No Fry Zucchini Koftas

My love for the appe-pan continues. It has introduced me to a new world of hassle free, oil-free cooking. Bored of the regular lauki koftas? then try these dumplings for a change!

Ingredients

For the kofta
1 large zucchini grated, about two cups
1/2 cup paneer crumbled
2 tablespoons besan
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon haldi
1 chopped green chilli
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
8-10 raisins (optional)
Few drops oil- to grease the appe pan

For the gravy
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions
1 inch ginger piece
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 teaspoons garam masala powder
1 teaspoon jeera
1 tejpata
3 tomatoes
1 cup water
Salt to taste

To garnish
Cream- optional
Chopped coriander
Kasuri methi

1. Mix all the ingredients for the kofta. Keep aside for ten minutes till the zucchini leaves water
2. Meanwhile on a medium flame pre heat the appe pan
3. Shape into balls and place into lightly greased appe pan moulds

4. Cover and cook for five minutes. Then using a toothick or a small patula flip the koftas over
5. Cook for a few minutes on the other side till brown. Repeat with next batch of koftas
6.For the gravy, grind together onion ginger and garlic into a paste.
8. Heat oil. Add tejpata and jeera. After a few seconds add the onion paste and fry on a medium flame till brown.
9. Puree the tomatoes and add. Keep cooking till the mixture dries and leaves Oil on the sides
10. Add all the masalas and fry for two minutes
11. Add the water and bring to boil. Some prefer a slight sweet taste
To kofta gravy for which you can add 2 pinches of sugar
12. Turn off the gas
13. Pour gravy in a bowl. Place koftas in it
14. Garnish as desired
15. Serve hot.

Mooli Saag -Recipe with mooli(radish) leaves

Still some time for the winter veggies to make an appearance as mooli ka saag(leaves) are available in plenty then. These are sold separately and are harvested when the radish is very tender so the taste is not the same as using the leaves on top of full grown moolis.They can be easily confused  with sarson ka saag- they look almost identical, look for the baby moolis at the end of the stalks. If these are not available, make the same recipe with palak or sarson ka saag

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 bunches of mooli ka saag (mooli leaves) - about 2 cups of chopped leaves
2 medium moolis, diced
1/2 cup peas
1 tablespoon mustard oil
1 teaspoon methi seeds
1 teaspoon rai seeds
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 inch ginger, finely chopped
1 pinch heeng
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon haldi
1/2 teaspoon amchoor powder
1/4 cup water

1. Wash the leaves well and chop fine.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker.
3. When hot (smoking), reduce the flame and add the heeg, rai and methi seeds. After spluttering for a few seconds add the green chilli  and the ginger.
4. Add the mooli, chopped leaves, salt and the haldi and the water.
5. Close the lid and bring to full flame.
6. After one whistle, simmer for 3-4 mintues and turn the gas off.
7. Srpinkle the amchoor before serving. Tastes great as a side dish with yellow dal and parathas!

Vegetables Seekh Kabab

A very healthy vegetarian starter - the aroma and taste of the freshly powdered garam masala is the main attraction of this dish. You can use your own variations for the vegetables - anything will do! Peas/beans/methi/corn/paneer can also be added- to make this a more versatile recipe


Ingredients( makes about 20 medium sized kababs)

For the dry masala powder
2 small elaichis
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon jeera
2-3 cloves
1/2 tablespoon dhanya powder
1 tablespoon khus khus

4 medium potatoes
3 small carrots,peeled
1 small cauliflower (use as small a flower as possible, else batter will be too wet)
2 green chillies finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
15-20 kishmish (raisins)
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon chaat masala
1 tablespoon mustard oil
3-4 tablespoons roasted besan
Cornflour (optional, if additional binding is needed)

Oil for greasing

1. Steam all the vegetable together in a cooker (see pic below). I place all the vegetables in the steamer basket , add 2 cups of water , give one whistle and let the cooker stay on a low flame for ten minutes. Then turn off the gas and open the lid when the steam is released
2. Dry roast all the masalas for the powder . Cool and grind
3. Peel the potatoes and mash all the vegetables. Add all the remaining ingredients and mash thoroughly. If the paste feels too soft/wet , add a little cornflour - else the kababs will fall off the skewers while cooking
 4.If using wooden skewers, soak the skewers 30 minutes prior to using them. This helps soften the wood and the kababs come off easily.
5. Grease the skewers with oil(I use regular sunflower cooking oil) . Grease your palms also lightly. Place the skewer on the palm, take a fist full of the batter and shape the kababs on the skewer- this might require some practice! I do not take too much batter on one skewer as it is easy to shape and does not break either .
6. Place the skewers on the grill/tandoor/oven tray and cook for 10-12 minutes till slightly charred. Grease the tops of the kababs lightly. You can turn the skewers over after 5 minutes. The time will vary on the cooking device being used. If using an oven, set the temperature to maximum.
7. Take the kababs off from the skewers when done and serve with chutney and lemon wedges

Baked Mango Yoghurt

This is the quickest dessert I have ever made. So simple and still delicious. Once you get the basic curd mixture baked properly, you can choose any topping of your choice. I went with the obvious choice,being the flavour of the season - mango. Instead of making a mango sauce, just add chopped mango to make this even easier. Talking about flavour choices,I have once eaten a gulkand flavoured baked yoghurt at a wedding- was divine! Also, using curd made from full cream milk would make this creamier but at the cost of some extra calories:)


Ingredients (serves 2-3)

1 cup hung curd (Read here how to)
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 mango, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon custard powder (or cornflour)

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees Celcius
2. Whisk together the curd and condensed milk
3. Pour into a ceramic bowl or individual ramekins. Sprinkle the cinnamon and the grated lemon rind on top of the curd.
4. Bake on the center rack for about 25 minutes till the curd mixture looks set. The edges will turn a light brown and the mixture will wobble very slightly.
5. Dissolve the custard powder in the milk. For the mango topping, heat the mango pieces in a pan with the custard powder and milk paste on a low flame . Turn off the gas when the mango looks cooked and the paste thickens, roughly 2-3 minutes.
6. Pour the mango sauce over the curd and serve. This dessert tastes as good warm as it does chilled.