VK Column 5: Spicy Starters

Vijaya Karnataka, 3rd March 2013... Thank you VK!

Check out the originals here - http://sumscuisine.blogspot.com/search/label/Starters

Garlic Bread Exotica - Pizza hut style

I love garlic bread. And especially the ones from Pizza hut. And specifically the Garlic Bread exotica they have, loaded with veggies and topped generously with cheese… A generous sprinkle of mixed herbs on top… and may be some chili flakes to add to the heat… and it’s one perfect starter…. Especially to an Italian course.

When I bought the baguette bread last time - well, I wanted to make it myself, but was tempted to buy it when the store smelled of freshly baked bread - a piece of heaven. So when I bought it, I knew I had to make the Garlic Bread Exotica with it. Had all the lovely colored bell peppers/capsicums; and we both love loads of garlic… So the weekend brunch featured this.

It is quite an easy thing to fix - just chop the veggies, make the garlic spread… top with toppings and bake - that’s it! Of course, if you’re a food blogger, u have the additional task of arranging them beautifully and clicking them - in my case, I outsourced it to D, while I prepared the salad :D

So here goes the recipe…

Garlic Bread Exotica

Preparation Time: 10-15 min

Baking Time: ~15 min

Serves: 2 as a meal; 4 as a starter

Ingredients:

Colored bell peppers/Capsicum - 3/4 cup, chopped (I used a mix of green, red and yellow)
Onions - One small, chopped
fresh/frozen corn kernels - 1/4 cup

Cheese - 1/4 -1/3 cup, grated (mozzarella or cheddar)
1 tsp red chili flakes

Salt to taste
A Baguette or French/Italian bread

For Garlic Spread:
Olive oil or Melted Butter - 3 Tbsp, at room temperature
Garlic - 6-8 pods, very finely chopped
Mixed Italian herbs - 1 tsp -  I use thyme and oregano
Coarsely ground pepper - 1/2 tsp (vary acc to taste)
Green chilies - 2, finely chopped (only for an added extra-spice)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 170 deg C
• Line a large baking tray with foil or parchment and set aside
• Heat butter /olive oil on a low flame and add the finely chopped garlic, Italian herbs and green chilies, ground pepper and let it warm and keep aside.
• Cut the baguette into 1" thick slices diagonally
• Mix all the chopped vegetables peppers, corn, onions in a bowl, add salt
• Take each slice of the bread and apply garlic spread with a silicon brush and put a Tbsp of mixed vegetables over it
• Sprinkle red chili flakes and top it with cheese (the more, the merrier ;) )
• Arrange on the prepared baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes and then broil it for 2-3 min until the edges of bread are slightly crisp and the cheese starts melting.
• Have warm as a side with a pasta dish or a pasta salad or a starter for a pizza meal
• Or best, have it as a snack, all by itself :)

Notes:

• Can use tomatoes as well, but I am averse to them :)

This post is for the Bake-A-Thon event by Champa. These are the other co-bloggers baking with me... 
Champa, Srivalli Jetti, Priya Suresh, Veena Krishna Kumar and Preeti Deo.

Hara-Bhara Kabab

I’ve always loved Hara Bhara Kababs at restaurants. Love their soft inner and crispy outer texture, the taste bursting with flavors, the color, all of it. I’m missing eating out in North Indian restaurants here ;) There are a few, but not good for an Indian foodie, I’ve heard. So for me, it is better to try out the European restaurants rather than bad Indian ones!

To compensate for what I am missing, I made these at home, when we had called over guests. And it came out very good, satiating my Indian taste buds :D. it was well relished by our Swedish guests too, as I had made it with very little chilies. Next time I’ve got to make it with lots of them!

Here’s the recipe…

Hara Bhara Kabab

Preparation Time: 20 min

Cooking Time: ~5 min per batch

Makes:  ~ 18 kababs

Source: The chef and her kitchen

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 medium, boiled

Green peas - 1/2 cup, boiled

Fresh spinach - 1 small bunch, washed

Green chillies - 2-3

Ginger - 2", chopped

Besan /Gram flour - 1/4 cup

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala / Chat masala -1 tsp

Coriander - 2-3 tbsp finely chopped

Salt to taste

Cashew nuts - 10-12, split

Oil - 2-3 Tbsp

Method:

• Dry roast besan until aromatic and keep aside.
• Blanch spinach in hot water for 5 mins. Refresh in cold water, drain excess water from it.
• Grind the blanched spinach with ginger and green chilies to a coarse paste without adding any water.
• Add boiled green peas to it and grind in pulse mode until thick coarse paste.
• Grate the boiled potato or mash if fine and add the ground mixture
• Add roasted besan and all the spice powders, chopped coriander, salt and mix well.
• Grease your hand and make small balls and press a cashew gently into it, flattening it. Repeat with the remaining kababs.
• Place them in refrigerator for about 1 hr to set well.
• Shallow fry in oil on medium flame for 2-3 min until cooked. It takes very little oil if using a non stick pan
• Serve hot with Green chutney or Ketchup.

