I used whole cumin seeds and crushed them a bit myself, w It requires a fair bit of prep but I was able to make this this on a weeknight (albeit one where I had a bit more time than usual). Meera Sodha is the Guardian's 'New Vegan' columnist and author of Fresh India, which won the Observer Food Monthly Best New Cookbook Award 2017.

It is fairly spicy--we used a jalapeno, which I seeded to be safe, and it still had a good amount of kick. Seal the pastry at the top by pinching it closed, then pinch off any excess pastry, roll the kachori into a ball, and put it on a plate. Some improvement with more sugar, turmeric and salt; I think it needs more garlic, ginger and tamarind. Following on from her bestselling Made in India, Meera Sodha reveals a whole new side of Indian food that is fresh, delicious and quick to make at home.

I could see dressing this dish up with a little sour lime or tamarind, but I served it alongside Sodha's 100 garlic-clove curry, and found those two dishes to be an excellent pairing. Warm corn tortilla wrapping optional, but I think we as a society really need to get with the concept that tacos and Indian food can be buds. However, I found that the curry improved with an overnight rest, so in future I would make it entirely in advance and just reheat for a quick weeknight dinner. This cookbook is the story of Sodha, her family and their journey over three generations from India to Africa to England. Once you have a few of the pantry basics Meera recommends, the ingredient lists are remarkably unintimidating.

These potatoes were well received, but I would recommend adding salt slowly and to taste rather than dumping in the amount she recommends. I didn't really get the point of the parchment paper wrap other than to replace the flavor-providing banana leaf traditionally used.

This is a great "starter curry" for kids because the spices are mild (I left out garlic, chilli and onion too). Agree that these are delicious (although they are definitely best when fresh and don't reheat very well). So when I left home at the age of 18 to go to university, the lack of readily available good food was a sudden shock. Next time I'd go ahead and use boneless skinless ones, because with this cooking method the skin isn't going to get crispy anyway.