Many people enjoy plant-based food, even if they are not strictly vegan.
Leozette Roode builds on the positive impact of her first cookbook with the new edition, South African Vegan Cookbook 2, published by Human & Rousseau.
Find ideas among her 80 plant-based recipes, for anything from wholesome meals to sweet treats.
For those who are always looking for new ideas of something to cook in the air fryer, try this recipe from Leozette for pakoras. Although pakoras are crispy vegetable fritters, originally from India, deep-fried in oil, this version is much lower in fat.
Air fryer Pakoras:
This makes 12 pakoras.
Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced
1 sweet potato, peeled and grated
250 ml chickpea flour
2,5 ml chilli powder
2,5 ml turmeric
5 ml onion powder
5 ml ground cumin
5 ml garam masala
2 cloves garlic, crushed
pinch of salt
7,5 ml olive oil
non-stick cooking spray
sweet sauce or hot source to serve pakoras with
Prepare
Preheat the air fryer at 180°C for 5 minutes.
While doing that, place the prepared vegetables in a bowl.
Sift the chickpea flour into another bowl, then add spices, garlic and salt and mix through.
Add 250 ml of water and olive oil to the mixing bowl and whisk until al the ingredients are well combined and form a thick, smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the mixing bowl with vegetables and stir until all is coated.
Spray the basket of the air fryer with a non-stick cooking spray. Scoop 15 ml batter in heaps in the air fryer and flatten. Repeat until the air fryer basket is full, leaving a little space in-between the pakora batter heaps.
Spray the batter heaps with non-stick cooking spray. Air-fry for eight minutes, turn and cook for another two minutes. Remove the pakoras carefully and set aside.
Repeat the process with the leftover batter.
Serve with sweet chilli sauce or hot sauce.
You can play around with different vegetables including potatoes, sweet peppers, cabbage, carrots and spinach. Grate or chop all root vegetables finely for this recipe.
