Meghan Markle's favourite recipes from Grenfell community cookbook

The Duchess of Sussex has helped a group of women from Grenfell Tower to produce their very own cookbook, showcasing the family recipes they cook at the Hubb Community Kitchen, which was set up to support the local community from the tragic fire that engulfed the building in June 2017. Together: Our Community Kitchen, celebrates the power of food in bringing communities together and features a foreword by Meghan, who has made regular visits to the kitchen since January 2018.

Scroll through to sample three of the delicious recipes on offer - vegetable samosas by Munira Mahmud, Coconut Chicken Curry by Aysha Bora, and Caramelised Plum Upside-Down Cake by Faiza Hayani Bellili from the Hubb Community Kitchen.

Together –Our Community Cookbook Foreword by HRH The Duchess of Sussex (published by Ebury Press, 20 Sept, £9.99 hbk)

Vegetable Samosas by Munira Mahmud from the Hubb Community Kitchen:

INGREDIENTS:

makes 12 samosas

• 1 potato, about 150g
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• about 120g white cabbage, finely sliced
• 1 large carrot, about 120g, peeled and grated
• 100g mixed red and green peppers, cored, de-seeded and finely chopped
• 50g frozen peas
• ½ tsp granulated sugar
• 12 spring roll pastry wrappers
• 25 x 25cm 1 egg, lightly beaten salt

NOTE: You can also make spring rolls with this filling. Filled samosas can be frozen for up to 8 weeks. Bake them from frozen for 20 minutes.

MORE: Coconut chicken curry recipe from Meghan's new cookbook

METHOD:

1. Boil the potato in salted water for 30 minutes until soft. Drain and leave to cool, then peel and dice.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add the spice seeds and fry for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook for about 2 minutes, until translucent. Add the turmeric and cinnamon and stir for a few seconds until the onion is coated with the spices. Add the cabbage, carrot and peppers and cook over high heat for 4–5 minutes or until soft.
3. Add the diced potato, peas, ½ teaspoon of salt and the sugar and stir for a couple of minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Transfer to a large plate or a tray and leave to cool.
4. Cut each pastry square in half to make two rectangles. Keep the pastry covered with a clean, damp tea towel to stop it drying out. Working with one strip of pastry at a time and with a long edge facing you, fold the bottom right-hand corner of the strip to meet the top edge, forming a triangle, then fold the top right-hand corner over to meet the top left-hand corner of the strip, forming a square. Brush the single layer of pastry (bottom left) with some beaten egg and fold over to form a triangular pouch.
5. Open the pouch and fill with about 3 tablespoons of the samosa filling. Brush the triangular flap with beaten egg and fold over to seal the pouch. Place on a tray and keep covered while you make the rest of the samosas.
6. To bake the samosas, preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place the samosas on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little oil and then with some beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn them over, brush the other side with oil and egg and bake for another 10 minutes.

Photo: Jenny Zarins

Coconut Chicken Curry by Aysha Bora from the Hubb Community Kitchen:

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large chicken, jointed into 8 pieces, excess skin trimmed away
• 1 large ripe tomato, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, quartered
• 15g fresh root ginger
• peeled 4 garlic cloves
• peeled 6 serrano chillies
•  stems removed and de-seeded (use fewer if you prefer milder curries)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 x 400ml tins coconut milk
• 3 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and halved
• juice of ½ lemon
• salt and pepper
• 10g fresh coriander, chopped, to garnish
• rice, chapatis or flatbreads, to serve

METHOD:

1. Score each piece of the chicken in two or three places, slicing about 1cm into the meat.
2. Put the tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, chillies, cumin, coriander, turmeric and some salt and pepper into a food processor and blend to a rough paste. Rub one third of the paste all over the chicken, into the cuts and under the skin; reserve the rest of the mixture. Refrigerate the chicken for at least 1 hour, or up to 5 hours.
3. Preheat the grill to the highest setting, and line a large baking tin with foil.
4. In a large pan, melt the coconut oil on a medium heat; add the remaining paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until all of the moisture evaporates. Increase the heat slightly and cook for 3–5 minutes until the paste is thick and dark. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 25–30 minutes until the sauce is thick.
5. Meanwhile, put the marinated chicken, skin side up, in the lined baking tin and grill for 15 minutes, until well coloured and charred, then turn the chicken over and grill for another 5 minutes to make sure it is cooked through.
6. Stir the chicken and any juices into the curry pan, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes until the flavours have combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the boiled eggs and the lemon juice to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve with rice, chapatis or flatbreads.

Photo: Jenny Zarins

Caramelised Plum Upside-Down Cake by Faiza Hayani Bellili from the Hubb Community Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

serves 8 –10

• 2 tsp sunflower oil, for greasing
• 300g granulated sugar
• 100g unsalted butter, very soft
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 8 plums, halved and stoned
• 40g dark brown soft sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 25g cornflour
• 50g ground almonds
• 100g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease a 23cm round springform cake tin with the sunflower oil and place on a baking sheet. For the caramel, put 225g of the granulated sugar into a small, wide, heavy pan on a low heat. Without stirring, let the sugar dissolve completely. Once liquid, let it gently bubble for 15–20 minutes or until it is a deep golden colour. Add 10g of the butter, half the vanilla extract and the salt, gently swirling the pan to combine the butter as it melts.
2. Once fully incorporated, immediately remove from the heat and pour the caramel into the prepared cake tin. Place the plum halves on top, cut side down, nestled tightly together, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining butter together with the remaining granulated sugar and the brown sugar until pale and creamy: this will take 2–3 minutes using a handheld electric whisk; if you don’t have one, use a wooden spoon.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well. Once the eggs are well combined, add the remaining vanilla extract, the cornflour, ground almonds, flour and baking powder to the bowl and fold through with a metal spoon until just combined (taking care not to over-mix), then pour over the plums.
4. Smooth over the top, then bake for 40–45 minutes until cooked through: a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean.
5. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving plate. To do this, put the serving plate on top of the tin and flip over before releasing the sides of the tin and removing the base. Let the cake cool for a further 5 minutes before slicing.

Photo: Jenny Zarins