Notes:

• Instead of blanching the spinach, it can also be sautéed on medium flame for a couple of minutes.
• These kababs can be prepared ahead without shallow frying and refrigerated for up to a day and can be shallow fried just before serving.

Deviled Potatoes

Deviled potatoes before baking with cheese topping

I made these Deviled potatoes for a Swedish couple that we had invited over for dinner some time ago. Most of the menu was Indian, but we made sure it had just about 20% of spices normally used, so that they’d be able to eat it! Just to make sure there is something they’ll feel more comfortable with, I made these Deviled potatoes as well for starters, along with Hara-bhara Kababs (coming soon). Both were well received, along with the rest of the menu.

This is a  make ahead starter, and works well for parties, when you can get the starter out with just about 5 minutes of work and less than 15 minutes of baking, without having to spend hours in the kitchen, before the guests arrive. Most part of the work can be done a day or two ahead. I’m in so need of such recipes!!

Ohh BTW, I couldn't take pictures after it was done, and had to take the pic with one left over piece the next day :( So most of these pics are of preparation phase and will update the pics the next time I bake.

Here’s the recipe…

Deviled Potatoes

Preparation Time: 30 min

Baking Time: 10 minutes

Serves 4-5 as starter

Source: Cook Curry Nook

Ingredients:

For the Potato Jackets:

Potatoes – 5 nos, medium-sized; steamed with skin till firmly cooked

Olive Oil – 2 tbsps

Salt – to taste

Black pepper powder – to taste

For the Filling:

Onion – 1 no, medium-sized; finely chopped

Button Mushrooms – 15-20 nos, cleaned and sliced

Fresh Paneer or Feta Cheese – 1/3 cup, crumbled

Oregano – 1 tsp or any of your favorite herb. I used a mix of thyme and oregano

Salt – to taste

For the Topping:

Mozzarella Cheese – 1/2 cup, torn into pieces

Fresh Basil leaves – 10 nos, cleaned and patted dry on a kitchen towel (I didn’t have any, so didn’t use)

Procedure:

On the day ahead:
Make the potato jackets

• Cut the steamed potatoes into halves along the longer sides, so you have cups that will sit on their own and won’t wobble when set on a tray. Leaving the skin on forms a firm cover for the jacket. 
• Scoop out the insides from each halved potato, leaving a 1/4-inch allowance on all sides. Allow the jackets to cool completely, and then store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Make the filling

• In a wok, sauté the onions till tender.
• Tip in the sliced mushrooms and saute till the mushrooms are cooked.
• Throw in the crumbled paneer/feta, herbs and salt to taste. Stir to incorporate.
• Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Store in the fridge if making a day or two ahead. If you are making it all at once, simply proceed further.

On the D-Day:

• Take out the potato jackets and filling from the fridge about a half hour before preparation time, so they both come to near room temperature.
• Mix the olive oil, salt and pepper powder. Brush the potato jackets all over generously with this mixture and set aside to marinate a bit, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F when the jackets are near marinated.
• Fill the jackets with the mushroom-cheese filling, top with grated mozzarella cheese and a basil leaf.
• Transfer filled and topped potato jackets onto a greased baking tray and bake for 7-8 minutes till the jackets start shriveling around the edges and the cheese starts to melt.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool 3-5 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes:

• If you don’t like to eat mushroom like me, you can replace it with other veggies like onions, shredded carrots, beans, cauliflower, spring onions etc.
• Can also make it with a spinach corn filling…? Will try it out sometime!

Gobi 65 - Spicy Cauliflower Fritters

Gobi or cauliflower is a relatively new vegetable for me. Though I knew very well about it, neither mom nor MIL brought it home and cooked with it. For some reason, it had hardly made into our kitchens. My first encounter with this vegetable had been in the form of Gobi Manchurian in some chat shop in Bangalore, almost when I was in college and started eating out with friends occasionally.

