Roasted Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta [Video]

Roasted Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta. Crusty grilled bread topped with sweet cumin roasted butternut squash, artichokes cooked in the oven until soft, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. This vegan appetizer is perfect for soirees and parties. Included is a video that shows how to roast butternut squash and how to cut and prepare artichokes to cook in the oven.

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Hey, we are mid week already!!

If you are an optimist (which I am sure you are), you are thinking you are halfway through to the weekend. So true!! Shouldn't we celebrate? I  say we should with this Roasted Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta.

I simply LOVE Butternut Squash. It's a beautiful vegetable. For those who haven't had one, it is the closest in taste to red or orange pumpkin, but slightly firmer in texture. You can replace butternut squash with pumpkin too. But I love the texture of a butternut squash. And roasting it brings out the sweetness of the squash. I kept the flavor profile very simple, just red chilli and cumin. The red chilli brought a nice heat to the otherwise sweet squash and the cumin added a little earthy flavor that worked wonderfully with the sweet squash. The little cubes are so tasty, you won't stop eating them while cooking, so make a little more than you would like to serve. Your own secret stash.


Next in, the Artichokes. This is not something very regularly available in India. I happened to find it stocked in the supermarket near my house and I couldn't resist buying it. Good decision, though. The last time I had cooked artichokes, Raj was totally unimpressed. He almost forbade me to buy them this time. But after this time, I may have at least converted him to tolerating them. I almost steamed the artichokes in the oven and they turned out all soft and melt in your mouth texture, that was really appetizing. I absolutely loved them with just salt and olive oil. Gee preferred adding in some Italian seasoning. Season the artichokes according to your taste.

Good quality crusty bread works best for a Bruschetta, but you can use what you have. You can even use crackers.

This Roasted Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta is a perfect snack or appetizer that you can serve for a Sunday Brunch, or Friday night Cocktails, or a just a soiree with friends. It is also something that you can prepare in advance, so you can leave your hair loose and enjoy with your family and friends and just accept the compliments that will come your way. Happy celebrating!

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an Italian appetizer in which crusty grilled bread is topped with sweet cumin roasted butternut squash, artichokes cooked in the oven until soft, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. This vegan appetizer is perfect for soirees and parties

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:            Italian
Prep Time:     15 hours
Cook time:     60 minutes
Total time:     75 minutes
Yield:                Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

2 Baguettes
1 Butternut Squash
2 Artichokes
0.5 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
2-3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt to taste
Water as required
1 Lime or Lemon
2 Tbsp freshly cracked Pepper

Method:

1. Peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds. Dice it into bite sized pieces of about 1 cm.
2. Add salt, red chilli powder, cumin powder and 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil and mix well.
3. Layer them on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 220 degree Celsius or until soft.
4. In the meanwhile, prepare the artichokes. In a large bowl, take water and add lime juice to it and keep close by. Acidulated water prevents artichokes from browning.
5. Cut the top of the artichoke and remove the tough outer leaves. Keep dipping the artichoke in lime water to avoid browning.
6. Trim the stem and cut the artichoke into half and soak it in the lime water.
7. Once all the artichokes are prepped, place them in a baking pan and drizzle olive oil and salt over them. Use your fingers to rub the salt and oil into the artichokes.
8. Add water to the pan and cover with aluminium foil.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until soft in an oven at 220 degree Celsius.
10. Allow the artichokes to cool a little and either chop them or separate the individual leaves.
11. Slice the baguettes and grill them or toast them until crisp.
12. Top with the artichokes and butternut squash.
13. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Top with freshly cracked pepper for taste.
14. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Grilled Veg Sandwich

Breakfast Bruschetta Duo

Masala Bread Toast

Read more ...

Traditional Chakli Recipe | How to make Chakli [Video]

Chakli is a deep fried savory Indian snack that is popularly made for Diwali. Chakli is a spiral snack made from rice and black lentil (urad dal) flour and can be enjoyed in a gluten free diet. This recipe will show to how to make chakli from scratch along with a video tutorial.

