking powder
1 brown onion, finely chopped
250ml sunflower oil
salt
black pepper
For the Sauce
250g greek-style yoghurt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dried mint
Method
– Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl with ½ tsp of salt. Mix and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
– Bring a medium pan full of salted water to a boil and add the cauliflower. Simmer for 4-5 minutes. Drain the cauliflower but make sure to collect 2 tbsp of the water.
– Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl and use a potato masher to crush them.
– Add the ground cumin, ground cinnamon, ground turmeric, Aleppo chilli flakes, baking powder, onion, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, and parsley. Mix well.
– In a small bowl, whisk 2 eggs. Pour this into the cauliflower mixture and combine.
– Add the flour and use your hands to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
– Add 2 tbsp of cauliflower water to thin the mixture.
– Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Take a lime-sized portion of the mixture and carefully place it in the oil, spreading it out slightly to create a medallion shape. Repeat with as much of the mixture as possible. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until evenly golden. Remove them from the pan and place on some kitchen roll to remove any excess oil.
– Repeat the process with the rest of the mixture.
Plate them up and serve!