Smoky green wheat pilaf
Each June farmers around Gaziantep cut wheat while it is still green and burn off the husks in the field, which gives firik its gentle campfire smell. Cooked as a pilaf with onion, pepper paste and a handful of chickpeas, it has a chewy, nutty bite that sits well beside grilled kebabs or simply a bowl of ayran and a tomato salad. It is the everyday grain of the region's home kitchens, cheaper than rice and more filling. Rinse the grains well: grit and bits of chaff are common in firik. Chef's tip: let it rest under a tea towel for ten minutes after cooking; the steam finishes the grains and they separate beautifully.
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Light, eggless pancakes made with wheat flour, soya milk and water, rolled around fresh banana, peach, apricot and strawberries and finished with cinnamon, chopped almonds and pistachios and a drizzle of maple syrup. A colourful dairy-free breakfast or dessert; serve immediately.
A high-protein, low-calorie uppma made with soya granules instead of semolina. The soaked soya is tossed with grated carrot, cabbage, onion, ginger and green chillies over a crackling tempering of cumin, urad dal and asafoetida, then finished with lemon and coriander. Serve hot for breakfast or a light supper.
Golden potato pattice stuffed with fresh coconut, coriander and a sweet-sour lemon seasoning, bound with cassava flour so they suit a fasting day. The outside fries crisp while the inside stays soft, with a juicy coconut centre. Serve them hot with coconut chutney as a farari snack or light meal. Makes 15.
A creamy, chilled kheer of small sago pearls simmered in milk with sugar, pistachios, almonds, cashews, cardamom and saffron, then mixed with a separate milk of apricots, figs and raisins and fresh green grapes. It's sweet, fragrant and full of texture. A party-size dessert for fasting days or festivals. Serves 15.
The fasting-day gulab jambu: soft balls of mawa (khoya) and mashed potato bound with cassava flour, scented with saffron and cardamom, fried slowly to a deep golden brown and soaked in cardamom syrup with pistachios and almonds. Soak them for 3–4 hours so they turn juicy all the way through. Makes 35 small jambu.
Soft, spiced farari thepla made with ground soaked sago, rajagra (amaranth) and moraiyo (samo) flours and mashed potato, kneaded with yogurt and seasoned with sesame, coriander, chilli and ginger. They're rolled between sheets of plastic, as there's no gluten to hold them, and shallow fried on a griddle. Serve with yogurt or farari kofta curry. Soak the sago 6 hours ahead. Makes 15.
Light savoury scones made from rice flour and gram flour, flavoured with dried basil, oregano, mustard and black pepper and topped with poppy seeds. Shaped as one round and marked into 8 wedges, they are good warm with soup or salad. The book's recipe uses one egg; to make them eggless, leave it out and add an extra 60 ml soya milk and 1 tsp baking powder.
A crunchy, nutty barfi of roasted sesame seeds and ground peanuts set in a two-thread sugar syrup, pressed into a tray and topped with chopped peanuts. It's sweet and toasty, like a soft brittle, and keeps well. Good for fasting days and the winter festivals. Makes 20 pieces.
Crisp fried farari muthia made from very finely diced potato, crushed roasted peanuts, soaked sago and rajagra (amaranth) flour, seasoned with ginger, chilli, black pepper and a sweet-sour finish. They're crunchy outside and soft inside. Garnish with coriander and fresh coconut and serve hot as a fasting-day snack.
A hearty but light one-pot stew from the book's Low calorie section: sweet potato and chickpeas simmer in grated tomatoes and tomato paste with onion and garlic, spinach is wilted in at the end, and a spoonful of miso (made from soya beans) adds a deep savoury flavour. Uses only a teaspoon of oil. Serve straight away with bread or rice.
A Gujarati-style dry vegetable dish made with chopped colocasia (arvi) leaves and chana dal, cooked with peanuts, tamarind and jaggery for a sweet-sour taste, then thickened with a fresh paste of coconut, green chilli, coriander and ginger and finished with a mustard and cumin tempering. Uses only two teaspoons of oil. Serve hot with baked parathas.
A crunchy, nourishing low-calorie salad of peppery watercress, fennel and Chinese cabbage, scattered with sunflower, pumpkin, linseed and sesame seeds, flaked almonds, raisins and dried apricots, then dressed with sesame oil, balsamic vinegar and a touch of honey. Serve as a light lunch or a side.
On fasting days gram flour is off the menu, so this kadhi is thickened with mashed potato and coarsely ground peanuts instead. The buttermilk is tempered with ghee, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and curry leaves, and finished sweet-sour in the Gujarati way. Serve hot with farari samo khichdi.
A crunchy, high-fibre and low-calorie salad of boiled sprouted pulses (moth beans, chickpeas, green grams) with apple, orange segments, grapes, radish, salad leaves and spinach, lifted with a little green chilli. A light mint and yogurt dressing goes on just before serving. Serve chilled as a starter or light lunch.
The fasting-day version of Gujarati chevdo: fine strips and round crisps of fried potato tossed with fried peanuts, cashews, green chillies, curry leaves and coriander, and seasoned with black pepper, sugar, salt and a touch of citric acid. It's crunchy, peppery, sweet and tangy. Make a big batch, store it airtight and serve it on fasting days with tea. Makes about 1 kg.
A fragrant Middle Eastern rice pilaf: rice simmered in vegetable stock with onion, garlic, chilli and cumin, then finished with golden vermicelli and pine nuts toasted in butter, sweet currants and fresh parsley. Serve warm with cacık.
A smooth, bright green, dairy-free soup of spinach and onion blended with a little creamed coconut, then simmered with vegetable stock, soya milk and a hint of nutmeg. Cook the spinach only briefly so it keeps its colour. Serve immediately.