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Soooo.... this post comes almost a month later than what it should have been posted. I had planned to post this Chakli recipe before Diwali, so you guys could try it for Diwali. But I totally missed it. I thought of waiting for next year to post it, but then who has the patience to wait another year. And I figured out, you don't need Diwali around to make Chakli, you can make it anytime you like. With cold weather coming our way, the demand for deep fried goodness is only going to go up. So here's the recipe for the crispy crunchy Chakli.

There are several variations of the Chakli - Palak Chakli, Butter Chakli and what my friend told me recently, there's even an Jalapeno Chakli out there. But this is the recipe for the traditional chakli.

Some background.

It’s been years that I have been planning to cook snacks and sweets for Diwali and restart our old tradition of visiting friends and family and sharing those delicacies with them. But for the last 2 years, I’ve been out of country for Diwali (visiting Bali and Cambodia). So while I made elaborate plans on what to cook and how to box them, it never materialized. But this Diwali was different, I was in country and better yet, I was in Goa. Gee and I split up the dishes and managed to put up two savory and two sweets on the plate. It was such a delight!

I had several ideas for the savory snack and while I had Chakli at the back of my mind, Gee picked it too. Chakli was what my mom made every Diwali when we were little and gave it to everyone in the apartment complex. And this year, I restarted that tradition.

I made Chakli several times in the last one month, I made trial batches and I made more batches for distributing. With all the Chakli making so fresh in my mind, I'm at my best to give you all the tips and tricks required to make the perfect Chakli. There are several small things that impact how your Chakli turns out, and I have included it in the Notes section at the bottom of the recipe. Who knew, that things like humidity and temperature could affect your Chakli?

There are different varieties of Chakli Press available in the market, you can buy:

• Stainless Steel Ones -  
• Brass ones -             
• Wooden ones  from local markets.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Traditional Chakli Recipe

Chakli is a savory deep fried Indian snack that is popularly made for Diwali. Chakli is a crispy spiral snack made from rice and lentil flour. It is a spicy crunchy vegetarian snack.

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     10 hours
Cook time:     60 minutes
Total time:     10 hours 40 minutes
Yield:                80-90

Ingredients:

3 cups or 570 gms raw Rice
1 cup or 190 gms Urad Dal
0.75 cup or 75 gms Ghee
0.5 cup Oil
5 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Asafoetida (Hing) (Use gluten free hing to suit a gluten free diet)
2-4 tsp Salt
3-4 cups Water
Oil to fry
Water as required

Method:

To make the Chakli Flour:

1. Wash and drain the rice. Spread it on a dry muslin cloth in a single layer to dry overnight or for 8-10 hours.
2. Once the rice is dry, dry roast it in a kadhai until all the moisture evaporates and the rice turns bright white. Roast on low flame by stirring occassionally. Do not allow the rice to change color or burn. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. Dry roast the urad dal on low heat until it turns pinkish-brown. The dal will turn fragrant once roasted well. Stir occassionally and do not allow the dal to burn. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Once the rice and urad dal have cooled, grind it into a smooth powder in batches. You can either do this at home in a mixer or get it powdered at a mill.
5. Sieve the flour to remove any unpowdered rice or dal.
6. With the quantities used in this recipe, you should get around 750-760gms of chakli flour.

To make the Chakli:

