SPINACH CUTLET

Spinach Cutlet is quite similar to hara bhara kebabs, this is basically a vegetarian kebab recipe prepared with fresh and leafy vegetables, an easy alternative for all the kebab lovers. I have used spinach which gives a green colour to this kebab recipe and also the name. You can make this in 30 minutes and a perfect snack for evening time. 

Ingredients

1. Spinach - 1 bunch leaves
2. Oil - 2 tsp (for pan frying)
3. Green chilli - 2-3 (finely chopped)
4. Coriander leaves - finely chopped 2 tsp
5. Boiled & Mashed potatoes - 2 medium size
6. Breadcrumbs - 2 tsp
7. Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or as per your taste)
8. Cornflour - 1 tsp
9. Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Aamchur powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
12. Salt to taste
13. Roasted peanuts - 1 tsp (optional)
14. Garlic - 1 tsp (finely chopped) - you can skip this if you are pure vegetarian
15. Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Process

1. Firstly, blanch the spinach and put them to the blender to make a coarse paste along with green chilli. Make sure you cool down the blanched spinach before putting them to the grinder.

2. In a frying pan, add 1 tsp oil, jeera and chopped garlic and saute for a minute and add the spinach puree. Saute till the moisture disappears.

3. In a mixing bowl, add this spinach, mashed potatoes and all the other ingredients and spices and give it a good mix. Add corn flour and breadcrumbs.

4. Grease hands with oil and make small cutlet, you can give any shape of your choice. Cover the cutlets with breadcrumbs and keep aside.

5. Take a frying pan and brush it with 1 tsp oil. Keep putting the cutlets on the pan and let them cook (one side) for 3-4 minutes over low medium flame, until crispy. Repeat the same with the other side. Once all are done keep them onto kitchen towel to drain the extra oil. Serve hot with your favorite choice of ketchup or any chutney.

Note - You can also deep fry the cutlets.

Veggie Fingers

Veggie fingers is one of the most popular and attractive fast food, and most easiest one. It requires very less time for preparation and cooking. Delicious as well as healthy snack and you can use varieties of veggies of your choice or based on availability. Its always important to have veggies everyday for our health as veggie being the best source of proteins and vitamins. In this recipe of veggie fingers I have used potatoes, carrots, green peas and corns. Mixed vegetable mixture shaped into fingers, dipped in refined flour batter, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fry, that simple it is. 

Ingredients

1. Boiled and mashed potatoes - 2
2. Grated carrots - 1/2 cup
3. Green peas - 1/3 cup (blenched)
4. Corn -1/3 cup (blenched)
5. Salt to taste
6. Corn Flour - 2 tsp
7. Pepper to taste
8. Bread crumbs - 1 cup
9. Oil for frying
10. Fresh coriander (chopped) - optional

Process

1. In a mixing bowl add mashed potatoes, grated carrots, corn and peas and mix well. Add salt and pepper also. 

2. Shape the mixture like finger.

3. In a small bowl, mix corn flour and water and make a paste.

4. Dip the veggie fingers one by one in the corn flour paste and then coat them with bread crumbs.

5. Heat oil and once the oil gets heated fry the veggie fingers till they become golden brown.

6. Drain the excess oil and serve hot with ketchup or any of your favorite chutney. 

BEETROOT CUTLET

Beetroot cutlet is an easy, colorful and healthy appetizer made from beetroot, potato and aromatic spices. Crispy outside and soft inside, these cutlets are shallow fried snacks, hence a healthy option with evening tea. So if you are bored with the same evening snacks everyday, do give it a try. 

Ingredients : 

1. Beetroot - 1 cup (grated)
2. Boiled potato - 1
3. Cashew nuts - 1 tsp (chopped)
4. Raisin - 1 tsp
5. Onion - 1 big (finely chopped)
6. Green chilli - 2 (finely chopped)
7. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
8. Salt - to taste
9. Cumin powder - 1/2 tea spoon
10. Coriander powder - 1/2 tea spoon
11. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tea spoon
12. Amchur powder - 1/2 tea spoon
13. Garam masala powder - 1/2 tea spoon
14. Chat masala - 1/2 tea spoon
15. Coriander leaves - Finely chopped (1 tsp)
16. Green peas (optional) - 1/3 rd cup (pre-boiled)
17. Maida - 2 tsp
18. Bread crumbs 
19. Oil for frying

Process:

