Celebrate Thanksgiving like Meghan Markle with 5 recipes from her charity cookbook

Munira Mahmud: "Grenfell was a real community and my neighbor Rania and I used to party with food all the time. The first time I made these samosas for her, she ate ten of them. Really! They look like a lot of work, but if you have a food processor to chop the vegetables it’s very easy. Use my quick way of folding them too, to save time. Just be sure to make enough…"

Ingredients - makes 12 samosas

1 potato

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

120g/4½ oz green cabbage, finely sliced

1 large carrot, grated

100g/3½ oz mixed red and green bell peppers, cored, seeded and finely chopped

50g/½ cup frozen peas

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

12 spring roll pastry wrappers, 25 x 25cm/10 x 10 in

1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Boil the potato in salted water for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and let cool, then peel and dice.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over 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 spices. Add the cabbage, carrot and peppers and cook over high heat for 4–5 minutes or until tender.

Add the diced potato, peas, salt and sugar and stir for a couple of minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a large plate or a tray and let cool.

Cut each wrapper in half to make two rectangle strips. Keep the wrappers covered with a clean, damp cloth to stop them from drying out. Working with one strip 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 shape. Brush the single layer of pastry (bottom left) with some beaten egg and fold over to form a triangular pouch. Open the pouch and fill with about 3 tablespoons of the samosa filling. Brush the pointy end 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.

Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment 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 or until golden.

Sanna Mirza: "This is a simple salad, with just a few ingredients, from the south of Iran. The fresh flavors go well with chicken or with lamb dishes such as Ghormeh Sabz."

Ingredients - serves 4

3 small Persian cucumbers, 350g/12 oz diced

3 tomatoes, 300g/10 oz seeded and diced

¼ red onion, finely diced

zest and juice of 1 lime

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Mix the diced cucumber, tomato and onion in a serving bowl.

Add the lime zest and juice, salt, pepper and olive oil. Toss gently until all the ingredients are well coated and serve immediately.

Note: Persian cucumbers are supposed to be less bitter, but it is fine to use regular ones. You can also use lemon zest and juice in place of the lime, if desired.

Faiza Hayani Bellili: "As soon as I heard about the Kitchen, I volunteered to help, cooking recipes from my homeland, Algeria. This cake is one my mum used to make. She always said plums are an unreliable fruit – they can be quite sour when raw. This brings out the best in them."

Ingredients - Serves 8 to 10

2 tsp sunflower oil, for greasing

300g/1½ cups granulated sugar

100g/7 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

8 plums, halved and pitted

40g/¼ packed cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

2 heaping tbsp cornstarch

50g/⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp almond meal

100g/¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 23cm/9-inch round springform cake pan with sunflower oil and place on a baking sheet.

For the caramel, put 225g/1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar into a small, wide, heavy pan over low heat. Without stirring, let the sugar dissolve completely. Once liquid, let it gently bubble for 15–20 minutes, until it is a deep golden color. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter, half the vanilla extract and the salt, gently swirling the pan to combine the butter as it melts. Once fully incorporated, immediately remove from the heat and pour the caramel into the prepared cake pan. Place the plum halves on top, cut side down, nestled tightly together, and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the remaining 85g/6 tablespoons butter together with the remaining 75g/6 tablespoons granulated sugar and the brown sugar until pale and creamy: this will take 2–3 minutes using electric beaters; if you don’t have them, use a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well. Once the eggs are well combined, add the remaining vanilla extract, the cornstarch, almond meal, flour and baking powder to the bowl and fold through with a spoon until just combined (taking care not to overmix), then pour over the plums. Smooth the top, then bake for 50–55 minutes until cooked through; a thin skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Place a serving plate on top of the pan and flip over before releasing the sides of the pan and removing the base. Let the cake cool for another 5 minutes before slicing.

*This piece was originally published on November 18, 2018.

Recipe by Ahlam Saeid from the Hubb Community Kitchen

ngredients - Serves 4

500g lamb neck fillet or boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 3cm cubes

1 litre chicken stock (made with 2 stock cubes)

300g basmati rice

250g frozen broad beans

4 tbsp sunflower oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

40g fresh dill, finely chopped

2 tbsp dried dill

For the cucumber, dill and yoghurt sauce

1 cucumber, coarsely grated

500g full-fat natural yoghurt

1 tsp dried dill

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions::

1. Place the lamb and stock in a large pan and bring to the boil. Skim off the foam on the surface, reduce the heat to medium–low and gently simmer for 1 hour (or 1½ hours if you are using lamb shoulder), until cooked through.

2. Wash the rice and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Blanch the broad beans in a pan of boiling water for 2–3 minutes, drain and refresh under cold water. Remove the outer skins.

3. When the lamb is cooked, drain and reserve the stock. Heat half of the oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the garlic until it just starts to colour. Add the cooked lamb and fry for 5–6 minutes until evenly browned, stirring all the time. Add the broad beans and half of the fresh and dried dill and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate, set aside and keep warm.

4. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil on a low–medium heat. Drain the rice and add to the pan, stirring until all the grains are coated with oil. Add 500ml of the meat stock, bring to a simmer, cover with a tight-fitting lid, then turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, make the yoghurt sauce. Mix the grated cucumber and yoghurt in a bowl. Season to taste. Sprinkle with the dried dill and drizzle with the olive oil.

6. When the rice is ready, stir it with a fork to fluff it. Add the rest of the fresh and dried dill, the reserved meat and broad beans, and stir gently. Add a little of the reserved stock if you need extra moisture and cook on a low heat for about 8 minutes. Serve immediately, with the cucumber, dill and yoghurt sauce.

Recipe by Aysha Bora from the Hubb Community Kitchen

INGREDIENTS - Serves 4

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

Instructions:

Score each piece of the chicken in two or three places, slicing about 1cm into the meat.

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.

Preheat the grill to the highest setting, and line a large baking tin with foil.

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.

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.

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.