Spiced Rissoles

I promise this will be the last post using black beans for a while, I must admit to picking up an ingredient and staying with it relentlessly until I then move on to another. I will revisit these recipes in the future though, discovering black turtle beans has been a good experience. Another recipe for Julia.

For these rissoles you will need,

700g of potatoes (boiled in salted water until tender)
200g of cooked black beans
1 medium onion chopped
2 spring onions chopped
200g of sprouting brocolli
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of salt 
1 tablespoon of oil
potato flour to dust the rissoles (wheat flour is fine if you are not avoiding gluten)
Oil for frying

Begin by gently frying the cumin seeds in the oil for a couple of minutes before adding the onion, spring onion, garlic, ginger and curry powder. cook on a gentle heat until the onion looks translucent. Finely shred the sprouting brocolli, other cabbage is fine for this recipe. Rinse the brocolli and drain well before adding to the pan. Continue to cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes before switching off the heat, add 1 tablespoon of water and put on a lid to both finish the cooking but also bring the caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan. There should be no water left when it comes to adding to the potatoes. mash the potatoes, a potato ricer is ideal for this because it doesn't break the potato up too much. Add the contents of the pan along with the black beans and seasoning. Mix well to form a firm mash. divide into small egg sized balls and form into rissoles, coat in whatever flour you are using and fry in hot oil until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes on each side on a medium heat.

Notes:
This mixture makes an excellent filling for vegetable samosas and if you are avoiding gluten, it also makes a good filling for bataka vada; form into egg size balls and dip in a batter made of 150g of gram flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and enough water to make a batter thick enough to coat the balls. Deep fry the battered balls for about 3 minutes, moving them around gently to ensure even browning.