Quinoa Mint Burger/Cutlet

A blog post after a while... have really missed being around! Every time I promise myself that I will be more consistent, I try, but then fail sometimes. Life has been exciting. So can't complain!

Quinoa has ended (replaced?) our brown rice saga temporarily. I guess we just needed a change and a really good one at that. Quinoa promises, it is versatile, and I have made some good dishes with it. You probably will be seeing a lot more of this wonder grain/seed on my blog. Slap these patties on hearty whole grain bun, and some lettuce, tomato and mayo and call it a burger or just eat it plain and simple and call it a cutlet. So, burger/cutlet/patty, whatever you want to call it... this has replaced our lunch for the day and it was scrumptious! I see myself making a lot more of this for sure!

 

Quinoa Mint Burger/Cutlet

Ingredients:

Organic Quinoa - 2 cups washed, rinsed and cooked (just like you would white rice)
Potatoes - 2 small boiled and mashed
Scallions - A cup chopped finely
Onions- 1/4 cup chopped
Mint - 1/2 cup chopped
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
Carrots - 1/2 cup finely diced
Ginger - 1 tbsp chopped
Garlic - 1 tbsp chopped
Green chillies - 1 small chopped (more if you want more heat)
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
Salt - To taste
Oil - To roast patties on a griddle

Method:

Mash the potatoes thoroughly and add all the ingredients except the quinoa and bread crumbs. Reserve the oil for the griddle. Add the quinoa to the mashed vegetables and mix in the bread crumbs lastly.

 

Try not to mash up the quinoa too much. The texture is nicer if you don't. Form into patties, depending on what you are aiming to make. Bigger for the burger patties and smaller if you are making cutlets.

 

Pour a little oil and roast the quinoa cakes on the griddle in batches. Make sure it is browned evenly on both sides. It gets nice and crispy on both sides. Remove from heat and serve warm. The beautiful mint flavor is something to look out for! Enjoy.

 

Paneer Tikki

Beautiful, gorgeous weather in Seattle for the last few days. We had a glorious weekend and a even better Monday! When there aren't very many days of sunshine in a place like ours, we learn to appreciate the sunny days a little more than what you blessed folks do. All we talk about is the "weather" when we meet with friends or anyone on the street!
This was so not the time to stay indoors and cook but there was one dish that I enjoyed making for a quick snack - Panner tikkis/cutlets. My daughter seemed to love it, so that means it should have been good!

Paneer Tikki




Ingredients

Paneer - 2 cups shredded
Potatoes - 2 medium boiled and mashed
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely
Cilantro - 1 cup chopped
Bread slices - 2
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp (You may use green chillies)
Salt - To taste
Olive Oil - About 1 tbsp for every 4 tikkis
Bread crumbs - To coat
A.P flour - 2 tbsp mixed in 4-6 tbsp of water. It should be pretty runny.

Method

Soak the bread slices in water. Squeeze out the excess water, tear it apart with your hands into small pieces and add to the mashed potato and paneer.
Add the rest of the ingredients to this (except the oil) and mix well.
Pinch out even balls and flatten into a disc shape.
Dip in the flour and water paste and then coat evenly with breadcrumbs.
Heat a non-stick pan (works better because of the less oil) and roast the tikki in batches, and on both sides.
I used about a tablespoon or two for every 4-5 tikkis/cutlets.

Serve with onions, mint chutney or ketchup.

Notes:

*Clean pan in between batches of frying the tikkis. It prevents the loose breadcrumbs from burning further.

* Dust off extra breadcrumbs before frying and ensure a good even coating

* Freeze the paneer for 30 min before shredding. This will make the grating a little easier.

* Use the cookie cutter to cut out the tikkis into fun shapes for the kids.

Baked Edamame Fritters - Secret to a perfect no-fry Vadai

Vadai/Indian fritters is by far one of the most loved snacks down South of India. A rare cold afternoon with rain thrashing down on the roof calls for a hot cup of chai and its most beloved companion - Masala Vadai.
The aroma of the vadais wafting from the gloomy kitchen with Amma frying them up ever so elegantly with me wrapped up in my blanket standing beside her is a memory that I cherish and yearn for even now.
My daughter would probably have memories of her mom pulling out a tray of healthy vadais right from the oven as opposed to frying them up!
I have already tried my hands on baked masala vadais, and they came out beautifully. It uses a different procedure.
Baking is not the same as frying them, agreed... but pretty close with the new method I have come up with. And without all those calories, do I hear anyone complaining?
Okay, here is the secret: "broiling"
Baking the vadais for about 10-15 minutes, and then putting the oven on broil mode for 2-4 minutes and getting that beautiful crispy crust on the top is as close you will ever get to frying them.

