Cheesy potato and quinoa cakes
A chaat-type snack that can be upgraded to a starter or main, these delicious cheese-stuffed spheres of spiced potato and quinoa are deep-fried until crisp and served with a colourful dressed salad. Try making smaller cakes to feed a crowd – they're addictively moreish!
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Potato cakes
- 240g of Maris Piper potatoes
- 240g of quinoa
- 10g of green chillies, finely chopped
- 25g of ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp of ground coriander
- 1/2 tbsp of ground cumin
- 1/4 tbsp of salt
- 1 tbsp of coriander leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp of cornflour, heaped
- 80g of smoked cheddar, grated
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Yoghurt
Salad
- 200g of cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 handful of baby salad leaves
- 1 cooked beetroot, diced
- 2 radishes, finely sliced
- 50ml of olive oil
- 20ml of lemon juice
- 20ml of runny honey
- 20g of ginger, chopped
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- salt, to taste
Lentils
- 100g of split yellow moong lentils, soaked for 2 hours in cold water then drained
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp amchur powder, (also known as dried mango powder)
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- salt, to taste
To serve
Method
Bring 2 pans of salted water to the boil. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa under cold water and peel the potatoes, cutting them into even sizes if needed. Cook the potatoes in 1 pan and the quinoa in the other for around 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just cooked through and the quinoa is tender. Drain both and leave to cool
- 240g of quinoa
- 240g of Maris Piper potatoes
Coarsely grate the potato and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the quinoa, chilli, ginger, ground coriander and cumin, salt, coriander leaves and cornflour, then mix well until combined
- 10g of green chillies, finely chopped
- 25g of ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp of ground coriander
- 1/2 tbsp of ground cumin
- 1/4 tbsp of salt
- 1 tbsp of coriander leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp of cornflour, heaped
Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions, then flatten each portion into a disc. Add around 10g of the smoked cheese into the centre of each disc, then use your hands to bring the mixture up and around the cheese and roll it into a smooth ball. Place on a plate or tray and into the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes
- 80g of smoked cheddar, grated
While the potato cakes chill, prepare the other elements. Combine all the ingredients for the yoghurt and season to taste with salt. Transfer to a piping bag if you have one, then reserve in the fridge
For the lentils, add a generous glug of oil to a frying pan over a medium heat and add the soaked lentils. Fry for 5-10 minutes until golden and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper. Whilst still hot, toss the fried lentils with the pepper, amchur, chaat masala and a pinch of salt and set aside
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 100g of split yellow moong lentils, soaked for 2 hours in cold water then drained
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp amchur powder, (also known as dried mango powder)
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- salt, to taste
Make the dressing for the salad by placing the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, ginger, pepper and a pinch of salt in a food processor or blender. Blitz until completely smooth, then set aside
- 50ml of olive oil
- 20ml of lemon juice
- 20ml of runny honey
- 20g of ginger, chopped
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- salt, to taste
When ready to cook the potato cakes, bring a deep-fat fryer or deep pan of oil to 180°C
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Deep-fry the potato cakes for 3-5 minutes, until dark brown all over
Meanwhile, toss the tomatoes and baby salad leaves in a generous amount of the dressing
- 200g of cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 handful of baby salad leaves
To serve, pipe or spoon 2 mounds of yoghurt onto each plate, then top each mound with a fried potato cake. Spoon some of the dressed salad alongside, garnishing with diced beetroot, sliced radish and a scattering of the fried lentils. Finish with a drizzle of mint and tamarind chutney on top of the cakes
- tamarind chutney
- 1 cooked beetroot, diced
- 2 radishes, finely sliced
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