CHUKANDAR AUR CHICKPEA KEBAB: GUEST POST BY PRATIBHA RAO

CHUKANDAR AUR CHICKPEA KEBAB: GUEST POST BY PRATIBHA RAO

Today's Guest Post is contributed by my friend, Pratibha Rao. She sent in a recipe for Beetroot and Chickpea Kebab along with this beautiful photograph. The recipe is adapted from "Chukandar Aur Chickpea Kebabs" by Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

Ingredients:

• Beetroot ( Chukandar), medium-sized, 2
• Chickpeas, 1 cup
• Roasted Bengal Gram, (Bhuna Chana), 1/2 cup
• Ginger, finely chopped, 1 " piece
• Red Chilli Powder, 1 tbsp
• Black Pepper Powder, 1 tsp
• Onions, medium-sized, finely chopped, 2
• Kitchen King Masala, 1 and 1/2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for shallow frying
• Chaat Masala, for sprinkling
• Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, for garnish 
• Lemon Wedges, for garnish

Method:

Wash, boil and peel the beetroots and grate them. Keep aside

Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook them the next day. Allow them to cool and keep aside.

In a non-stick kadhai, dry roast the Roasted Bengal Gram till they are lightly browned

Transfer this to a mixer, add the cooked chickpeas and grind to get a smooth paste

Transfer this to a bowl and add the boiled and grated beetroot, finely chopped ginger, red chilli powder, pepper powder, finely chopped onion, Kitchen King Masala (or equivalent), and salt to taste.

Mix well to form a mixture.

Divide this mixture and roll into 12 balls of roughly the same size. Flatten them slightly.

Heat oil in the same kadhai and when it gets hot, add 6 of the balls and shallow fry them flipping on both sides till they turn golden and crisp 

Likewise, shallow fry the next batch of 6 kebabs
Sprinkle chaat masala on them.

Garnish the kebabs with finely chopped coriander and lemon wedges.
Serve immediately with tomato ketchup or chutney of your choice.

POHA (BEATEN RICE) CUTLETS

POHA (BEATEN RICE) CUTLETS

Cutlets are a popular choice when you are looking for a snack in the evenings. Elsewhere in this blog you will find the recipes for cutlets that I make from time to time such as Palak and Corn Cutlets, and Sprouted Moong Cutlets.

Poha is "Beaten Rice" in Hindi and this recipe for Poha Cutlet is adapted from the one given by the legendary Tarlaji Dalal. It makes for a filling snack and goes best with a green chutney.

There are different types of beaten rice available in the market, please choose the thick variety for making these cutlets.

Ingredients:

• Poha, (Thick variety of Beaten Rice), 2 cups
• Yellow Moong Dal, (Split Yellow Gram), 1/4 cup
• Green Chillies, finely chopped, 1 tbsp
• Palak (Spinach), finely chopped, 1/4 cup
• Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 1 tbsp
• Sugar, 2 tsp
• Lemon Juice, 2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, as required, for greasing and making the cutlets

Method:

Firstly, wash the moong dal and soak it in enough water for about an hour and then drain completely

Take the poha in a colander, and wash it under running water for a few seconds. Keep aside until the water drains out completely

In a mixer, add the soaked moong dal, poha, and green chillies and grind to a coarse paste without adding any water

Transfer this mixture to a bowl, add the chopped spinach, coriander leaves, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Mix thoroughly

Divide this mixture into 10 equal portions and shape each of them into flat cutlets of the same size

Heat a non-stick tawa and grease it with 1 tsp of oil

Place five of the cutlets and shallow fry them using oil as required, till they turn golden then flip and fry them on the other side too.

Repeat this procedure for the remaining cutlets.

Serve hot with a green chutney of your choice.

SPROUTED MOONG CUTLETS

SPROUTED MOONG CUTLETS

There are times, especially in the evenings, when you feel like having a snack. Elsewhere in this blog, there are suggestions for snacks like Swadisht Vegetable Rolls, Steamed Masala Vada, and Fenugreek Leaf Rolls.

I recently tried out this delicious and healthy snack, adapted from the recipe for Sprouted Moong Cutlets by one of my favourite cookery experts, Ms. Nisha Madhulika who has a huge fan following.

Green Moong Beans have many health benefits and this is another advantage in preparing this snack.

From the recipe given below, you can expect to get about 14-15 cutlets  of the size you see in the picture.

Ingredients:

• Sprouted Moong, 1 cup
• Potatoes, large-sized, boiled, 2
• Frozen Green Peas, 1/2 cup 
• Bread Slices, for making the Bread Crumbs, 2
• Oil, 4-5 tbsp for shallow frying the cutlets
• Roasted Chickpea Powder, 2 tbsp * Can use Cornflour as a replacement
• Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 2 tbsp
• Green Chillies, finely chopped, 2-3
• Ginger Paste, 1 tsp
• Coriander Powder, 1 tsp
• Dried Mango Powder, (Amchur) 1/4 tsp
• Red Chilly Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste

Method:

Boil the sprouted moong in a little water for 3-4 minutes and keep aside. Make sure it does not get overcooked.
Similarly, boil the frozen green peas for 2-3 minutes and keep aside

Break the 2 slices of bread into small pieces. Feed them into a mixer and grind them at low speed in pulses to form the bread crumbs. Transfer the bread crumbs to a flat dish and keep aside. 

