How to make Indian-spiced spring green and sweet potato cakes

These young, tender cabbages are to Beverley Hicks, exactly what their name suggest, a sign of the change of seasons. They're naturally sweet and only need cooking for a couple of minutes

Top with yogurt, pomegranate seeds, chopped coriander and a few red chilli slices (Beverley Hicks)

I’ve always associated spring greens with the arrival of spring, which is probably more to do with the name than anything else.

My mum certainly made the best of this particular seasonal vegetable, and by the best I mean greens with everything. I loved them but I’m not sure my brother felt the same way – family meal-wise, spring was not a good season for him.

Spring greens are simply young, tender cabbage plants, they are a lot looser packed and don’t have the hard core which is usually found in the centre of fully grown cabbages.

When preparing for cooking don’t remove the stems, they are just as sweet, if not sweeter than the leaves, just chop them a little finer to ensure even cooking.

Nutritionally, spring greens are powerhouses, they are packed with vitamins C, K and E and are high in iron, potassium, fibre and calcium.

They are second only to brussels sprouts for their levels of glucosinolates, which some studies have shown can suppress cancer cell development in the colon, lungs, liver, bladder, breast and stomach.

The yogurt dressing has a mixture of tamarind paste, lime juice and mango chutney which combine to give it a gentle sweet and sour taste to compliment the earthy flavour of the spices in the sweet potato cakes. It’s also really good as a dip for poppadoms or crudités.

(Beverley Hicks)

Indian-spiced spring green and sweet potato cakes with tamarind yogurt dressing

Makes about 20-25 small cakes

For the cakes

2 tablespoons ghee, separated
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
A fat finger of ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon asafoetida​
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
200g spring greens, finely chopped
1 medium sweet potato (about 250g), peeled and coarsely grated
100g carrots, coarsely grated
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
3 eggs

For the tamarind yogurt dressing

100g thick yogurt​
2 teaspoons tamarind paste
2 teaspoons mango chutney
Juice of 1 lime
¼ teaspoon salt

To garnish

Pomegranate seeds
Coriander, chopped
Red chilli

Melt 1 tablespoon of the ghee in a large sauce pan on a medium heat and sauté the onions until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes. Tip in the spices and cook together for another minute, stirring constantly or the spices will catch on the bottom of the pan. Remove to a large bowl.

Fill another large bowl with cold water and add some ice, leave to one side. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and drop the chopped spring greens in to the bubbling water. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, drain in a colander and plunge into the iced water, this will help them keep their colour. After a minute or so, drain the spring greens and, with your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can then add them to the mixing bowl along with the remaining potato cake ingredients. Mix well together.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of ghee in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add heaped teaspoons of the mixture to the pan, flatten with a spatula and leave to cook for 2-3 minutes. Check the undersides are cooked and golden then carefully flip over and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess ghee and continue to cook the rest of the cakes.

To make the tamarind yogurt dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

To serve, put the cakes onto a wire rack and heat in a medium oven for about 5 minutes until crispy and hot through. Place on a serving dish drizzled with the tamarind yogurt dressing. Add a dollop of mango chutney to the dish and some lime wedges. Sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds, chopped coriander and a few red chilli slices.

Follow Beverley Hicks @littlechelseakitchen