Rich's Nettle "Barge"is

Alex here. My partner, Rich, became a very enthusiastic about making bhajis with wild greens during the first national lockdown. We live on a barge (hence the pun) and had easy access to abundant edible greenery. He made these with all sorts of greens, from nettles to young oak leaves, comfrey to garlic mustard. This is his recipe.

Ingredients

Nettle leaves (or baby Oak leaves, or Comfrey, or a combination!)
Olive oil
An onion
½ tsp Chilli flakes
½ tsp Cumin
½ tsp Turmeric
Gram flour (chickpea flour)
Water
Pinch of sea salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
Canola (rapeseed) oil for shallow frying

Method

Make a batter with the gram flour and water. Some like a thin batter, some like a thick batter. Experiment! (tip: to avoid lumps start with a tiny amount of water to make a thick paste, then add water bit by bit as you mix)
Add the salt and pepper to the batter. This will thicken it slightly so allow for it when adding water.
Leave to rest for 60 mins
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and add the spices. Fry the spices until they crackle then add the onion. Fry on a low heat until soft and brown.
Add the nettle leaves and a tablespoon of water. Put on the lid and cook on a low heat for a minute or two until they have wilted.
Remove the lid and cook for a minute longer to evaporate some of the water.
Heat the canola/rapeseed oil in a frying pan until it’s very hot. You need about ½ a cm in the pan. Make dessert spoon sized little balls of nettle/onion/spice mix. Then dunk them in the batter on the spoon and transfer them to fry. Depending on how thick your batter is, they probably flatten out a bit from balls into little disks. Cook them for a couple of minutes on each side until the batter is golden brown. The mixture inside is already cooked so you only need to worry about the batter cooking.
Lift them out and put them on some kitchen roll (paper towel) to take off excess oil.
Serve with Sriracha or Sweet Chilli Sauce.