Quinoa and coriander seed flapjack

This is my kind of flapjack – savoury, sweet, crumbly and perfect with a cup of tea. Nice and portable, it doesn’t go mushy and isn’t full of sugar. It’s an excellent recipe for practising your chewing and tuning in to the subtle flavours of the coriander seeds and cardamom. In taste tests, this is a recipe that people fall in love with ... on second bite! Oats and sunflower seeds are great for Vata and Pitta. Quinoa is Tridoshic (see here), and this recipe has many dry qualities so this makes a really lovely breakfast or snack for Kapha types. If you like, you can also make these sweeter and cut them smaller as little desserts.

Makes 8

5 tbsp ground flax

175ml (¾ cup) water

l00g (1 cup) quinoa flakes

70g (½ cup)

sunflower seeds

4 tbsp ghee, butter or coconut oil

1½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed

seeds of 15 cardamom pods, ground, or ½ tsp ground cardamom

2 tbsp maple syrup

½ cup (65g) raisins

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp flaky sea salt

110g (1 cup) fine oats

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/gas mark 6) and line a 20cm (8in) square tin with baking parchment. To make the flax eggs, mix the ground flax with 120ml (½ cup) of the water and set aside.

2 Spread the quinoa flakes in a 5mm-thick layer on a baking tray, and repeat the process with the sunflower seeds on another baking tray. Bake both for 10 minutes until toasty and fragrant, stirring halfway through.

3 Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan/gas mark 4).

4 Melt the ghee in a small pan and fry the coriander and cardamom for 2 minutes over a medium-high heat, until fragrant. Remove from the heat.

5 In a medium bowl, stir together the rest of the water, the maple syrup, flax egg and raisins and then stir in the baking powder, oats, quinoa and two-thirds of the sunflower seeds, reserving the rest for the top.

6 Spread out the mixture in the prepared tin, pressing down firmly. Scatter over the remaining seeds and press again, using the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until firm.

7 Allow the flapjack to cool in the tin before slicing into 8 rectangles. The flapjacks store well in the fridge, or will keep for a few days at room temperature.

FEELING
VATA

Add more fat to make it unctuous, or cook the grains into a thick porridge first to get a squidgy bar (see tip).

TIP

•

For a softer bar, place the untoasted quinoa flakes and oats in a medium saucepan with 925ml water and cook over a medium-high heat for 15 minutes, stirring continuously until you have a cooked porridge. Continue with the rest of the recipe, adding 2 tablespoons more butter, ghee or coconut oil, and leaving out the water. Bake it for an extra 15 minutes.