Brinjal-bites/ Grilled Eggplant

Brinjal-bites/ Pan-fried or grilled eggplant

(Brinjal slices dusted with a medley of spices & pan-fried, grilled or roasted)
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PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
5 Min 3-4 10-15 Min

Ingredients:

1 large long brinjal/ eggplant
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
1/4 tsp cumin pwd
1/4 tsp pepper pwd
1/4 tsp red-chili pwd
1/2 tsp salt
olive oil

Cooking Instructions:

Cut the eggplant into 1/2cm-thin slices & dust them with all the powders, salt & 2 tbsp olive oil - toss to cover evenly. Shallow-fry or grill on both sides for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Serve hot as a snack or a side to your Indian meal.

Alternative - You can make a batter of gram-flour, yoghurt, salt to taste & some red-chili, turmeric, cumin & pepper powders. Coat the slices in the batter & deep-fry till golden brown.
Another way to make brinjal-bites is to coat the slices with a batter of corn-flour & milk and then dust them with breadcrumbs or semolina and shallow fry on each side.

Veg. Stuffed Bell-peppers

Veg. Stuffed Bell-peppers

(Bell-peppers stuffed with a flavorful mix of paneer/cottage cheese & vegetables like carrots, peas & potatoes.)
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PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
20Min 4 20Min

Ingredients :

4 medium bell peppers of any color
200g paneer cubes (small)
100g grean peas
1 medium finely chopped onion
1 medium size potato - cut in small cubes
1 carrot - cut as the potatoes
2 green chilies - chopped
1/2 bunch coriander leaves
1/4 tsp red-chili pwd
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
1/4 tsp cumin pwd
1/4 tsp pepper pwd
salt to taste
cooking oil
2 tbsp butter
some thick thread


Cooking Instructions :

Soak paneer in turmeric-water. Heat some cooking oil & fry the onions till pink. Then add the chillies & powder spices and fry well. Add the potatoes & carrots with a lil' water and cook for 5 whole minutes, tossing a few times in between. Drain the paneer & add along with some salt. Cook till its done, toss in the chopped leaves & then simmer open to dry out excess water. Cut a 'lid' off the top of each capsicum, empty the cavity & apply the butter to its inner & outer surfaces. Fill them equally with the veggies & cover with their lids tying with some thread to secure the lid in place. Grease a pan & shallow fry the stuffed bell-peppers, sprinkling some salt on them. Cover & cook till they are soft; don't overcook till they are soggy. Cut off the threads & serve hot as an appetizer or side to a rice dish.

Alternative: Grate some cheese onto the stuffed bellpeppers before tying & frying them. Stuffed & tied bell-peppers can be baked instead of shallow-fried.

Chicken Croquettes

Chicken Croquettes

(Super-yummy deep-fried cigar-shaped chicken starters for any occasion)
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PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
10Min 4-6 10Min

Ingredients :

1.5 cups minced chicken
2 tbsp minced onion
1 cup chicken stock or 1/2 cube chicken stock dissolved in 1 cup hot water
1.5 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp chili pwd
2 cups bread crumbs
1 tbsp fresh thick cream
1 beaten egg
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tbsp butter
2 cups ghee
salt & pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions :

Melt the butter & stir in the flour. Gradually add stock & bring to a boil. Add lemon juice, salt & pepper. Then stir in the mince, onion & cream. Cool it & roll into cigar-shaped croquettes - coat them with egg & roll into bread crumbs. Deep fry in heated ghee till golden brown & drain on a paper towel. Serve hot with a tomato-chili sauce or as they do in Goa, as a spicy snack to go with your pre-dinner alcohol!

Fish Cutlets

Fish cutlets

(Shallow-fried tuna cutlets make a perfect snack, appetizer or even a side-dish with your entree)
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PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
10Min 4 15Min

Ingredients :
1 tin white/light meat tuna flakes/chunk
4 bread slices
1 beaten egg
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped coriander
salt to taste
1/4 tsp garlic-ginger paste
1/4 tsp cumin pwd
1/4 tsp red chili pwd
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
1/4 tsp pepper pwd
1 finely chopped small onion
1 tbsp vinegar
1-2 chopped green chili
oil to shallow fry

Cooking Instructions:

Dry roast onions till transparent & then add garlic-ginger paste and chilies & fry for a minute. Separate brine from fish and add the spice powders, vinegar, salt, chopped coriander & the fried onion-garlic-ginger mix. Immerse a bread slice in a bowl of water & squeeze it between your palms. Add this to the fish mix & repeat with the other slices. Mash the mix together firmly with your hand (taking palm-fulls and squeezing out through the fingers of your clenched fist each time). If its too dry, add some brine. Make golf-ball size balls & press gently in your palm, roll out along the edge to make a flat round cutlet. Repeat with remaining mixture & then roll each cutlet in the beaten egg followed by bread crumbs, dusting off any excess crumbs. Shallow-fry till golden brown on each side. Serve with any sauce of your choice.

