Neil’s chef tip for an added flavour dimension: boil a jug of water, add the teabag to the bowl of sultanas and pour over the boiling water, cover and leave in the fridge to cool for up to 24 hours before you come to make the salsa. Drain the sultanas then mix with the salsa ingredients. If time doesn’t permit, skip this step.
1. To make the bhaji, start by toasting the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan til aromatic, then sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add in all the other bhaji ingredients (including the cumin and coriander seeds) to the mix
2. Stir and leave for an hour until the mixture is slightly wetter and ready for frying. Note: if you’re wanting the mixture ready immediately, leave the onions aside, add a little water to the flour mixture to make a thick batter, then add the onions and fry
3. Shallow fry spoonful’s of the batter on a medium to high heat until golden brown, or deep fry
4. While the bhaji mix is sitting, put the passionfruit, mustard and salt together in a bowl, then whisk in the oil
5. Next, make the mint yoghurt by chopping the mint leaves and add to the yoghurt
6. Dice avocado and season with lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste and the drained, pre-soaked sultanas. Mix gently
7. Preheat a frying pan to a high heat then lightly brush the NZ farm raised venison with oil
8. Sear the venison over a high heat until it’s just warm in the middle. Allow 1 – 2 minutes for each side (for rare, 4-6 minutes for medium-rare)
9. Remove from the pan, cover and leave to rest in a warm spot for 5 minutes
10. To serve, slice venison and place on top of mint yoghurt, then top with avocado salsa, passionfruit dressing, then the onion bhaji
11. Optional: serve venison on the mango chutney and sprinkled with coriander
400g NZ farm raised venison medallions, at room temperature
1 tbsp neutral oil (e.g. rice bran)
1 large red onion – ½ finely diced and ½ sliced
60g chickpea flour – if you prefer your bhaji a little doughier, add extra flour
3 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp turmeric
Small dash of chili powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp red chili chopped
125g passionfruit pulp
50g Dijon mustard
Small dash of salt
35g neutral oil
Mint Yoghurt
150g plain unsweetened yoghurt
20 large mint leaves
Alternatively, for a quicker option use pre-made tzatziki from the supermarket
For the avocado & sultana salsa
40g sultanas
1 Earl Grey tea bag
1 avocado
1 lemon
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