carrot

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Indian food. If I could eat one cuisine for the rest of my life, it would be Indian! I just love the complexity and layers of flavours and the huge variety of vegetarian dishes. Enter these vibrant golden roti with curried carrot falafel and masala corn.

This dish is a fusion of all the things I love, with a healthy twist to celebrate my lovely friend Janine’s carnival on her blog and Instagram page. The idea is to create a healthy version of our favourite ‘fast food’ and this recipe, although it looks quite long is actually very quick to prepare and satisfies all my ‘fast food’ cravings. It’s full of flavour and gives me everything I crave when hunger strikes- veggies, spice and protein. You can prepare the curried carrot falafel and masala corn in advance, so you only have the roti to make on the day, then you can eat this in less than 10 minutes! Check out the details on her blog here or if you’re on Instagram, use #healthyfastfood4 to see all the entries so far. I particularly love Tiina’s sweet potato sandwich with cashew cheese. Drool!

Golden roti, curried carrot falafel and masala corn

If you’re making the whole thing, make the carrot cakes first, then the corn masala and the roti last.

Serve with veggies of choice- I used tomatoes, shredded cabbage and massaged kale. For a speedy meal, prepare the carrot falafel mix in advance, store in the fridge and then shape and fry while you make your roti.

Curried carrot falafel

• 1 tin chickpeas, drained and dried with a towel to remove any liquid
• 3 large carrots
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp chili seeds
• 1 tsp coconut oil

1. Chop your carrots into small chunks and boil until soft. Drain, allow to cool, then mash in a large bowl with the chickpeas. Stir through the spices.
2. Heat a skillet over a medium heat and add the coconut oil. Shape into little balls or patties and lightly fry until golden.

Corn masala

• 2 fresh corn on the cob
• 1 red onion
• 1 red chili
• thumb size piece of ginger
• 2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp coconut/avocado oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp garam masala

1. Heat a medium pan on medium/high heat with the coconut oil and add corn, onion, chili, ginger and spices. Fry for 7-8 minutes, then add the garlic and garam masala and cook for 5 minutes more, taking care not to let the garlic burn.

Golden roti

• 200g fine cornmeal
• 100g plain flour (can sub gluten free)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp avocado/coconut oil
• 1 chili, sliced very finely
• 3/4 cup hand hot water

1. Mix cornmeal, flour, salt, turmeric and oil together in a medium sized bowl with your fingers or a fork, until crumbs.
2. Stir through the chili and add the water a little at a time, until a smooth dough is formed. Knead for a minute or two until soft and pliable. Split dough up into golf ball size pieces.
3. Heat a frying pan or skillet to a medium/high heat and brush lightly with a little coconut oil.  Roll out roti into small disks, around 5mm thick. Lightly fry roti for three minutes each, turning half way through cooking.