Prior to that, as a kid, I had seen the Gobi manchurian in some wedding menus loaded with artificial colors making it look bright red. And funnily enough, I had believed it was some non-vegetarian item and had always been scared to even try it! And if there were florets of cauliflower in other dishes like pulav or so, I’d promptly keep it aside and finish with the rest of the dish, not bothering to even taste it!

It was after wedding that D introduced me to this beautiful vegetable in restaurants, and also got it home once, but again, as there were many non-takers for it at home, it didn’t become a regular. It remains one if D’s favorite veggies and I’ve started buying it here and experimenting it in various dishes. One such was this Gobi 65 and he loved it, so did I :)

It is flavorful, crispy, spicy and makes a good starter or as a side dish to some Chinese based menu like Fried Rice or Noodles. Here’s the recipe…

Gobi 65 - Spicy Cauliflower Fritters

Preparation time        : 15 min plus marinating time

Cooking time               : 30 min

Serves              :  4

Adapted from : Monsoon Spice

Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 1 medium, florets separated
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Garlic cloves - 2-3 large, thinly sliced
Green chilies - 1-2, chopped fine; adjust as per taste

Capsicum/Bell Pepper - 1 or 2, cut into 1 inch squares
Coriander Leaves - 2 Tbsp, finely chopped
1 tbsp Oil
Soya Sauce - 1Tbsp
Oil for deep frying

For Batter:
Maida/All Purpose Flour - ½ cup
Corn Flour- 2 Tbsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp, adjust acc to taste)
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Water

Method:

• Semi cook the cauliflower
• Boil some water in a large pot
• Wash cauliflower florets under running water and transfer them to the boiling water.
• Cook it for 5 minutes till they are half cooked
• Drain all the water by passing through colander and run these cauliflower florets under cold water to stop cooking process. Keep it aside till needed. 

Batter:

• Take all purpose flour and corn flour in a mixing bowl and add all the ingredients for batter and mix well.
• Now start adding little water at time and keep mixing with a whisk to get thick batter of pouring consistency.
• Adjust the seasoning and spices according to your taste and add the cauliflower florets to it. Mix them well so that each floret is coated well.
• Cover it and let it marinate for at least 3-4 hours to build up all the flavors. If you’re pressed for time, even half an hour should do. 

Deep fry:

• Heat oil in a kadai or frying pan.
• Drop the florets into oil, one at a time, and fry them till golden brown in color in batches of 4-5, depending on the size of your pan.
• Place them on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
• Repeat for the next batch and deep fry them till golden brown and crisp.  

Assemble:

• Heat about a tbsp of oil in a pan and add thinly sliced garlic and chopped green chilies to it.
• When it starts to turn light golden, mix in finely chopped onions and cook till they turn translucent.
• Next add bell pepper pieces and toss them for a minute or two. Mix in soya sauce, if using, and toss them for a minute.
• Add deep fried Gobi 65 and mix them well.
• Turn off the stove and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve this delicious Gobi 65 as a side dish along Veg Fried Rice or Noodles or as a starter

Notes:

• Mix in the fried gobi with the other stuff just before serving to retain the crunchiness; else it may get soggy

Baked Aloo Tikki with Green Chutney

I’ve made aloo tikkis a couple of times before, but not the baked version. Back home, while cooking for a sizeable party, shallow frying the tikkis felt too elaborate; esp with all the other items to be taken care of alongside. Though the idea of baking would cross my mind, with the small oven that I had, baking them would mean more time consuming, so never bothered to try.

Now that I have a big oven here, wanted to try out the baked version. Also because I need to keep a check on the calories! With all the cooking experiments I’m making, I’m afraid we’ll both bloat up by the time we return to India!! Of course potatoes are a high-cal food, but I felt baking does reduce the amount of oil that went in and also saves time.

I’ve not used bread crumb to coat, instead used chickpea flour in the mixture for binding.

Here’s the recipe…

Baked Aloo Matar Tikkis

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 4 medium sized

Green Peas – ¾ cup

Green chilies – 2, chopped

Garlic - 1 tsp, chopped

Ginger - 1 tsp, chopped

Coriander leaves – 2 Tbsp, chopped

1 tsp chat masala (or garam masala)

Gram flour – 2 Tbsp

Salt to taste

Olive oil – to brush the patties (or any other oil)

Method:

• Boil the potatoes. Cool, peel the skin and mash them well
• Boil green peas till tender and drain out the water
• Mix potatoes, peas and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
• If the mixture feels very sticky add a bit more of the gram flour
• Line the baking tray with foil. Grease slightly with oil.
• Make small balls out of the potato mixture and flatten them over the prepared baking sheet
• Keep it in fridge for a few minutes to set well
• Preheat the oven to 220C
• Bake it for 15 - 20 min, or until the crust turns golden
• Serve hot with Green chutney

Green Chutney

Almost all the north Indian starters like tikkis, kababs, etc taste good only with this green chutney! I’m not much of a ketchup person for Indian snacks; I’d rather prefer a chutney that’ll go well with the dish.

