Bread bombs

After making the bread pakoras, I had some stuffing left over and decided to make something that my mother often made for me when I was a child.

6 slices bread

1 medium potatoes

1 beetroot

1 big carrot

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Boil the potatoes. Peel, mash and keep aside. 

Peel and chop the beetroots and carrots. Steam till just cooked. Keep aside. 

Mix the potatoes, vegetables, spices, and salt. Divide into six equal parts. 

Start heating the oil. 

Cut the crusts of the bread, and moisten slightly. Put the stuffing in the middle, and fold the bread around it. Seal the edges by pressing lightly. 

Slide two balls at a time into the oil and fry till well browned and crisp. Drain on a kitchen towel and serve with ketchup or green chutney. 

Sweet potato halwa

I am a huge fan of halwas made out of vegetables. Not only does it satisfy the sweet tooth, with the milk and the veggies, it is much healthier than many other sweets. So when I had 250 gms of boiled sweetotatoes in the fridge, this was the first thing I thought of making. And I am glad I did.

Most of it is by 'andaz', bit worked beautifully well.

250 gms sweet potatoes boiled and mashed (I pressure cooked for about 20 mins on sim after the first whistle)
1/2 cup milk (andaaz)
1 tbsp ghee (can be less)
3-4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp raisins
cardamon powder

Heat ghee in a non-stick, and once it has melted, add the sweet potatoes, and cook with constant stirring for about 2-3 minutes.
Add the milk (you need to add enough to cover the sweet potatoes, the sugar and the raisins, and cook on a low flame till the milk completely disappears.
Take off the fire, and stir in the powdered cardamon.
Serve chilled

Beetroot and sweet potato burgers

"What would you like to have for dinner?", I asked the kids.

"McDonalds!", the chorused, with big grins, knowing fully well I wouldn't let them have 'junk' in the middle of the week.

But we're they in for a surprise. What they had for dinner was a delicious and healthy take on their greasy aloo tikki burger. Presenting the beetroot- sweet potatoe burger!

250 gms beetroot

250 gms sweet potatoes

1 onion, chopped fine

Salt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder to taste

2 tbsp corn flour

2-3 tbsp sooji/ rawa

Butter

Method

Pressure cook the sweet potatoes and the beetroots. 

Peel the beetroots, and chop into small pieces

Peel and mash the sweet potatoes.

Add the beetroots and onions to the mashed potatoes, along with all the spices and mix well.

Make a batter with the corn flour

Fashion the mix into 'tikkis', coat on both sides with corn flour, press into the sooji, and allow it to stand for about 10 minutes

Shallow fry the tikkis with butter.

Place between home-made buns, put a layer of mint chutney and a cheese slice. Voila! Healthy burgers ready!

Burger buns were made by following the basic bread recipe, with 1 cup whole wheat flour replacing the regular flour. The dough was fashioned into balls, and the top evened out by tucking it into the bottom of the burger. Sesame seeds were sprinkled prior to baking.

Dahi kofta

This recipe was adapted from one by Namita. Though the entire process was quite mess to say the least, the dish tasted really good, which is why I am putting it here.

Coarsely fry 1/2 cup of peas with 1 green chilli. Fry the peas with ginger garlic paste and salt for a few minutes till the rawness goes, and keep aside.
Mash 2 boiled sweet potatoes, and mix it with 2 tbsp cornflour, 2 tbsp crumbled paneer, and salt to taste. Knead well to make a dough.
Apply a little oil on your palms and take a small dough ball, flatten it and then shape it like a cup. Put 1 tsp of the stuffing inside the covering and close it slowly to make an even ball. Put the balls in the oil for deep frying. The oil should not be too hot or the balls will stick to the bottom of the kadhai. Slowly fry in a batch of 3-4 on a medium flame to make golden brown from all sides. [This is the theory, reality was quite different.] Drain the oil, and keep aside.

Beat curds (as much as you need) with a fork till smooth. Add salt, dhania pwd, red chilli pwd to taste and mix well.
Put the koftas in the dahi gravy and serve.

Sweet potato and peanut curry

I should be never left in a vegetable market after 8:30. Because if I am, all I end up doing is buying a lot of vegetables that I don't know how to cook, just because they were offered at a bargain price. This recipe is adapted for a couple on the Internet, and we all loved it.

 
Steam about 250 gms of sweet potato till tender (you should be able to insert a fork without difficulty). Peel the skin, cut into discs and keep aside.

Heat some oil in a kadhai, temper with 1 tsp zeera and 1 red chilli, and fry an inch piece of grated ginger. Add the sweet potatoes and stir on low flame till it starts browning.

Add 1/2 tsp chilli sauce, 3/4 cup beaten curd, 1 tsp sugar and salt to taste. Get it to one boil and add about 50 gms of lightly crushed peanuts. Cook for 2 mins on low flame.

Tastes best with rotis, but can also be had as such.

Sweet potato croquettes

Though I have no idea what to do with them, I keep buying sweet potatoes for the health benefits they are supposed to have. Most of the time, the kids and I end up having it boiled "just like that", but this time I was determined to cook it. Found two recipes from the net, and after some deliberation decided which one to make. It was only after dropping the garlic in the oil that I realized I had inadvertently picked the wrong recipe. But it was lovely- never has anything come out so well on the first attempt.

Boil 250 gms sweet potatoes till soft. Peel and mash.
Heat a bit of oil, and fry 4 pods garlic and 2 green chilies for awhile. Pour over the mashed sweet potatoes.
Add 1 tsp soy sauce, juice of ½ lime, and salt to taste, and mix well.
Mould into small croquettes.
Dip the croquettes in sesame seeds and press down so they stick to the surface.
Shallow fry in butter till golden brown.


[The original recipe called for potatoes in addition to sweet potatoes, and you need to add grated and roasted coconut and coriander leaves before shaping them. Skipped both because I don't like too many clashing flavours.]