Vegetable Chop (Vegetable Cutlet – Bengali Style)

Vegetable cutlet or most popularly known as vegetable chop is an instant hit among all bongs especially during the winters. Vegetable cutlets usually contain all type of boiled vegetables however; this version contains Beetroot as the mail ingredient along with potato, carrot & green peas. The veggies are grated and mixed with local spices and then deep fried.

My memory of Vegetable chops goes back to mid-90s. Those years, the winters used to be really cold in Kolkata. I remember, each time we used to go for a picnic or a long drive, these Chops (cutlets) were always prepared by my Dad. He was an ace in preparing them. Thinking of those crispy yet fresh cutlets still makes me salivate. The juicy cutlets are not only enjoyed in winters but are now a popular snack in Kolkata round the year.

In Mumbai, one would either not get these Cutlets at all or will have to shell out good amount of money to buy a plate of these and still not get the original flavor. In turn I decided to make them at home and believe me, they were an instant hit in the family. So here I share the recipe with you.

Ingredients

1 medium sized Potato

2 small carrots

1 medium Beetroot

Fresh Green peas

3 Green chilies, fine chopped

Dry roasted spices (Bhaja Moshla): 1tsp each of Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, 3-4 cloves, 1-2 cinnamon sticks and 2 red chilies.

Finely chopped coconut

Peanuts

Bread crumbs

Cracker biscuits - Powdered

Salt

Sugar

Oil for deep frying

Method

• Peel the skins of Potato, carrots and Beetroot. Now grate each of them and keep aside.

• In a pan, dry roast the following: Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon and dry red chillies. Coarsely grind them and keep aside.
• Add 1 tsp of oil in a pan and fry the peanuts. Now add the finely chopped coconut and fry well. Keep this aside.
• To the same pan, add 2 tsp of oil and then add the grated potato, carrots, beetroot, green peas and fine chopped green chillies. Mix well. Add salt and sugar (as per taste) and stir well till the veggies are half done. Now add the dry roasted spices and mix well. Simultaneously add the fried coconut and peanuts. Cook till the veggies are done.

• Allow the mixture to cool down. Now take small portions from this mixture and give them an oval shape or a shape of your choice. You can also add some Maida (all-purpose flour) or corn flour as a binding agent.
• In a plate, mix the breadcrumbs and powdered biscuits together.
• Take each of the oval shaped cutlets, coat them well with the breadcrumb mixture and refrigerate them for an hour.

• In a wok, heat oil for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the cutlets till the outer coat is crispy and golden.

Server the cutlets with onion rings and tomato sauce.

Paneer Tikka (Grilled Cottage Cheese)

It has been raining a lot in Kolkata since 2 days. Monsoons have arrived officially and so has the time for yummy snacks. I have been craving for some lip-smacking starters for quite a few days and as outside-food is strictly NO for me as of now, I decided to whip up something quickly at home in order to satisfy myself. So, without wasting any more time, I ordered for paneer from the local shop and made Paneer Tikka at home. Though I missed my husband while gorging on the juicy tikkas, my dad enjoyed to the fullest.

Not keeping the joy to myself, here I am sharing the recipe with you so that you can enjoy the rains too. Happy Cooking and Happy Monsoons…

Ingredients

For the Tikkas:

Paneer 300 gms

1 Large Green pepper

1 large onion

1 large Tomato

For the Marinade:

200 gms hung curd

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 ½ tsp Kashmiri chili powder

1 tsp Cumin powder and coriander powder each

½ tsp shahi garam masala powder

1 tsp dry mango powder

Oil for brushing

Common salt or rock salt as required

Method

• Chop the veggies and Paneer in medium sized cubes (symmetrical) and keep aside.
• Now it is time for preparing the marinade. In a large mixing bowl, take the hung curd and whisk till smooth.
• Add all the spices listed above for marination including salt.
• Add all the veggies and Paneer pieces to the marinade and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
• Now it is time for making the Tikkas. Skewer the paneer and veggies alternatively in wooden skewers. I have used toothpicks for making the tikkas at home. Brush some butter or oil on the tikkas.

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees for 3 minutes. Now, place the tikkas on a rack and then bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees. Remove the rack, turn the tikkas, brush some more oil/butter if required and then bake for 10 to 15 minutes more.
• If your microwave has in-built setting for Tikkas, you can also use that.
• Once done, place the tikkas on a plate, sprinkle some chat masala over it.
• The tikkas are ready to be serves with Green chutney and onion rings.

Do let me know how it was...

Corn Tikkis

My husband is a big foodie. And therefore I derive great pleasure in treating him with something new everyday. But being a working woman, unfortunately, I don’t get much time to explore my cooking skills.

While coming back from work last Friday, got down near the Borivali market and found some fresh corn kernels. Something struck my mind and I bought them immediately. A lot of us may have tasted these corns in form of either corn chat, corn salads or even simply boiled and tossed with some butter. I thought of making something else with them.

It was raining heavily this weekend and so my husband asked for some pakodas. I went inside the kitchen and thought of giving him a surprise with my very own version of Corn Tikkis and guess what, he was amazed. Thus, am sharing the same recipe for you to try at home and surprise your family.

Ingredients

Fresh corn kernels 250 gms

1 medium sized onion chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

Chopped coriander leaves

Gram Flour (to serve as a binder for the Tikkis)

Salt to taste

Refined oil for shallow fry

Method

• Take some oil in a frying pan. Once it gets heated, add the cumin and fennel seeds.
• Once the seeds start spluttering, add the chopped onions and garlic and fry them for 5 minutes on high flame.
• Now add the corn kernels and cook them together for a minute.
• Remove from flame and coarsely grind them.
• Now add gram flour, turmeric powder, salt and chopped coriander leaves and mix well.

• Once the mixture is ready, take some quantity of this mixture and shape them up in form of Tikkis.
• Heat oil in a frying pan and shallow fry these Tikkis till they turn golden in colour.

 

• Serve the Tikkis hot with tamarind or pudina chatni or simply with tomato ketchup. 

This whole method will not take more than 25 minutes for sure.

Try this at home and let me know if you liked it as well. Feel free to provide feedback if any.