7. Grind 3 tsp of cumin seeds into a coarse powder. Alternately you can use roasted cumin powder.
8. Add the cumin seed powder to the chakli flour.
9. Next add in the red chilli powder, remaining cumin seeds, hing and 2 tsp of salt and mix it roughly. Hing or asafoetida may contain wheat and hence avoid it if making a gluten free version.
10. Add in melted ghee and rub it in the flour.
11. Add hot oil by the spoonfuls and rub it in the flour. Squeeze a bit of the flour in your palms, if it holds the shape, you can stop adding oil. If it crumbles away, add more oil and mix.
12. Once you have added all the oil, add in water slowly and start kneading until you have a smooth dough. Adjust seasoning or spices as you continue to knead.
13. Once you have a smooth dough, cover with a wet cloth and keep aside.
14. Grease the chakli press well.
15. Take a ball of dough and stuff it in the chakli press.
16. Press out the chaklis onto a smooth plastic sheet.
17. Heat oil in a kadhai for deep frying. Add a small piece of flour to test the oil. If the piece floats up, the oil is hot enough.
18. Once the oil is hot, carefully pick up the chakli and add it to the oil. Fry in batches and do not crowd the kadhai.
19. Once you have added the first batch of chaklis, lower the heat to a minimum and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes. Depending on the quantity of oil you have in the kadhai and the stove settings, you may require more or less time than what is mentioned. Try a test batch first to get the time and temperature of the stove correct. See notes for more tips.
20. Remove from oil and place it onto a absorbent kitchen towel to cool.
21. Once cool, store in an airtight box.
22. Serve at room temperature with tea.

Notes:

1. To make the chakli gluten free, do not add hing or asafoetida.
2. To make the chakli vegan, you can replace ghee with oil.
3. To make the chakli richer tasting, the oil can be replaced with ghee or butter. Butter can also be used in place of ghee or oil completely.
4. If you are making chakli for the first time, it is better to make the dough in small batches, so that you can correct the next batch if required. Humidity and temperature in your house may change the amount of ghee/oil required in your recipe, a trial batch will help get that quantity right.
5. If the chaklis start breaking when you try to shape them, then add more water to the dough and try again. The water can be added to small batches of dough as you go along.
6. If the chaklis start breaking in the oil while frying, that means the amount of ghee or oil added to the dough is more than required. Add it a little dry flour and knead again.
7. The chakli flour can be stored for 1-2 months in a dry airtight container.
8. The chakli dough cannot be stored and it is recommended to make chakli with fresh dough.
9. Cooking the chakli is the trickiest part, make sure the oil is hot when you drop in the chaklis, after that set the stove to sim or minimum heat. Cook on a low temperature until crispy. The high temperature gives color to the chakli while the low temperature cooks it all the way through making it crispy. It is recommended to make a few trial batches so that you get the temperature and time required in your environment.
10. Allow the chaklis to cool completely before storing, else they may get soft.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Shankarpole

Nippattu

Baked Papdi

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Aloo Methi Recipe | How to make Punjabi Aloo Methi [Video]

Aloo Methi is a popular mildly spiced North Indian dry curry made by tossing boiled potatoes with cooked fenugreek or methi leaves. Aloo Methi is a quick and simple vegan curry.

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Hiya friends!! I'm back.

I hope you guys had a wonderful Diwali with your friends and family. I had my best Diwali in several years. Last year, we were in Bali for Diwali. The year before that, we were in Cambodia. So it's been a few years that I actually got involved in the festivities. This year, we decided to go home to Goa for Diwali and it was the best decision ever.

We met all our neighbors and we reminisced about the good old days. We cooked snacks and sweets and distributed it among friends and family. I met my school besties and had some good laughs. And I went for the one event that you will never get outside of Goa - the Narakasuras!!

While Diwali is celebrated by the whole country, each region has a different religious significance attached to the festival. In Goa and most of Karnataka, Diwali is celebrated as the day when Lord Krishna slayed the demon Narakasura. In Goa, people build effigies of Narakasura prior to Diwali, and on the Diwali eve's night, these Narakasuras are paraded throughout the city and burnt in the wee hours of morning of Diwali. Although I've lived in Goa most of my life, I never ventured out at night to see these creations. This time was our first and it was amazing. I applaud the creativity and hard work of all the people who created these beauties. If you are ever in Goa around Diwali, make sure you don't miss this competition, it is worth watching. 

While I never wanted to come off the Diwali high, I had to. So now I'm back to work, although I must say unwillingly. And I'm back to everyday cooking too. Eating the rich festival food, definitely made us all crave for some simple home cooking. 

