Crispy Garlic Mogo: oven-style

This Diwali was very different to most. Our excitement at being able to meet friends and family was soon quashed as we were on lockdown here in the UK. Thanks, COVID19! Nevertheless we worked hard to pull out all the stops and try to make it a fabulous Diwali for our kids. And as we all know - fabulous means food, right?! I am not much of a fryer and whilst some dishes just don't quite make it in their non-fried forms, other dishes rise to the challenge. Enter: Crispy Garlic Mogo. It's crispy. It's garlicky. And it's roasted! The perfect party food for when you'd rather bung something in the oven and play with your kids than stand around frying stuff. 

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Ingredients (serves 6 - 8):
1 kg frozen mogo (cassava) chips, boiled (see method)
5 large cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of red chilli powder (or to taste)
1 tsp sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp chopped fresh corriander

Method:

1. To cook the mogo, place it in a large pan of boiling water and boil on a high heat for 30-35 minutes, until the mogo has softened. Drain and set aside
2. Preheat oven to the highest temperature (mine was set at 250c)
3. Add 1/2 of the oil into a large roasting tin, or split between 2 smaller tins
4. Add the mogo along with the garlic, salt, pepper, chilli poweder, sugar and half of the lemon juice. Mix well to coat the mogo evenly
5. Cover the dish(es) with tin foil and place in the centre of the hot oven for 30 minutes
6. Remove and reduce the oven temperature to 220c
7. Add in the remaining lemon juice, corriander and oil, and mix well
8. Place uncovered in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, mixing in between to ensure the the mogo is crispy but not burnt
9. Serve hot with green corriander chutney, red tomato chutney and brown dates chutney

Tips:

• The best thing about this dish is that you can ramp up the spice level to your taste - add in fresh green chillies for an extra kick, or simply add more red chilli powder
• If you do not have fresh garlic you can use garlic paste instead. As much or as little as you like!
• Oil...I always tend to use less, but you can add more if the mogo seems too dry. The best time to add it is when you are returning it uncovered to the oven, and then when checking it in the final stages of cooking to get the crispiness on-point
• I love it when the garlic caremalises in the oven and the taste of the charred corriander...mmm...but if you're not so keen then add the garlic at the second stage (when returning to the oven uncovered) and use the corriander as a garnish when serving
• If you do not have chutneys, fear not! I think we get through half of the mogo before anyone remembers to dip into the chutney
• Mogo is a great party dish as it works well with lots of other things. On Diwali, I served it along with my filo samosa, bombay mix, boiled chickpeas, yoghurt and chutneys to make a Chaat-style meal. This was great as everyone could pick and choose how they wanted to eat
• Leftover - if there are any, can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you want to eat them, you can gently reheat in the oven to get them crispy again; OR if you have an airfryer then that'll do the trick!

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​​​Enjoy! If you have tried this recipe then please feel free to comment below and let me know how it went. If you have any questions then please ask and I'll do my best to answer!

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