Soft spiced potato kofta rolled in rajagra (amaranth) flour, fried crisp and dropped into a rich tomato and cashew gravy flavoured with coriander seeds and black pepper. It's a festive main dish for a fasting day, with no grains, onion or garlic. Add the kofta just before serving so they stay soft but hold their shape, and serve with farari thepla.
Samo (also called moraiyo, sama or barnyard millet) is the fasting-day stand-in for rice. Here it's simmered with potato cubes and crushed roasted peanuts after a ghee tempering of cumin, cloves and cinnamon, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, nutty and mildly spiced. Serve it hot with yogurt or farari potato kadhi.
A quick, low-calorie way to use leftover rice: sprouted moth beans and green grams are cooked with garlic, ginger, green chilli, capsicum, spring onions and a few spices over a cumin and asafoetida tempering, then tossed with cooked rice. Served hot with fresh tomato and coriander.
A wholesome, low-calorie twist on khichdi, using bulgar wheat in place of rice. Husked green gram lentils and bulgar cook in the pressure cooker with peas, cauliflower, potato and onion, tempered with a little ghee, cumin and whole spices. Soft, comforting and filling; serve hot with banana raita or plain yogurt.
Diamond-shaped cutlets of potato and sweet potato with fresh coconut and roasted peanuts, dipped in a cassava-flour batter and coated in coarse peanut powder, then fried until golden. They're crunchy outside, soft and gently sweet inside. Serve hot with coconut and tomato chutney (use a farari one without onion or garlic). Makes 20.
Thin potato crisps blanched in salted water with citric acid and dried in the sun, a traditional store-cupboard standby for fasting days. Fried in seconds when needed, they puff up light, crisp and white. Sprinkle with black pepper or chilli powder. Drying takes 1–2 days of strong sun.
A light, low-calorie pullao from the book's Low calorie section. Basmati rice is cooked with baby carrots, baby corn and fine French beans, whole spices, garlic, ginger and green chilli, using a little semi-skimmed milk for softness and onions browned in the oven instead of deep-fried. Serve hot with the remaining baked onions and masala yogurt.
A light, eggless bread pudding: dried fruits are plumped in hot apple juice and mixed with diced stale bread, sliced banana and cardamom and clove, then soaked in skimmed milk, sprinkled with brown sugar and baked until firm and golden. Serve hot or cold with low-fat yogurt.
A light, eggless and butter-free cake made with self-raising flour, cinnamon, light muscovado sugar, apple juice and a little sunflower oil, studded with juicy cranberries and diced apple and baked in a ring mould. Drizzled with warm cranberry jam and decorated with apple slices, it looks festive and is low in fat.
A classic Turkish dish whose name means 'the imam fainted', supposedly with delight. Aubergine shells are fried in olive oil and filled with their own flesh cooked with tomatoes, onion, red and green peppers, garlic and herbs, then baked until meltingly tender. Finished with lemon and parsley; good hot or cold with bread, salad and creamy garlic dip.
Soft, thick uttapam for fasting days, made from a yogurt batter of samo (moraiyo), singoda (water chestnut) flour and rajagra (amaranth) flour, tempered with cumin and curry leaves and studded with cucumber, tomato, coconut and green chilli. Cooked under a lid, they're crisp at the edges and fluffy in the middle. Serve with yogurt and green chutney. Makes 6.
Chakri (also called chakli) are crisp, ridged spirals piped from a sev press and deep-fried. This version uses rice flour with a little gram flour and plain flour, flavoured with fresh coriander, ginger, chilli, sesame and lemon, with a touch of sugar. They are a Diwali favourite and keep well in an air-tight tin.
Jadi sev is the thick variety of sev: crunchy gram flour noodles pressed straight into hot oil, seasoned with coarse black pepper and green chilli powder. Eat it by the handful with tea, or mix it into bhusu and chevdo. For medium sev, use a disc with slightly smaller holes.
Tum tum are thick, chunky gram flour sticks pressed through a 1 cm disc, spiced with chilli, cumin-coriander, black pepper and ajwain, and balanced with lemon and sugar. They are hot, tangy and crunchy, perfect with tea, and one of the components of bhusu.
Sakarpada (shakarpara) are little sweet diamonds of a rich dough made with ghee, milk and sugar, fried until golden and crunchy. They are a Diwali favourite with tea, and the cubes go into bhusu too. They keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.
This is the big festive chevdo: crisp potato straws and rounds, fried chana dal, green grams and pawa, with cashews, peanuts and sultanas, curry leaves and green chillies, all coated in a sweet-hot seasoning and a fragrant whole-spice tempering with lemon. It makes a large batch for Diwali and keeps for weeks in air-tight tins. Golf potatoes are small, round potatoes.
Fafadia gathia are pale, airy strands of gram flour dough rubbed through a gathia jara straight into hot oil. Beating the salt and kharo water until white and frothy, then kneading the dough hard, makes them light and melt-in-the-mouth. Serve with fried green chillies, papaya sambharo or jalebi. For fuli (puffed) gathia, use coarsely ground black pepper instead of white pepper and press the dough through a fuli jara.
Small, crisp fried puris flavoured with cumin seeds and plenty of black pepper. The butter rubbed into the flour makes them short and flaky, and frying them slowly over low heat keeps them crisp right through. Serve them as a snack with tea; they keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.
Mathia are thin, crisp, slightly sweet and peppery wafers made from mathia flour, a mix of ground husked moong and urad dal. They are a classic Gujarati Diwali snack. The dough is pounded until pale, rolled very thin between plastic sheets and fried one at a time. They are fragile, so store them gently. To make mathia flour, finely grind 4 parts husked green gram lentils with 1 part husked black gram lentils.
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