Recipes

Lightly spiced, rather than searingly hot, these tasty, sophisticated little nibbles go extremely well with pre-dinner drinks, and also make a very speedy lunchtime snack.

INGREDIENTS

280 g/10 oz cooked prawns, peeled, deveined and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 fresh green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1-cm/7.-inch piece fresh root ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs X tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp lime juice
1 egg, lightly beaten
85 g/3 oz dried breadcrumbs
3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil fresh coriander sprigs, to garnish

Cook’s tip

If possible, use natural dried breadcrumbs for coating the patties rattier than colored breadcrumbs. You may need to press the breadcrumbs on to the patties to coat

METHOD

1. Mix the prawns, onion, chilli, ginger, coriander, fresh breadcrumbs, turmeric, lime juice and beaten egg in a large bowl, kneading well with your hands until thoroughly blended.

2. Divide the mixture into 8 equal-sized portions, then form each portion into a ball between the palms of your hands and flatten into patties. Place the dried breadcrumbs on a large plate and dip each patty, in turn, into the breadcrumbs to coat evenly.

3. Heat the ghee in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Add the patties, in 2 batches if necessary, and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove with a spatula and drain on kitchen paper. Keep each batch warm while you cook the remainder. Garnish with fresh coriander sprigs and serve immediately.

Variation

To make chicken patties, substitute the same quantity of minced cooked chicken for the prawns.