Spicy Bhaji-esque Bites

I am a sucker for finger food – show me a buffet and I’m already 2lbs heavier from just looking at it. However, these little balls of spice are totally Syn free and would make a delicious addition to any buffet, lunchbox or Sunday (or any other day) curry.

These are technically more pakora like than onion bhajis (spelling?) but cutting the onion into thin half moons creates the bhaji-esque look of the recipe title so I’m sticking with that.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, sliced into thin half moons

• 1 carrot, peeled and grated

• 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

• 1 tin chickpeas, drained

• 4 tbsps fat free natural yoghurt

• 2 - 3 tbsps curry powder (mild, medium or hot – up to you!)

This makes 12 reasonably large bites

1. Place the chopped potatoes into a pan of boiling water. Boil for about 10 minutes or until the chunks are tender enough to mash (the smaller the chunks the quicker this will be).

2. Preheat the oven to 200˚C (Gas mark 6).

3. Drain the potatoes and place into a large mixing bowl. Mash with a fork.

4. Add the grated carrot, sliced onion and drained chickpeas and mix everything together thoroughly.

5. Mix the curry powder and yoghurt together well. Add this mixture to the vegetables and mix thoroughly. This looks like a big sticky mess now but trust me – it will be OK!

6. Line a baking tray/sheet with baking paper. Take lumps of the mixture and roll into large balls, pressing together lightly as you go, and then place each ball on the baking sheet. 

7. Bake the spicy bites in the oven for 40 minutes. They should be golden brown by this point. Remove from the oven and leave to firm up and settle for a good 10 minutes.

8. Carefully remove the bites from the baking paper, using a spatula or fish slice if needed and transfer to a plate.

                                                                              Enjoy!