I love rhubarb in all its myriad pudding forms: tarts, crumbles, roasted and served with lashings of vanilla custard. But there is only so much dessert a person can handle, so this year I decided to try using it in a savoury recipe. The natural tartness of rhubarb is a natural fit for an Indian-style pickle, but the flavour takes on an almost meaty deliciousness. Paired with lentil dumplings, or bora, and cool yoghurt, this makes a perfect midweek dinner.
Lentil dumpling wraps with rhubarb pickle
For an even tastier version, use frozen parathas (from south Asian food shops) instead of tortillas.
Soak overnight
Prep 15 min
Cook 15 min
Makes 4 wraps, to serve 2 for dinner or 4 as a snack
For the pickle
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
200g rhubarb
½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp table salt
2 tbsp caster sugar
150ml mild oil (eg, rapeseed)
For the fried lentil dumplings
200g dried split, hulled urad lentils, soaked overnight
100g brown onion, peeled and finely diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced, plus the same volume fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced
4 tbsp plain flour
½ tsp table salt
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1-2 green bird’s eye chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
150ml vegetable oil, for frying
To serve
4 mini tortillas, or parathas
Greek yoghurt
For the pickle, lightly grind the fennel, nigella, coriander and fenugreek seeds in a mortar until crushed but not powdered.
Chop the rhubarb into ½cm dice, then put in a saucepan with all the remaining pickle ingredients. Cook on a low-medium heat until the rhubarb just starts to break apart, then take off the heat and leave to cool.
To make the dumplings, drain and rinse the lentils, then briefly blitz in a food processor until they’re breaking apart but not yet a puree. Tip into a bowl, then stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, flour, salt, turmeric, chilli and fresh coriander. Form the mixture into 20 balls (oil your hands first to stop it sticking), then pat each one down into a roughly 1½cm-thick disc.
Warm the oil in a large saucepan, then fry the dumplings in batches for about three minutes on each side, until hazelnut brown all over.
To assemble, put four or five dumplings in each tortilla, add a generous helping of yoghurt and rhubarb pickle, and tuck in.