So the concept is, the fritters cook from below when you "bake" them, and then from above when you "broil" them. The coil heats up from the respective sides when you use the bake and broil mode.
And voila! You have the best crispy healthy vadais you will ever have!

Note: Do not move away from the oven when it is on "broil" mode. Temperatures reach up to 500F- 525F and will burn whatever is in the oven in no time.



Baked Edamame Fritters - Secret to a perfect no-fry Vadai

Ingredients:

Edamame - 1 lb bag
Channa Dal/Dried split chickpeas - 1 cup
Cabbage - 1/2 cup chopped
Green chillies - 3 tbsp chopped
Red onions - 1 large chopped
Ginger - 2 tsp chopped
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - A pinch
Chilly powder - 1 tsp (adjust heat according to your taste)
Curry leaves - 3 tbsp torn into pieces
Salt - To taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Soak the channa dal/lentils in water for about two hours.
Cook Edamame until it is al dente. Do not overcook, it shouldn't be mushy.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Grind the channa dal/lentil and edamame until coarse. Do not make a smooth paste out of it.
In a large mixing bowl, add the ground up lentil and edamame. Add all other ingredients and mix well.

Take a large baking tray, line with aluminum foil and give a good shot of non-stick spray.
Take small balls of the mixture, flatten it in your palm and line them out on the baking tray like shown below.



Bake at 400F till the bottom is golden brown (about 15-20 min).

Then put your oven in broil mode and let the fritters sit for another 2-4 minutes in the oven, till you get a golden color on the top as well.
Keep a constant eye when your oven is on "Broil" mode. It will burn whatever is in your oven in a jiffy!

Take it out when it is done and enjoy warm with some chutney.

Crispy lentil fritters - Healthy Masala Vadai

Dieting... We have all been there, done that.
Diets alone don't work. A healthy lifestyle combines a good balanced diet (when I say diet it means, a sane quantity of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, proteins, carbs, and fat) with a good amount of physical activity and is the key to a fit and healthy body. I am not going to go to the "mind" (as in body and mind) part here... it gets way too complicated.

I would ideally like to follow the "everything in moderation" theory, but sometimes it just doesn't happen, and binges do happen every now and then. But mostly that is the way to satiate every cravings that come your way. A little of everything.

Lentils in general are low in fat and have a very high protein and fiber content. These split yellow gram lentils used in this recipe have a very low glycemic index and supposedly have almost no effect on the blood sugar level. And hence recommended for people with diabetes. If you need more information on the different type of lentils, this is a good place to start.

Crispy lentil fritters (basically our good old vadai) are fried and served as a snack during Tea time, or made during special occasions in India.
Remember those hot set of vadais right out from the frying pan served on a newspaper or a plantain leaf along with cup of tea? Makes my mouth drool even today.
Since I always try to substitute the fried goodies with an healthier option and that is what this whole blog is about: "healthy food and living", I am very excited to share these baked fritters today. I felt that there was little or no compromise on the taste compared to the fried ones.
This is one of the best things that has undergone a successful transformation in my kitchen. I hope it will at your kitchen too.
Like Paula Deen says "I send you best dishes from my kitchen to yours".
God, I feel old now!

Crispy lentil fritters - Healthy Masala Vadai

Channa Dal (Split bengal gram/lentil) - 2 cups (If you don't have access to an Indian store to get this, then try "Bob's Red Mill" brand lentils)
Curry leaves - 10 leaves
Ginger - An inch
Garlic - 4 cloves
Red onion - 1 small finely chopped
Green chillies - 1 or 2 small
Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Cornstarch - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Cilantro - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Asafoetida (Hing) - An inch
Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Soak the lentils in water for about 2-3 hrs.

Preheat oven to 400F

Grind the ginger, garlic, hing, salt, pepper, and half the curry leaves till smooth.

Drain the water and add the lentils into the blender with no or very few drops of water and grind till coarse. I would "not" recommend grinding it to a smooth paste.

Add the red onions, rice flour, cornstarch, oil, green chillies, the remaining curry leaves (chopped) and cilantro and mix well. The batter should not be too thick or thin. At this point you can taste the batter to see if the salt and spice level is right.

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and spoon batter onto the sheet into little rounds as shown in the picture. It should be able to hold its shape, if it doesn't then it means you have added too much water.



Bake for about 15 min, flip it and bake for another 10-15 min. It should be golden brown and crispy.



Let it rest for about 5 min and serve hot with chutney or relish it just like it is with a hot cup of chai/coffee.
The fritters are upside down in the picture, I don't know what I was thinking!



This goes to Divya's Diet foods event, Srivalli's Festival treats event, EC's WYF: Salad/Starter/Soups Event, Lore's Original recipe event, Hima's Sunday snacks event and Pallavi's Yummy Festival Feast - Diwali event