Using a spoon, gently mash the sprouted moong and then similarly mash the green peas

In a bowl, mix the mashed moong and the mashed green peas

Peel the boiled potatoes and grate them directly into the bowl of moong and green peas

Now add to the bowl the finely chopped green chillies, ginger paste, coriander powder, dried mango powder, red chilly powder, salt, coriander leaves and chick pea powder

Mix the contents of the bowl thoroughly to form the dough for making the cutlets

Take a little of the dough in your hands and bind it properly, press it gently to form either an oval or round shape depending on how you would like the cutlet to appear

Dip the cutlets in the bread crumbs prepared earlier so that they are evenly coated

Once you have shaped all the cutlets allow them to rest for 20 minutes before shallow frying,

In a thick-bottomed non-stick pan, add 3-4 tbsp of oil and when it gets heated, lower the flame to medium and fry 3-4 cutlets at a time till they become golden brown 

Flip them and fry them again till they become golden brown on both sides

You may even pour a little oil on top of the cutlets as they get fried

Transfer the shallow-fried cutlets to a serving plate

Serve hot with a chutney of your choice. I have served today's cutlets with mint chutney.

OATS HEARTS

OATS HEARTS

For the health conscious, oats is one of the more popular foods. The recipes are relatively light and easy to prepare. This article from the MNT Knowledge Centre lists the many health benefits we get from consuming oats. Nita Mehta the expert chef has many recipes made of oats, this one called "Oats Hearts" is adapted from hers.

Her recipe is given below. The changes I made are asterisked. I didn't use the grated paneer, instead I used a small onion, and added a green chilly to increase the spice level. I also increased the red chilly powder to 1/2 tsp.

Ingredients:

• Oats, 1 and 1/2 cups
• Potatoes, boiled and mashed, 2
• Grated Paneer, 1/4 cup * ( did not use)
• Salt, 3/4 tsp or as per taste
• Red Chilly Powder, 1/4 tsp ( or 1/2 tsp, which I prefer)
• Garam Masala, 1/4 tsp
• Aam Chur, (Dry Mango Powder), 1/2 tsp
• Chopped Coriander, 2 tbsp.
• Grated Carrot, 1/4 cup
• Lemon juice, 1/4 tsp
• Onion, small, finely chopped, 1 * (optional, added by me)
• Green Chilly, finely chopped, 1* (optional, added by me)
• Oil, as required.

Method:
Keep 1/2 cup oats aside for coating
Mix all the other ingredients ( except oil, of course) with 1 cup of oats
Make 8-10 balls of the above mixture
Flatten each ball and shape into hearts by hand or use a heart-shaped cookie cutter
Do not flatten too much
Spread the remaining 1/2 cup oats on a plate
Dip each heart in a bowl of water for a second and immediately press both sides of each heart in the oats
Press hearts with the palms to coat the oats properly
Shallow fry 3-4 cutlets at a time on a greased non-stick pan using the required amount of oil
When the underside of each cutlet turns golden, flip and fry the other side for a few minutes
Transfer the cutlets to a plate and serve hot with ketchup

PALAK AND CORN CUTLETS

PALAK AND CORN CUTLETS

This makes an interesting snack which is reasonably filling as it is made up of spinach (palak), corn, potatoes and bread. It can be used as an evening snack with tea, or as an appetizer before dinner.

You can form them into attractive shapes. Today, I have used the heart shaped form.



Ingredients:

• Palak (Spinach) chopped and cooked, 1/4 cup, 
• Sweet Corn,  cooked, 1/4 cup,
• Bread slices, 6
• Potatoes, boiled and mashed, 2
• Chilli Powder, 1 tsp
• Chaat Masala Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Rava (Semolina), for dusting
• Pepper,  to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for shallow frying

Method:

Chop and cook palak and corn separately. Mix them together well by hand.
Add salt and pepper as per your taste. Keep aside.
Dip the bread slices in water and remove them immediately. Squeeze out all the water from the bread slices.
Crumble the bread slices, add the boiled and mashed potatoes, a bit of salt, chilli powder, chaat masala and garam masala powder
Mix all this well and form small round balls
Flatten them and place a little of the palak and corn mixture in its centre. This forms the filling for the cutlet. Cover well to make a ball. Shape these as per your choice. Rounds or heart shaped are most common.
Dust them lightly with rava (semolina) and shallow fry on the tawa till crisp on both sides.*
Serve hot with ketchup or sweet tamarind chutney.

* Should you wish to deep fry the cutlets, you can use bread crumbs to dust them, instead of rava.