With a huge bunch of mint and coriander bought from the local market, I needed no excuse to make this chutney for the aloo tikkis :)

Ingredients:

Mint leaves – ½ cup

Coriander leaves – ½ cup

Green chilies – 2 or to taste

Thick Curd – 2-3 Tbsp

Lime juice – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method:

• Take all the ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth
• Do not add water, the curds should facilitate the blades
• Adjust the consistency with more curd if required
• Serve with any north Indian starter/snack or chats

Chili Babycorn Capsicum

I hate deep fried starters especially when entertaining large crowds. That’ll make me confine to the kitchen when the guests arrive, and by the time I come out and manage to sit with them, I’ll be like a burnt veggie myself, after batches and batches of deep frying!!

This one is a no-fry quick fix starter, that fits well when cooking for large groups as well. Keep all the veggies ready and it can be made in a jiffy. The spices and other ingredients can be varied as per your tastes.

Chili Babycorn Capsicum

Preparation time : 10 min
Cooking time : 20 min
Serves : 4-5

Ingredients:

Baby corn - ~15
Capsicum - 1, slit into 1” thin strips
Onion - 3 medium sized
Cooking oil - 2 Tbsp
Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Green chilies - 2-3, chopped fine or slit
Red chili powder - ½ -3/4 tsp
Ajinomoto - 1 pinch, optional
Salt - ½ tsp, vary acc to taste
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Soya sauce - 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 2 Tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp, optional (adjust as per your taste)

Method:
• Chop onions into quarters and capsicum into bite sized chunks
• Slit the baby corn and chop into bite size pieces
• Meanwhile in a wide pan, heat 1 Tbsp oil and add chopped onion, garlic and green chilies
• When done, add capsicum and sauté for a few seconds - don’t over cook the capsicum, retain the crunchiness
• Transfer to a bowl and keep aside
• In the same pan, heat remaining oil and fry the baby corn
• Cook covered on low flame till tender
• Mix in the reserved onion and capsicum
• Add salt, sauces, vinegar, ajinomoto if using and stir thoroughly
• Adjust salt and pepper as per taste and optionally garnish with some chopped scallions and serve hot
• Goes well with flavored rice as an accompaniment, or as a starter as is

Notes:
• Make sure this is not made much ahead, as the veggies tend to become over tender if kept for long. Tastes the best when served immediately
• The quantity of sauces used can be varied as per your taste - no hard and fast rule on the exact measures

Arvi (Taro Root) Cutlets - Guest post by Sandhya

Today's post is a guest post from an old friend of mine - Sandhya Pradeep. She was my classmate in college and a smiling, calm, friendly girl. Of late she had been posting a lot of wonderful food pictures on Facebook and i was kinda impressed. When I asked her to start a blog, she didn't quite make up her mind. So I asked her to at least make a nice post for my blog, from her big collection of recipes. She immediately obliged and here is the recipe she sent about a week ago. Since I was on a vacation, I took time to post it, and now here it is for you!

Over to Sandhya...

Recently Sumana asked me to write a guest post for this delightful blog filled with delicious recipes. I was excited and started digging through my personal collection of recipes and found this one – Arvi cutlets an absolute favorite of mine.

When we think of cutlets, the first thing that comes to our minds is the regular potato cutlet. I have substituted taro roots for potatoes thereby making this snack a light, healthy and guilt-free alternative.
It is both quick to prepare and packed with authentic Indian zest.

I thank Sumana for inviting me to be a part of this culinary rendezvous and hope the readers will enjoy trying this recipe as much as I did.