1. Peel and grate the beetroot and keep aside. Also peel, cut and boil potatoes separately and keep them aside.
2. To make the cutlet mix, place a pan on low medium flame. Add 1 tsp oil and fry cashew and raisin first. Once the cashew nuts turn brown, add chopped onions, green chilli and ginger garlic paste. Add salt and saute for 3-4 minutes. Then add grated beetroot. Now add all the powder spices and give it a good mix. Once you feel that the raw aroma of beetroot is gone, add the boiled potatoes and mash them properly with this mixture. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Now add finely chopped coriander leaves and boiled peas (if you are using peas), mix everything nicely with soft hand. And let it cool down and then start taking small portions of the mixture and give them cutlet shapes, can be round or oval or whichever you like. Place them in a plate.
4. In another small bowl, take maida and by adding water, make a smooth batter. The outer coating of the cutlet should be less for this cutlet, so that the color of the beetroot is seen through outside, hence the batter should not be thick, neither too watery.
5. In a plate, take the breadcrumbs.
6. Now deep the cutlets into this maida batter and roll it into bread crumbs and place them in a plate. Once all the cutlets are ready, refrigerate them for 20-25 minutes.
7. Now, take oil in a frying pan for shallow fry, and start placing the cutlets one by one, 3-4 cutlets you can fry at a one-go, in medium flame. Serve hot with ketchup.

NAMKEEN GUJIYA

Starting the week with some experiments. Thought to make samosa with some namkeen coconut stuffing, but the shape of samosa was not that awesome, so made these snacks. These are crispy and tasty. If you are tired of making the same old snacks and want to try your hand at a new one, then you would love this Namkeen Gujiya recipe.

Ingredients :

1. Grated coconut - 1 cup

2. Salt as required

3. Oil to deep fry

4. All purpose flour - 2 cup

5. Baking powder - 1 tsp

6. Ghee - 2 tsp

7. Onion - 1 (finely chopped)

8. Ginger - 1 inch (finely chopped)

9. Green chilli - 1 tsp (finely chopped)

10. Coriander leaves - 1 tsp (finely chopped)

Process :

1. In a mixing bowl, add maida, baking powder, salt and ghee and mix them well. Pour enough water to knead a soft dough. Make small balls of the mixture.

2. In another bowl, add grated coconut, onions, green chillies, ginger, salt and coriander, mix well.

3. Once your dough and filling is ready, dust the rolling board with dry flour and one by one roll the balls into small discs (the way we do for "Luchi"). Stuff these discs with the prepared filling and fold them into semi-circles. Seal the edges with wet fingers. I have pressed them with the edge of fork also, go give a good design.

4. In a deep frying pan on medium flame, heat oil and fry the gujiyas gently one by one until golden brown. Keep the flame low. Serve them with green chutney or ketchup or a dip of your choice.

CRISPY CHILLI GOBI

Chilli Gobi (cauliflower)  is a hugely popular Chinese dish. It is very crunchy and full of flavor snack that you cannot resist. This is a favorite snack in all the age groups. Here is the three step simple yet delicious recipe. 

Ingredients:

1. Cauliflower - 1 medium size
2. Cornflour - 3 tsp
3. Salt to taste
4. Soy sauce - 2 tsp
5. Tomato ketchup - 2 tsp
6. Chilli sauce - 1 tsp
7. Pepper - 1/2 tsp
8. Oil - for frying
9. Onion - 1 (finely chopped) 
10. Ginger & Garlic (finely chopped) - 1 tsp
11. White sesame - 1 tsp
12. Honey - 1 tsp
13. Spring onions - 1 tsp (finely chopped)

Process:

1. Cut the cauliflower into single flower pieces and boil them adding a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Drain water and spread them evenly in a kitchen towel, let the moisture go away. In a bowl, add 1/2 tsp cornflour and mix the boiled cauliflowers. Deep fry them until they are crispy golden brown. Keep aside.
2. In a bowl, mix water and corn flour and keep aside. 
3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a frying pan on medium heat and add chopped ginger garlic to it, once the garlic is light brown and fragrant, add onions and saute for 5 minute, then add soy sauce, chilli sauce, honey, tomato ketchup and mix well. Add spring onions and the corn flour mix to this sauce. Keep stirring on medium heat for one minute.
4. Now add the crispy fried cauliflowers into the sauce, mix well and remove from the flame. Garnish with some more white sesame and spring onions or chopped coriander leaves.

ALOO JEERA

Aloo jeera is one of the easiest dishes to prepare when there is a lack of time, it is a flavorful and delicious dish of potatoes and cumin seeds, hardly takes time to cook. This is so easy that a beginner can also try.

