My family loves Indian food, and wherever I go and cook on retreat I know that a curry meal will bring huge comfort to the participants.

When I go back home to Argentina I take my own curry kits, as Indian food is not readily available in my city but my friends love it.

When I was in Kerala last autumn we stayed in a little hotel by the backwaters, the local housewives cooked the food in their small outdoor restaurant and it was simply delightful.

On the first day we asked for the vegetable bhajis as a starter and I was mind blown by the flavours and spices in them. I had them every time they were on the blackboard and on the last day I spent the afternoon in the kitchen with women learning how to make them. They were so easy! I am already planning another trip to learn more tricks.

In summer days, they can be a meal on their own with a nice salad of baby leaves, rocket, cucumber, ripe tomatoes and fresh herbs. You can mix some yoghurt with fresh mint leaves as a dip to add moisture to the bhajis.

Cut the cabbage, carrots, red pepper and red onions. How you cut the vegetables is quite important, long thin strips are best. Place them in a bowl. Add chopped coriander leaves, the grated ginger and the sliced chillies.

Add the flour and spices and slowly pour in the water. You will have to stir with a wooden spoon and work the batter with the vegetables. Add seasoning at this point. You will end up with a paste of vegetables, quite yellow in colour.

Heat up the oil until hot in a wok or a deep non-stick frying pan. Separate small balls of vegetable-batter mixture and place them in the hot oil and, moving them around to turn them into batches of golden delicious bhajis. Drain them on a pile of kitchen paper. Serve with deep friend fresh curry leaves.

INGREDIENTS

150 g chickpea flour
250 ml of water
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
I teaspoon of garam masala
A handful of coriander leaves roughly chopped
A pinch of fennel seeds
A pinch of black mustard seeds
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
½ small white cabbage
2 carrots
1 red pepper
2 small red onions
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely
2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated coarsely
150 ml vegetable oil

• Florencia Clifford is a zen cook and the author of Feeding Orchids To The Slugs: Tales Of The Zen Kitchen. For more, visitfeedingorchidstotheslugs.wordpress.com