I will be sharing my Diwali cooking soon, but until then I have this simple yet delicious Aloo Methi for you guys. This Punjabi style Aloo Methi is one of the quickest curries to make, and yet it is a family favorite. Aloo Methi is a simple mildly spiced curry made by tossing boiled potatoes along with cooked methi leaves. Aloo Methi tastes best with Roti, Naan or with Rice and Dal.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Aloo Methi Recipe

Aloo Methi is a popular North Indian dry curry made with boiled potatoes and fenugreek or methi leaves. Aloo Methi is a mildly spiced vegan curry.

Recipe Type:  Side
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Total time:     60 minutes
Yield:                2

Ingredients:

1 bunch Methi Leaves or 3 cups Fenugreek Leaves
2 medium Potatoes, boiled and cubed
0.5 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
3-5 dry Red Chillies
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
Pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp Coriander Powder
3 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Chop the methi leaves and add 0.5 tsp of salt. Mix well and keep aside for 20-30 minutes.
2. Squeeze out as much water from the methi leaves as you can and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds.
4. Once the cumin seeds brown, add the dry red chillies.
5. Saute for 30-40 seconds and add the ginger garlic paste.
6. Saute until fragrant.
7. Add the methi leaves and fry until wilted.
8. Add the asafoetida, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix well.
9. Add a little water and cover and cook until the methi leaves are completely cooked.
10. Add in cubed boiled potatoes and mix well.
11. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
12. Serve hot with chapati or roti.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Lahsuni Methi Mushroom

Ghugni Masala

Achari Bhindi Dahiwali

Read more ...

Ghugni Masala | Kala Chana Masala [Video]

Ghugni Masala is a vegan and healthy curry made from black chickpeas or kala chana. The chickpeas are simmered in a masala made from pureed onions, tomatoes and spices. A perfect gluten free accompaniment to roti or naan bread.

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What's a better way to start of a week than with a healthy meal? And this Ghugni Masala or Kala Chana Masala is as healthy as it gets.

Kala Chana or Ghugni are desi black chickpeas. If you aren't Indian, there is a possibility you haven't seen the black chickpeas. Black chickpeas are smaller, denser and have a rougher skin than their cousin, the more popular, white chickpeas. Black chickpeas have more fiber and a lower glycemic index and make it perfect for someone trying to lose weight or just lead a healthier life. 

Also, I just love them!

I enjoy eating the black chickpeas way more than the lighter variety, also known locally as Kabuli Chana. And what I love even more than the black chickpeas? the water it is cooked in or the aqua faba. The black chickpeas release a lot of umami into the water that they were boiled in, making it perfect for using in curries. Which is why in this curry, we don't use regular water, we use the water in which the chickpeas were boiled. The water adds color as well as an oomph to the curry. 

Ghugni Masala is a very simple curry to make and stores brilliantly in the fridge. 

The curry is simply made by simmering boiled black chickpeas in a masala made from pureed onions and tomatoes that have been flavored with 4 simple spice powders - coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala. Whole spices are also used in the recipe to make the dish even more fragrant. If you don't have all the whole spices, just use what you have.

Kala Chana Masala fits right into the vegan diet as well as a gluten free diet. To make the dish fit the plant based diet, just replace the oil with water.

Kala Chana Masala tastes best when served with Naan bread or Roti, but you can also serve it with rice. In case serving with rice, adjust the consistency of the gravy.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Ghugni Masala | Kala Chana Masala

Ghugni Masala is a vegan and healthy curry made from black chickpeas or kala chana. The chickpeas are simmered in a masala made from pureed onions, tomatoes and spices. A perfect gluten free accompaniment to roti or naan bread.

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     8 hours
Cook time:     30 minutes
Total time:     8 Hours 30 Minutes
Yield:                2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup Black Chickpeas or Kala Chana
2 medium Onions
2 medium Tomatoes
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
0.5 tsp Mustard Seeds
0.5 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Bay leaf
2 Cloves
1 Mace
1" Cinnamon
1 tsp Coriander Powder
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
0.5 tsp Garam Masala
1 Tbsp Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
1 Tbsp Kasuri Methi (Optional)
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Soak the dried black chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook them the next day with 0.5 tsp salt until they are cooked.
2. Puree the onion and tomatoes separately.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
4. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the bay leaf, cloves, mace, cinnamon and cumin seeds.
5. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute until fragrant.
6. Add the onion paste and saute until slightly browned.
7. Now add the tomato paste and all the spice powders and cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes while stirring frequently.
8. Add 1 cup of water in which the chickpeas were cooked.
9. Add salt to taste.
10. Cover and cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
11. Add kasuri methi and mix well.
12. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.
13. Serve hot with roti or naan bread.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Alsane Tonak

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Double Beans Masala

Read more ...