Arvi (Taro Root) Cutlets

Makes about 8-10 cutlets

Ingredients:
• Taro root (arvi, colocasia) – 7
• Onion – 1 medium-sized finely chopped
• Ginger- 1” grated
• Garlic – 4 large pods finely chopped
• Salt- to taste
• Green chilies – 2 finely chopped
• Red chili powder – 1 tsp or adjust to your spice level
• Chat masala – ½ tsp
• Garam masala – ¼ tsp
• Mint leaves – a handful finely chopped
• Coriander leaves – few strands finely chopped
• Turmeric – a pinch
• Corn flour – 2 tbsp or as needed for binding
• Oil for shallow frying.
• Lime juice – to garnish

Method:
• 1. Wash the taro root with skin and place them in the pressure cooker and pour enough water to immerse them. Cover the lid and pressure cook them with 2 whistles. Allow to cool.
• 2. Once cooled, drain the water and transfer it into a large bowl. Remove the skin of the taro root.
• Mash well using your palms.
• To this add onion, ginger, garlic, salt, green chillies, red chilli powder, chat masala, garam masala, mint leaves, turmeric, coriander leaves and mix well.
• Add cornflour and mix.
• In a shallow pan heat 3-4 tsp oil. Swirl the pan so that the entire pan is coated with oil.
• Lightly oil your palms. Pinch off a lime-sized ball of the mixture and flatten it using your palms to form a round patty.
• Place the patties in the pan and drizzle oil and cook both sides until it turns golden to dark brown color.
• Remove onto a plate. Squeeze some lemon juice on top and serve with tomato ketchup.

Notes:
• The patty should not be too thick as it needs to be cooked evenly.

Thank you so much Sandhya, for a wonderful post for my blog.... I'm sure we'll all try your recipe and enjoy...

Soya Manchurian

I picked up the pack of Soya chunks from the super market, and when we were home, little niece Hima asked to what it was. And D replied, it was what Chota Bheem ate and what made him that strong! And after that, for the next week I have lost count on the number of times she asked me to make ‘Chota Bheem’s food’ out of it!!! and I, incidentally was too busy at work that week and didn’t find time till the next weekend to make something out of soya chunks that she would eat.
Finally I decided to make Manchurian out of it, as D, me and Hima’s parents would love it, but for her I decided to give the fried soya chunks with just tomato sauce. And through out the cooking time I took, she has ran into the kitchen every 2 minutes asking if the ‘Chota Bheem food’ is ready!!
She ate it with delight and so we ate the Manchurian. It did come out pretty well, in a perfect consistency and taste.

Soya Manchurian

Preparation time : 20 min Cooking time : 20-30 min Serves : 4-5 Ingredients: Soya chunks - 2 cups Milk - 2 tbsp Crystal salt - ½ tsp Boiling water Oil to deep fry For batter: Corn flour - 2 Tbsp Rice flour - 1 Tbsp Maida - 2 Tbsp Orange food color - a small pinch, optional Red chili powder - ½ tsp Salt - ½ tsp Water For Manchurian sauce: Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Onion - 3 medium sized Capsicum - 1, slit into 1” thin strips Garlic - 4-5 cloves Green chilies - 8- 10 (I didn’t have chili sauce, so used chilies) Ajinomoto - 1 pinch, optional Salt - ½ tsp, vary acc to taste Vinegar - 1 Tbsp Soya sauce - 1 Tbsp Tomato ketchup - 2 Tbsp Pepper powder - 1 tsp, optional (adjust as per your taste) Corn flour - about 1 Tbsp, based on the required consistency Method: • In a big vessel, bring water to boil and when boiling, add crystal salt and milk • Dump the soya chunks into the vessel, cover and keep aside for 10 minutes • After 10 mintes, repeat the process in another vessel of boiling water for 10 more minutes. Check if they are soft, by breaking up one. • Drain the soya chunks and squeeze out the excess water. If needed, pat dry on a clean kitchen towel For sauce: • Meanwhile in a wide pan, heat 1 Tbsp oil and add chopped onion, garlic and green chilies • When done, add capsicum and sauté for a few seconds - don’t over cook the capsicum, retain the crunchiness • Add salt, sauces, ajinomoto if using and stir • Mix corn flour in water without lumps and add to the pan - adjust the consistency to your preference Frying the soya chunks: • In a skillet, heat oil for deep frying • Ina small bowl, mix the flours, salt and chili powder for batter and add water to make into a thin paste. It should be of running consistency - not too thick not too thin • Take the softened and drained soya chunks, dip it in the batter and deep fry in oil, 6-8 at a time on medium flame till golden brown • When done, keep on a kitchen towel to drain excess oil • Repeat with the rest of the chunks • When done, add these to the prepared sauce, heat slightly again • Adjust salt and pepper as per taste and optionally garnish with some more sautéed onions or chopped scallions and serve hot • Goes well with fried rice as an accompaniment, or as a starter as is Tips n Tricks: • The batter, if too thick makes the Manchurian balls hard, and if too thin, doesn’t get the crisp texture and may absorb more oil • The quantity of sauces used can be varied as per your taste - no hard and fast rule on the exact measures • Adding milk while soaking the soya chunks eliminates the odor in it