Spice & easy

Persian influenced dishes infused with spices bring vibrant flavour in Sabrina Ghayour's newest book and she promises they're easy to make, too

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Fragrant chicken kofta patties

MAKES 14

Thigh meat is fantastic for koftas, as it retains moisture and has so much more flavour than breast meat, making it especially worthy of spicing up.

FOR THE KOFTAS

• 500g chicken thigh mince

• 1 small packet (about 30g) of fresh coriander, finely chopped

• Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lime (reserve the zested lime to serve)

• 2tsp ground turmeric

• 1tsp ground cumin

• 1tsp pul biber chilli flakes

• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced from root to tip

• 2 fat garlic cloves, minced

• Vegetable oil, for frying

• Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

TO SERVE

• Warmed flatbreads

• Steamed rice

• Thick Greek yogurt

1 Put all the kofta ingredients, except the oil for frying, into a mixing bowl along with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Using your hands, work the ingredients together really well for a few minutes until you have a smooth paste.

2 Divide the mixture into 14 equal portions and roll into balls, then gently press and flatten into patties 1cm thick.

3 Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, drizzle in some vegetable oil and fry your patties, in two batches, for about 5 minutes on each side until firm and cooked through.

4 When all the koftas are cooked, serve in warmed flatbreads with steamed rice, alongside yogurt and a parsley, sumac and onion salad. Cut the leftover zested lime into 4 wedges and serve for squeezing over the koftas.

Sweet & sour broccoli chopped salad

SERVES 3-4