Cheesy potato and quinoa cakes

Recipe 1 (Potato Cake) Assembly V1
  • 4
  • 1 hour 15 minutes plus 2 hours soaking time for the lentils
Not yet rated

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!

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First published in 2021

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Potato cakes

Yoghurt

Salad

Lentils

Method

1

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

2

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

3

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

4

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

5

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

6

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

7

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
8

Deep-fry the potato cakes for 3-5 minutes, until dark brown all over

9

Meanwhile, toss the tomatoes and baby salad leaves in a generous amount of the dressing

10

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

First published in 2021

A master of subtle, balanced spicing and with plenty of experience in Michelin-starred restaurants under his belt, Dayashankar Sharma cooks regional Indian dishes with panache at Heritage in Dulwich.

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