Squash & Ginger Pakoras with Watercress Raita

For the raita

1. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until fairly smooth, with a few green specks still visible. It can also be made by hand and left chunky; finely slice the leaves and chilli if using, crush the garlic to a purée with the back of a knife and some salt, then stir everything together.

For the pakoras

1. Heat a deep fat fryer or a large saucepan of oil to around 180°c.
2. First, make the batter: combine the flours, spices and salt before mixing in the water until smooth. Let it rest while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Peel the squash and cut each end off, then cut lengthways and remove all the seeds. I find a dessert spoon works best for this. Cut each half into 3 or 4 pieces so they can then be easily grated by hand or with a grating attachment in a food processor.
4. Grate the ginger on a fine side of a grater or by using a microplane. Peel and finely slice the red onion.
5. Now stir the grated ginger and squash, sliced red onion and coriander leaves into the batter. Use 2 spoons to form the pakoras and drop them carefully into the hot oil one by one. Fry until they are dark golden. You must fry the pakoras immediately after the vegetables have been added, otherwise they will leak water and the batter will become too thin. Drain the pakoras on kitchen paper and then serve warm with the watercress raita.