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July 2020 | REDONLINE.CO.UKKeralan crab-stuffed
courgette flowers with
coriander chutney
Courgette flowers are the fragile precursors of courgettes. They have
a pleasingly subtle flavour and their petals make a handy pocket for
stuffing all manner of lovely things, such as this gently spiced crab.FOR THE BATTER
O150g rice flour
O¼tsp baking powder
O250ml ice-cold sparkling water1 To make chutney, blitz peanuts,
cumin and coconut in a blender
until smooth. Add remaining
ingredients and blend again, adding
a little water to make a purée.
2 For stuffing, heat oil in a
heavy-based frying pan over medium
heat. Add mustard seeds and, as soon
as they start popping, sprinkle in
asafoetida and swiftly follow with
curry leaves. Fry for 5sec, then add
turmeric, lemon zest, ginger and
chilli, stirring often for 1-2min, until
fragrant. Add crabmeat and coriander
and mix well, seasoning to taste with
sea salt and black pepper. Take off
heat and stir in lemon juice and
coconut. Set aside to cool.
3 Make a little cylinder of crab
mixture and stuff into centre of a
courgette flower, then gently twist
petals together at ends, making
sure there is no exposed filling.
Repeat with the rest of crab
mixture and courgette flowers.
4 Make batter just before you’re ready
to fry. Sift rice flour and baking
powder into a bowl and whisk in
sparkling water, being careful not
to overmix. Roll each courgette
flower in seasoned flour, then dip
into batter to coat lightly – you want
a thin, delicate coating. Fill a large,
heavy-based saucepan a third full with
the deep-frying oil. Heat oil to 180°C- if you don’t have a thermometer, you
will know the oil is ready when a cube
of bread turns golden brown in 20sec.
Carefully holding each courgette
flower by its stem, dip its head into
oil for a few seconds to set the batter
before releasing. Fry in batches until
golden brown and crisp. Drain very
well on kitchen paper, letting oil return
to temperature between batches.
Serve immediately with the chutney.
O1 green chilli, roughly chopped
OSmall thumb ginger, finely grated
OCaster sugar, sea salt and lime juice,
to taste
FOR THE STUFFING
O1tbsp rapeseed oil
O1tsp brown mustard seeds
OPinch of asafoetida
O15 curry leaves
O½tsp ground turmeric
OFinely grated zest and juice 1 lemon
OThumb ginger, finely grated
O1 red chilli, thinly sliced
O250g white crabmeat
OHandful chopped coriander
O50g frozen grated coconut, defrostedPREPARATION TIME 30 minutes
COOKING TIME 15 minutes
SERVES 5 as a starter
O10 courgette flowers (male,
if possible, as they are bigger)
O100g plain flour, seasoned
with salt, for dredging
OGroundnut oil, for deep-frying
FOR THE CHUTNEY
O1tsp raw peanuts
O½tsp cumin seeds
O2tbsp frozen grated coconut,
defrosted
O1 large bunch coriander,
roughly chopped, stalks and all
LIVING