Wednesday 22 July 2015

Red Hot Green and Gold!

Zucchine Piccante in Padella con Farina di Ceci, Rosmarino, Yogurt & Sumac
Pan-Toasted Spicy Zucchini with Gram Flour, Rosemary, Yogurt & Sumac


Yes, yes, we all like zucchini- but to be brutally honest, they are rather bland and tame and are far from filling. Unless you decide to do something about it, that is.

And sure, we have all made zucchini stuffed with meat or rice... But being as I had neither one, nor the other of those ingredients at hand, I needed to think of another solution...

As if that was a problem for me! Ha!


 
 
I based this idea on an Indian dish I once made, called "besan sabji", which basically consists of sliced bell peppers, which are toasted in gram, or chickpea flour and spiced-up to make them even more delicious.

The gram flour of course makes the vegetables much more filling, gives them a deep, nutty, wholesome flavor and makes for a much more satisfying meal... and needed little more than a hint of herbs and spices to elevate a couple of humble and plain little zucchini up to much greater heights of deliciousness!

 
 
All that I ended up using to make one decent serving, was: 2 small zucchini, 1 spring onion, 1 hot chili pepper, 4 tablespoons of gram flour, 1 sprig of Rosemary, salt, pepper, 1-2 teaspoons of sumac and a little plain yogurt to serve on the side / on top.


It took just 10-15 minutes to transform a couple of zucchini into a spicy meal... Healthy, fat-free, spicy and delicious, this was perfect as a light evening meal... But a spicy and tasty one at that!

 

Preparation is simple- just slice up the zucchini, onion and chili as thinly as you can and pluck and chop the rosemary up finely too.

 

Add 2 tablespoons of gram flour to the zucchini, chili and onion, season with salt and even though the chili is in there, a little pepper. Stir everything together thoroughly and turn on your stovetop... You're ready to go!
 

Dry roast the zucchini in the flour, stirring constantly, so that each slice gets nicely coated and keep stirring until you begin to get a nice, nutty aroma of roasted chickpeas developing.


Whilst the zucchini cooks in the frying pan, stir the remaining 2 tablespoons of gram flour together with 2 tablespoons of yogurt and a little water, until it is of a smooth but not too runny consistency.


Pour this over the contents of the frying pan, allow it to come to the boil and keep on stirring.

 

Keep the heat relatively high and soon enough, the gram flour will thicken up and dry out and begin to turn deep gold n brown.

Keep stirring and scraping, tossing and turning the zucchini until it becomes nice and golden brown from all sides.


 

Check the seasoning for salt and add if necessary, but keep stirring and you will see that it soon enough will begin to crisp up and become golden brown... And so delicious!!!

 

And a last drizzle of yogurt and a sprinkle of sumac are the finishing touches to make this little meal complete!

 

Of course the chickpea flour will clump together and the slices of zucchini, obviously will stick to it... But those lumps make for nice bite-sized bundles of chewy flavor... I swear, you might almost think you are eating little meatballs! This is so cool and with the chickpeas, a little bit like falafel of course... And what's not to love about that!?!

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