Ingredients :

1. Potatoes - 2 big
2. Jeera / cumin seeds - 1 tsp
3. Ghee - 2 tsp
4. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
5. Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp (optional)
6. Green chilli - 1-2
7. Salt as per taste
8. Hing - a pinch (optional)
9. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Amchur powder or Lemon juice 
12. Fresh Coriander leaves - for garnishing (optional)

Process:

1. Boil the potatoes until cooked and not mushy. You can cut the potatoes into cubes and then boil also. I have boiled them first and then cut into cubes. 

2. Add ghee in a hot pan, add jeera and fry on a low heat until they smell good. Add green chilli and ginger paste and give a good stir. Both chilli and ginger is optional, you can skip them. Fry them until a nice aroma comes out. Add salt and hing (you can skip hing also if you dont link it. 

3. Reduce the flame to low and add chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and mix well. Sprinkle amchur powder and add 1 or 2 tsp water and mix well ensuring the spices do not burn.

4. Once the spice powder blends well with water and thickens, add potatoes and toss them gently. Cover and cook with low flame for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt is required. Remove from flame.

Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves if you want to, or add some lemon juice. Aloo Jeera is ready to serve. You can have them as a snack, or with Dal rice or with Roti. 

SABUDANA VADA

Sabudana vada is a popular crisp fried snack made with tapioca pearls (sago). It's a popular Maharashtrian snack that is eaten not only as a tea time snack but also as a fasting.  It is served with sweet yogurt. I keep on seeing people in my office used to have this as "a whole day meal" when they are fasting, and was always wondering "Fast me log khana kyun khate hai". Being a bong, I have always observed this in my family, we do not eat anything while fasting. Different people follow different cultures.

But these Sabudana vada are not too shabby, nothing too fancy and super easy to make, all you need to do is soak the sabudana overnight in water. Here is my recipe after my first experiment with these yummy vada's.  

Ingredients:

1. Sabudana (Tapioca pearls or sagu)- 1/2 cup (soaked over night)

2. Potato - 2 (boiled & mashed)

3. Salt to taste

4. Peanuts 1/4 cup (you can also skip this if not available)

5. Green chilli - 1 (finely chopped)

6. Fresh coriander leaves - 1 tsp (finely chopped)

7. Lemon juice - 1 tsp (optional)

8. Flour - 1 tsp (optional)

9. Cumin or Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Process:

1. To start with, if you are using peanuts, roast them until golden and aromatic in a frying pan and let them cool completely. Then grind to a coarse powder. Keep aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix together soaked sabudana, boiled and mashed potatoes, peanuts, green chillies, salt, cumin or fennel seeds (whichever you are using) and coriander leaves. Add lemon juice (optional) and mix them well.

2. Make small balls and then slightly flatten to make the vada. Do not make them too thin as they may break.

3. Heat oil in a pan and start frying them on medium flame, once they are golden and crisp, remove the flame.

4. Serve hot with sweet curd or any chutney of your choice.

CRISPY HONEY CHILLI POTATOES

Honey chilli potato is a hugely popular Chinese dish. It is very crunchy and full of flavor snack that you cannot resist. This is a favorite snack in all the age groups. Here is the three step simple yet delicious recipe. 

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes - 3 big
2. Cornflour - 3 tsp
3. Salt to taste
4. Soy sauce - 2 tsp
5. Tomato ketchup - 2 tsp
6. Chilli sauce - 1 tsp
7. Pepper - 1/2 tsp
8. Oil - for frying
9. Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
10. Ginger & Garlic (finely chopped) - 1 tsp
11. White sesame - 1 tsp
12. Honey - 1 tsp
13. Spring onions - 1 tsp (finely chopped)

Process:

1. Cut the potatoes into finger chip size and boil them adding a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Drain water and spread them evenly in a kitchen towel, let the moisture go away. In a bowl, add 1/2 tsp cornflour and mix the potatoes. Deep fry the potatoes until they are crispy golden brown. Keep aside.
2. In a bowl, mix water and corn flour and keep aside. 
3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a frying pan on medium heat and add chopped ginger garlic to it, once the garlic is light brown and fragrant, add onions and saute for 5 minute, then add soy souch, chilli sauce, honey, tomato ketchup and mix well. Add spring onions and the corn flour mix to this sauce. Keep stirring on medium heat for one minute.
4. In a serving bowl, place the crispy fried potatoes and spread the sauce, mix well, garnish with some more white sesame and spring onions or chopped coriander leaves.