Spinach Tofu Scramble Recipe | How to make Scrambled Tofu [Video]

Scrambled Tofu made with wilted spinach. Serve it with some toast to make a vegan and healthy breakfast.

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Soooo... I'm back with another breakfast recipe. Just in case you aren't convinced I LOVE breakfast. 

But before I get into the recipe, have you checked out my new "Recipes" page? Do you like it better than the text version I had before? Or do you think I should still include the text version?

This is what I spent my entire long weekend doing. Unlike some other blogging platforms, Blogger has no plugins, so every new thing I want to add or anything existing that I want to tweak, takes a lot of my time. Countless searches on Google and several tests and trials on the blog lead to the effect that I desire. While it may be much easier to move to a different blogging platform, I love doing the dirty work myself. I don't even realize how time flies when I sit editing my blog.

If you're a regular visitor, you've noticed, I've also been doing a lot of video recipes. If you like them, you can encourage me by subscribing to my YouTube Channel - One Teaspoon Of Life. Videos take up a lot of time and every encouragement I receive just pushes me to make them despite all the effort involved.

Since I wanted to spend most of my time working, I cooked some of the simplest meals this long weekend. This scrambled tofu with wilted spinach fit the bill perfectly. 

I've been making these vegan and healthy scrambled Tofu for many years now, but the addition of spinach was recent. I love spinach as much as Popeye, but I usually make curries with it. Adding the spinach just makes the already healthy scramble even healthier and it tastes so delicious. It adds more fiber, more nutrients, more color, more everything to the dish!! 

The secret to making the best Scrambled Tofu, lies in... the salt. Yes, the salt!! Use regular salt and you will end up with a good Scrambled Tofu, use black salt and the Scrambled Tofu just goes from good to awesome. Black salt is a funky smelling salt that is made from salt rocks found in the Himalayan region. The salt adds an umami to the Scrambled Tofu, that takes it to another level. There are reviews that it makes the scrambled tofu taste similar to scrambled eggs. So you won't be missing your eggs if you just switched to a vegan diet. Use black salt in place of regular salt, or just use it in part along with regular salt. 

If you are on a plant based diet, you can skip the oil and saute the onions in water.

This scrambled tofu with spinach fits almost any diet. So you have no reason to skip making it. So go ahead, make it for weekend breakfast or brunch for your vegan friends.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Spinach Tofu Scramble Recipe | How to make Scrambled Tofu

Scrambled Tofu made with wilted spinach. Serve it with some toast to make a vegan and healthy breakfast.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Total time:     25 minutes
Yield:                2

Ingredients:

200gms Tofu
2 cups chopped Spinach
1 Onion
1 Tomato
1 finely chopped Green Chilli
2 Tbsp Oil
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
0.5 tsp Red Chilli Powder
2 Tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves
Black Salt or Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion.
2. Saute until the onions are slightly browned and then add the chopped green chilli.
3. Add in the chopped tomato and cook until soft.
4. Add the chopped spinach abd saute.
5. Add salt and cover and cook until the spinach is cooked.
6. Add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder and mix well.
7. Crumble the tofu and add it to the pan and mix well.
8. Cook on low heat for 3-5 mins.
9. Adjust seasoning if required.
10. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves and serve it with toast.

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How to make Tofu

Chilli Tofu

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Shalgam Ke Kebab | Vegan Turnip Chops [Video]

Shalgam ke Kebab or Turnip Chops are crumb coated pan fried patties made from fresh seasonal turnips and mashed potatoes, flavored with spices. Perfect for winter evening tea !!

