Try something new this month with a selection of traditional Caribbean dishes packed with fresh, punchy flavours from chef and television presenter Andi Oliver
Doubles
MAKES 6-8 READY IN 40 MINS, PLUS RESTING
● 150g split pea or chickpea (gram) flour ● 100g plain flour, plus a little extra if needed ● 3tsp baking powder ● 1tsp salt ● 1tsp ground cumin ● 1tsp curry powder ● 2 garlic cloves, finely grated ● 1tsp freshly cracked black pepper ● 1 Scotch bonnet or hot chilli of your choice, very finely chopped ● 100ml lukewarm water ● 250ml rapeseed or sunflower oil, for deep-frying, plus extra for greasing
1 To make the dough, combine the flours, baking powder, salt, cumin, curry powder, garlic, black pepper and chilli in a large mixing bowl.
2 Next, bring the mixture together to form a soft, slightly sticky dough. Add a little splash of lukewarm water at a time, mixing until this sticky, soft texture is achieved. If you are worried the dough is too wet to work with, dust with a little extra flour to bring it back to the perfect consistency.
3 Splash a little oil into the palm of your hands and rub it all over the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and leave the dough to rest at room temperature for 2–3 hrs.
4 When you return to the dough, punch it down gently with your hand, then leave for a further 10–15 mins to rest. Now lightly oil your hands again and divide the dough into 6–8 equal portions. Lightly oil a work surface and flatten each portion out into a rough circle with the palm of your hand.
5 Heat the oil in a high sided heavybased frying pan or wok to 180°C. To test whether the oil is hot enough, drop in a cube of white bread. If it bubbles straight away and goes golden, then the oil is ready for frying. Fry each piece of dough for just under a minute – be careful not to overcrowd the pan and fry just 1 or 2 at a time. The bara will puff up and become a gorgeous, light golden brown colour when ready. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain any excess oil.
6 When you have a pile of cooked breads, tumble chana dhal on top and serve topped with tamarind chutney, hot sauce and a cucumber relish (see Andi’s book for these recipes).
Hard-grilled fast midweek curry fish
SERVES 2 READY IN 30 MINS PLUS MARINATING
● About 800g whole fish, such as 2 medium sea bass or bream, scaled and gutted (you can ask your fishmonger to do this for you) ● 150ml Green Seasoning (see Andi's book for the full recipe) ● 2 green bird’s-eye chillies, finely chopped ● 10g fresh ginger, finely grated ● Grated zest of 2 limes ● 3tsp Caribbean curry powder ● 2tsp garam m
