Vegetables take centre stage at our restaurant, Acme Fire Cult, be they grilled, smoked or coal-roasted in dying embers until they’re rich with sweetness and char. Fire transforms vegetables in a way that no conventional kitchen can, and that approach has followed me on my travels throughout India, where cooking over coals is embedded in everyday life, from roadside tandoors to beachside grills. The bold, spice-laden food of Goa and Kerala in particular have shaped my cooking, and today’s dishes, both inspired by fire and spice, are veg-forward barbecue dishes with roots in tradition and flavour, only turned way up.
Aubergine recheado with Keralan curry and coconut-lime pickle
I’ve spent a lot of time in Goa and Kerala, and this is a love letter to both. Recheado, which means “stuffed” in Portuguese, is a fiery Goan masala paste that’s traditionally rubbed into oily fish before frying or grilling, but it’s just as transformative on vegetables (I’ve toned down the chilli a bit, so just dial it up if you want more heat). The sauce borrows from the coconut-based curries of Kerala’s backwaters, all fragrant with curry leaves, sour with kokum and tinged red by Mexican guajillo chillies, which aren’t exactly traditional, but I seem to put them in almost everything these days. Kokum is a sour dried fruit from Goa’s Konkan coast that I always bring back in my suitcase. You can get it in south Asian food shops; failing that, tamarind will also do the job.
Prep 25 min
Cook 1 hr+
Serves 4
12 baby aubergines, washed and split open lengthways (don’t cut all the way through)
Olive oil, for drizzling
Flaky sea salt
Lime pickle (homemade or a good-quality jar), to serve
A few toasted coconut flakes, or shards of roasted fresh coconut
1 small bunch fresh curry leaves, picked, washed, dried, fried until crisp and drained, to serve (optional)
For the spice paste
10g dried kashmiri chillies (about 3-4)
4 whole cloves
3g black peppercorns (about ½ tsp)
3g cumin seeds (about ½ tsp)
1 small cinnamon stick
30g piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (about 2 tbsp)
20g peeled garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
20ml olive oil
20ml merlot vinegar
20g jaggery, or caster sugar
12g dried kokum pieces (about 2½ tsp), soaked, or 2 tsp tamarind paste
10g smoked paprika (about 2 tsp)
4g flaky sea salt (about ¾ tsp)
2g ground turmeric (about ½ tsp)
For the curry sauce
40g coconut oil
4g yellow mustard seeds (about 1¼ tsp)
1 small bunch curry leaves (about 10 leaves)
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (60g net)
20g piece peeled ginger, sliced
10g peeled garlic (about 2 cloves), chopped
50g fresh green unripe mango, peeled and chopped
50g grated fresh coconut, or frozen grated coconut
12g dried guajillo chillies (1-2 chillies), rehydrated in cold water, drained and deseeded
5g ground turmeric (about 1 tsp)
5g kashmiri chilli powder (about 1 tsp)
5g dried kokum pieces (about 1 tsp), soaked and not drained, or 1 tsp tamarind paste
400ml tinned coconut milk
Flaky sea salt, to taste
First make the paste. Toast the dried chillies, cloves, peppercorns, cumin seeds and cinnamon in a small dry frying pan on a medium heat, turning often, until fragrant, then tip into a mortar or spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Tip into a blender, add all the remaining paste ingredients and blitz to make a thick masala.
Now make the curry sauce. Melt the coconut oil in a wide pan, then fry the mustard seeds and curry leaves until they pop. Add the shallots, ginger and garlic, and saute, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden. Stir in the mango, grated coconut, chilli, turmeric, chilli powder and kokum, cook for a few minutes, then pour in the coconut milk and 200ml water, and simmer for 15–20 minutes. Blend until silky-smooth and the consistency of passata (if need be, add up to 100ml more water to loosen), then season with salt to taste and keep warm.
Gently prise open each aubergine, stuff them all evenly with the masala paste, then coat the outsides, too. (If you like, you can do this ahead of time, and even the day before.)
When you’re ready to cook, get the barbecue going, ready to cook over both direct and indirect heat (to cook indoors, turn on the grill to medium-high). Drizzle the aubergines with oil and season with a pinch of salt, then grill cut side up over direct heat for five to seven minutes, until lightly charred. Move the aubergines to indirect heat (or put them in a cast-iron pan and cover), close the lid of the barbecue and leave to cook for another 10-15 minutes, until soft and just starting to collapse.
To serve, spoon the sauce on to a platter, arrange the aubergines on top and finish with a little lime pickle, crisp fried curry leaves and pieces of roasted coconut, if using.
Aslam’s butter corn
Many years ago, while exploring the narrow streets of Old Delhi, I was tipped off about a place called Aslam Chicken, a small, chaotic spot that serves a butter chicken unlike any I’d tasted before. There’s no tomato sauce, just skewers of grilled marinated chicken pulled off the fire and drowned in cream, yoghurt and an obscene amount of melted butter. I’ve reworked that recipe over the years, often swapping the chicken for corn or cauliflower, and it has since become one of our go-to vegetable dishes – indulgent, highly spiced and, if need be, easily adapted for plant-based cooking.
Prep 25 min
Marinate 4 hr+
Cook 20 min
Serves 6 as a side
6 corn on the cobs, steamed or boiled until just tender, then cut in half widthways
Melted ghee, for brushing, plus 4 tbsp extra to finish
Flaky sea salt, to taste
1 generous pinch chaat masala
2 tbsp thick greek yoghurt
3 tbsp double cream
2–3 fresh mint sprigs, leaves picked
Pink onions, to serve (see below and method)
1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced (remove the pith and seeds if you prefer less heat), to serve
For the spice blend
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cloves
4 green cardamom pods
1 small piece mace
1 small cinnamon stick
2–4 dried kashmiri chillies, to taste
½ tsp black peppercorns
For the marinade
2½cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (AKA kasuri methi)
1 tsp chaat masala
2 tbsp thick greek yoghurt
1–2 tsp salt, to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp ghee
For the pink onions (optional)
2 red onions, peeled and cut into ½cm-thick slices
1 tsp dried hibiscus (optional, for colour)
1 bay leaf
50g red-wine vinegar, merlot, ideally
25g sugar
First pickle the onions, if making. Put the sliced onions in a heatproof bowl with the hibiscus and bay. Put 100ml water in a saucepan with the vinegar and sugar, bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then pour this over the onions. Leave to cool, then cover and refrigerate. They will now keep for up to a week.
Next, make the spice blend. Put all the whole spices in a dry pan, turn on the heat to medium and toast, turning often, until fragrant. Tip into a mortar, food processor or spice grinder, then grind to a fine powder.
Put all the marinade ingredients in a blender, add the spice powder and blitz to a smooth paste. Rub this mix all over the corn and leave to marinate for at least four hours, and preferably overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, get the barbecue going, ready to cook over direct heat (if cooking indoors, turn on the grill to medium-high). Grill the corn, turning them regularly and brushing with ghee, for five to seven minutes, until lightly charred all over.
Transfer the cooked corn to a large bowl, add a big pinch of chaat masala, the yoghurt, cream and melted ghee, toss to coat evenly, then serve topped with the torn mint, pink onions and fresh chilli.