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It feels so good to eat seasonal!!

I cannot remember the last time I ate turnips. Being seasonal, turnips start coming into the market around this time, and because the demand isn't so high I guess, they tend to be available in very few shops across Bangalore. I'm lucky I found them in my vegetable store. 

I haven't cooked much with turnips in the past. But this year, I've been buying them every week. I made a dry curry with grated turnips, I added them to sambar, I made parathas, and lastly, I made these delicious, crispy kebabs.

Here are the details.

Since, they are called Shalgam ke Kebab, they have to taste of Shalgam (turnips). Turnips are slightly sharp or bitter in taste, but they are much milder than the daikon radish. At the peak of the season, they are actually sweet, which would be the best time to cook with them. You can either boil the turnips and use in this kebab or you can grate them like I did. Boiling them dilutes the flavor slightly as they combine very easily with the other ingredients. I grated them because I wanted the turnip flavor to be dominant in the kebabs. So, peel the turnips and grate them. Make sure you squeeze out as much water as you can from the turnips, this will prevent the kebabs from getting soggy on the inside.

We need binding agents to make the kebabs. And here, we are using two of them - potatoes and gram flour (besan). Use just enough to bind the mixture.

I mildly spiced the kebabs with turmeric powder, red chilli powder and some homemade garam masala. I added coriander leaves, because, well, I add coriander to pretty much everything. I love the freshness it adds. You can skip it or replace it with herbs like dill or parsley. 

In the absence of an egg wash, because I don't eat eggs, I made a simple plain flour slurry. This helps in crumb coating the kebabs. If you want to use eggs, you can.

The crumb coating - I ran out of bread crumbs, which would have been ideal, so I replaced them with coarsely powdered rolled oats. What can I say, it was fantastic. The oats behaved more like panko bread crumbs and they gave the kebab a nice crunchy outer layer. And may be made it feel a little healthier too. 

I shallow fried the kebabs until they were nice and brown. I've never tried baking them, so I don't know if that will work. But if you have already baked something similar, I'd say go ahead and bake them. If you do, leave me a comment so it helps out other readers who may want to bake.

Top the kebabs with some chat masala or squeeze some lime juice on them while eating. 

These Shalgam ke Kebab also go fantastically with green chutney. 

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

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Video Recipe

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Shalgam ke Kebab Recipe

Shalgam ke Kebab or Turnip Chops are crumb coated pan fried patties made from fresh seasonal turnips and mashed potatoes, flavored with spices.

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Total time:     30 minutes
Yield:                5

Ingredients:

3 small Turnips
1 boiled Potato
2 Tbsp chopped Coriander leaves
2 Tbsp Gram Flour (Besan)
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
0.5 tsp Garam Masala
2 Tbsp Plain Flour (Maida)
0.5 cup Bread Crumbs or coarsely powdered Oats
Oil to fry
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Peel and grate the turnips. Squeeze out as much water from the turnips as possible.
2. Mash the boiled potato and add it to the turnip.
3. Add in ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, chopped coriander leaves, garam masala, gram flour and salt.
4. Mix well until completely combined.
5. Divide the mixture and shape into kebabs or patties.
6. Mix together flour with 2-3 Tbsp of water to make a thick smooth slurry.
7. Dip the kebab into the slurry and coat it fully.
8. Dip the kebab into bread crumbs or powdered oats and coat it completely.
9. In a shallow pan, heat up oil.
10. When the oil is hot, add the kebab. Keep the stove on medium heat.
11. Fry until one side browns, then flip over and continue to fry until the other side browns.
12. Remove from the pan onto paper napkins.
13. Serve hot with chutney or ketchup.
14. Demould and serve hot with chutney or sambhar.
15. All rottis may not puff up completely, but do not worry, they are still cooked.
16. Serve the rottis hot/warm with curry.

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Banana Blossom Cutlets

Vegetable Cutlet

Millet Cutlet

Sabudana Vada

DAhi Kebab

Instant Paneer Tikka

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