Shahi-Paneer Bread Pakora

Shahi Paneer Bread Pakora

(A hot tea-time or rainy-day snack made by deep-frying mini paneer/cottage-cheese sandwiches soaked in a spicy gram-flour batter)
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PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
2Min 3 15Min

Ingredients :
6 bread slices
3 tbsp spicy mint chutney/sauce
3 tbsp sweet tamarind chutney/sauce
4-6 5mm thick paneer slices
2tbsp butter
1 cup gram-flour
1/2 cup beaten curd/yoghurt
1.5 tbsp chaat masala
1/4 tsp ajwain
1/4 tsp red chili pwd
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
1/ tsp cumin pwd
1 tsp sugar
water to make the batter
salt to taste
oil to deep fry

Cooking Instructions:

Marinade paneer slices in butter & chaat masala - set aside for 10-15 mins. Make a smooth batter (ribbon - consistency) of the flour, sugar, salt, yoghurt, turmeric, red chili pwd, cumin pwd, ajwain with some water. Trim the edges off the bread slices & apply tamrind sauce to 3 slices & mint sauce to the other 3. Place paneer slices between a slice of tamrind sauce & 1 with mint sauce. Repeat with the remaining bread & paneer. Cut into half or diagonally to triangles. Wet your hands & press each sandwich between moist palms to ensure slices stick together & don't slip apart. Heat oil in a deep-frying vessel (kadai). Insert triangles delicately into the batter, coat evenly & safely immerse into the hot oil. Turn over when its golden-brown beneath & fry to get an even color all-round. Leave to drain on paper towel & serve with chutneys, ketchup of any sauce of your choice.

Goan Banana Fritters

Goan Banana Fritters

(An Indian sweet snack from the state of Goa - basically, banana pancakes)


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PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
5 Min 8 20Min

Ingredients :

6 bananas
2-3 cups milk
2 eggs
6-8 tbsp sugar (more if bananas aren't too ripe & sweet)
1tbsp clarified butter/ ghee
1 cup all purpose floor/ maida (or whole wheat flour for a healthy option)
oil to pan-fry the pancakes or oil-spray

Cooking Instructions:
Mix all the above ingredients (except oil) using an egg beater or with your hand, adding milk last, a little by little till the right consistency in reached - not too fluid, yet not too stiff; should flow like a thick sauce. Spray/grease your non-stick pay & heat to medium. Spread a large tablespoon full of the batter into a round pancake of about 6" diameter & repeat as many times as you can in 1 pan. Flip over after 3-4 minutes or when its done on 1 side & cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side. Toss off onto paper-towels & carry on with the next batch (batches) till the batter is over.

Tips: You can try these variations to the above recipe: Add 1/2 cup semolina/suji/rawa or 4 tbsp lightly boiled oats (very healthy) to the batter. You can even add 1/2 tsp cinnamon/ cardamom powder or even 4 tbsp sweet chocolate powder to the batter, as additional flavor options.

Paneer Kathi rolls

Paneer Kathi Rolls

(Paneer/ cottage cheese stir-fry rolled in a roti/ burrito bread & served with sauces/ chutneys of ur choice. )




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PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
10 Min 3 10 min


Ingredients :

6 rotis/ burrito breads
1/2 kg paneer/ cottage cheese
1-2 green & red bell peppers - finely sliced
1 medium onion - finely chopped
1 green chili
salt & pepper to taste
finely chopped 1/2 " ginger
1/4 tsp red chili pwd
1/4 tsp jeera/cumin pwd
sauces/ chutney of your choice (mint/ tomato-chili, etc.)
1/4 cup lime juice
butter
cooking oil

Cooking Instructions :

Heat cooking oil & fry onions, then add green chili, ginger & bell peppers. Add the powder spices, salt & pepper. Then add the paneer with 2-3 tbsp water, cover & cook till soft. Roughly mash paneer & vegs and then add 3-4 tbsp lime juice & the sauces as per your taste. Cover & toss. Simmer for 2 mins & set aside to cool.

On a pan/tava, brush on some butter. Place 1-2 tbsp of the mix on each roti, fold in 3 corners & fold the roti over, forming a roll. Place it on the heated pan with the lose end touching the pan. Keep Repeat for other 5 rotis. Keep turning the rolls so they are uniformly brown on each side. Serve with sauces/ chutneys of your choice.