Too Many Potatoes and Kumera

Every second Saturday there is a farmers market in Margaret River. It is a fabulous place to pick up fantastic local produce and tends to be a bit of a locals hang for coffee and pastries on the lawn, listening to some music and catching up on the latest town gossip. Jarvis absolutely loves the markets and takes it upon himself to decide what we will buy (little bossy boots that he has become) and often gets a few freebies from the delighted store holders for making comments like "We need to get some broccoli, I LOVE broccoli" (no normal child says stuff like that). This weekend, like every other visit, we left the markets laden with fresh fruit and veges, but in particular we had picked up an abundance of potatoes and kumera (sweet potatoes) at a bargain price, so this week's menu will see these veges feature prominently. The first of such dishes was kumera and potato filled parathas. We had the parathas with a spicy red lentil dish (which was originally recommended by Tash), with yogurt on the side. It was a huge hit; both with our family and the backpackers who scored the leftovers (I suspect it must have been a nice change from 2 minute noodles).

Stuffed Parathas

1 cup (160g) wholemeal plain flour

1 cup (150g) white plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

100g ghee, chopped

1/2 cup (125ml) water, approximately

100g ghee extra

Filling

1 large (300g) potato, chopped

1/2 small (125g) kumera, chopped

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, bruised

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup firmly packed fresh coriander leaves

Filling: Boil or stream potato and kumera until tender. Mash vegetables coarsely, stir in spices and coriander. Set aside.

Sift flours and salt into large bowl, rub in ghee. Stir in enough water to make ingredients cling together. Turn dough onto floured surface, knead about 10 minutes or until smooth. Divide dough into 16 portions, roll each portion on floured surface into a 16cm round. Stack rounds between layers of plastic wrap to prevent drying out.

Divide filling among 8 rounds. Spread filling over rounds, leaving 7mm borders. Brush borders with water, top with remaining rounds, press edges together to seal. Heat some of the extra ghee in large pan, add parathas in batches, cook until browned and slightly puffed on both sides; drain on absorbent paper. Repeat with remaining ghee and parathas.

Spiced Red Lentils (from Plenty)

200g split red lentils

350ml water

50g bunch of coriander, plus extra leaves to garnish

1 small onion, peeled

40g peeled fresh root ginger

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 mild fresh green chilli

1 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

4 tbsp sunflower oil

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp sweet paprika

10 curry leaves

300g peeled, chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)

2 tsp caster sugar

1/4 tsp fenugreek (optional)

pinch of asafoetida (optional)

Wash the lentils under plenty of running cold water, then soak in the 350ml of water for 30 minutes. Cut up the coriander leaves roughly (top half of the bunch); set aside. Place the stalk ends in a food processor and add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli - all roughly broken. Pulse a few times to chops everything up without turning it to a paste. Put the mustard seeds in a heavy-based pot and set on a medium heat. When they begin to pop, add the chopped onion mix and the sunflower oil. Cook and stir on a low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika and curry leaves, and continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes. Next, add the lentils and their soaking water, tomatoes, sugar, fenugreek and asafoetida, if using, and some salt. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until lentils are fully cooked.