Spiced Mushroom & Lentil Cakes with Raita Dipping Sauce
A spicey stack of mushrooms and lentils to enjoy with a refreshing raita.
Ingredients
Lentil cakes:
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 400 g portabello mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 2 cups cooked sweet potato (from ±6 baby sweet potatoes)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 1 cup chickpea flour (or wheat flour)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive Oil
- Neutral vegetable oil, for frying
Raita:
- 1 cup Greek style yogurt
- 1/4 cup finely diced cucumber, seeds removed
- 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh chilli, minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tbsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the raita:
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Whisk. Season well and set aside in the fridge for serving.
For the lentil cakes:
- Rub sweet potatoes with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Make a few steam holes with a fork and roast them whole on a rack at 180˚C until tender. Allow to cool and scoop out 2 cups of flesh.
- Cook lentils in 3 cups of boiling salted water until very tender. Strain off all residual water and allow to cool.
- In a large frying pan heat a drizzle of olive oil and fry the onion in the curry powder. Once tender add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the diced mushrooms and cook until they have released all their liquid and are beginning to brown. Remove from the heat.
- Place lentils, sweet potatoes, egg, coriander and chilli in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well combined. Add the flour and mix again. Finally add the cooked mushroom mixture and pulse to bring everything together.
- Serve lentil cakes hot with raita, fresh coriander and lime wedges.
For a healthier lentil cake:
- Preheat oven to 180˚C. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 15 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
For a crispy lentil cake:
- Heat a few cms of neutral oil in a casserole. Dust lentil cakes in chickpea or wheat flour. Fry lentil cakes until golden brown and crisp yall over. Drain on paper towel.