Baked Potato and Quinoa cakes along with a Yogurt Dip

This past week, I was little busy with my daughter's birthday. It was a unicorn themed birthday. I will make a post about it some other time. Nowadays Ramadhan fasting is going on in full swing. At home, my mom makes delicious, mouthwatering appetizers for iftar. It would be a nice gathering of family members during iftar.

Here in the US, I will be trying to make daily different varieties of dishes during iftar time. One among them is this potato and quinoa cakes. I got the recipe from Healthy Living James, which has a collection of healthy and nutritious food, which I like to google always. The recipes on the blog are so simple and less time-consuming.

These potatoes and quinoa cakes are so easy to make. Boil the quinoa and potatoes, mix them along with the spices and bake them till done. A healthy and delicious snack will be ready within minutes.
Ingredients:

1. Boiled Quinoa- 1/2 Cup
2. Boiled Potatoes- 3 nos
3. Onions(chopped)- 2 nos
4. Garlic (minced)- 4nos
5. Olive Oil- 3tbsp
6. Paprika- 1tsp
7. Red Chilli Flakes- 2tsp
8. Lemon Juice- 1
9. Cilantro- handful
10. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Add oil to a pan, saute the chopped onions and garlic till translucent. Add the paprika, chili flakes.
2. Meanwhile mash the potatoes in a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients along with the above-made d onions- garlic mixture. Mix well, shape in the form of patties.
3. Arrange them in a baking tray, spray some olive oil on top and bake for about 40 minutes. Flip in between. Enjoy the yogurt dip.

Yogurt Dip:

1. Yogurt- 1 Cup
2. Lemon Juice- 1/2 lime
3. Chilli Flakes- 2 Tsp
4. Cilantro- few
5. Salt- as required

Method:

• Mix everything and serve.

Amaranth Leaf Patties/ Cheera Cutlet/ Thotakoora Cutlet

Amaranth leaves are power packed with lots and lots of vitamins, minerals, iron and so on. These greens form an integral part of Indian Cuisine. As these leaves are loaded with nutrients and proteins, I will make sure to include these greens in almost everything I make.
Amaranth leaves also called as Cheera in our language is a staple green at our place. My mom makes different varieties of dishes with these greens. Because of that, I like them a lot in any form. When we came to the US, these greens were seldom in Indian stores. But when we get this, I buy then in a bulk and so I will wash and chop them and keep it in airtight containers in the refrigerator.  My friends who are close to me, know very well about my love for greens.

Recently for a get-together, I thought of making cutlets using these leaves.  I made these cutlets for the first time, which turned out delicious and my friends liked them a lot. 
Sauting these leaves along with spices and mixing with boiled potatoes, which is then dipped in maida batter and bread crumbs, fried to a nice golden color. is the way to make perfect and scrumptious patties which I think you all might like to try. Let me know how it turned out.

Ingredients:

1. Amaranth Leaves (chopped)- 2 Cups
2.  Potatoes (Boiled and Mashed)- 3/4 Cup
3. Oil- 1 tbsp
4. Onions( chopped)- 1 no
5. Ginger and Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
6. Red Cilli powder- 1 Tsp
7. Turmeric powder- 1 Tsp
8. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
9. Salt- as required
10. All-Purpose Flour- 1 tbsp
11. Water- 1/4 Cup
12. Bread Crumbs- 1 Cup
13. Oil- 4- 5 tbsp (for shallow frying)

Method:

1. Mix the Maida in water without any lumps and keep this aside. Spread the bread crumbs on a plate for later use.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions and stir fry till it turns translucent. Add the ginger- garlic paste along with the chopped amaranth leaves. Mix well.
3. Add all the powders along with required amount of salt. Saute well till the leaves get cooked. For about 10 minutes on low flame.
4. Transfer this to a mixing bowl along with boiled potatoes. Mix till everything gets well blended.
5. Shape them in the form of patties. Dip each pattie in the maida batter and press them on the bread crumbs and shallow fry them in oil on a low flame till golden color on both the sides.

Ragda Patties

Different varieties of chaats are available all over India.Chaat is a savory snack that contain four flavors like sour, sweet, spicy and tangy in one plate, which is loved by all.

In my family these chaats have a special place.In India, when we used to roam around, we used to have unlimited pani puri. I ended up having 20- 25 in one go and my daughter’s was the record. She likes these chaats a lot and will eat how much ever is possible.

Today I made ragda patties, which I tasted once and loved the flavors and texture that got blended well with each other.

In this ragda patties the potato patties are topped with dried green peas gravy along with sweet chutney, green chutney , curd, onions and sev. Here I didn’t use green chutney, as my husband is not a big fan of coriander leaves.

In Kerala, chaats are not so famous. They have their own delicacies. Now a days this chaat business is growing up slowly. As I grew up in Andhra, I love all different varieties of food and so chaat is one of them.

After coming here I have started preparing these different variety of chaats at home and enjoying a flavorful, healthy savory. The process of preparing this ragda patties look time consuming, but if you have all the ingredients handy then it is very simple and easy to make.Just try this out and you will come to know how easy it is to prepare them at home.

Ingredients for the Patties:

1. Boiled Potatoes- 3 nos
2. Corn Flour- 3- 4 tbsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
5. Oil- for frying

Method for Potato patties:

1. Mash the boiled potatoes, add the corn flour and salt. Mix well. If the mixture looks loose, add little more corn flour and mix.
2. Make medium sized balls, flatten them into round patties. Keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a skillet for shallow frying and fry the above made potato patties till it becomes golden brown in colour and crisp. Remove on a kitchen towel.

Ingredients for Ragda:

1. Dried green Peas- 1 cup
2. Salt- as required
3. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
4. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
5. Asafoetida- a pinch

Method for Ragda:

1. Soak the dried green peas overnight, drain and cook  this dried peas along with turmeric powder, red chilli powder and required amount of salt in a pressure cooker along with water.
2. After about 10- 15 minutes switch off the cooker and open the lid when the pressure falls.
3. The ragda should not be very thick or too watery. Keep this aside.

Sweet Chaat Chutney/ Tamarind Date Chutney:

1. Tamarind- 2 big lemon size
2. Dates- ¼ Cup
3. Jaggery- ¼ Cup
4. Water- 1 Cup
5. Cumin Powder- ½ tsp
6. Coriander Powder- ½ tsp
7. Salt- a pinch
8. Red Chilli Powder- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Boil tamarind and dates in 1 cup water for about 10 min.
2. Add jaggery, mix and let it thicken a bit.
3. Add all the spice powders and cook for about 2-3 min. Switch off the flame.
4. When it gets cooled grind this mixture to a fine paste and store this tamarind- date chutney in an airtight bowl and store this in refrigerator. Use this when required.

Remaining Ingredients for garnishing Ragda Patties:

1. Onions( finely chopped)- 2 nos
2. Tomatoes( chopped)- 1 no
3. Coriander Leaves( chopped)- ¼ Cup( optional)
4. Curd- 1 Cup (with a little sugar mixed)
5. Sev/ Mixture- 1 Cup
6. Cumin Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Chaat Masala- 1 tbsp
8. Lemon Juice- as required

Method for assembling:

1. In a small bowl place two potato patties. Top it with 2 -3 tbsps of ragdas.

1. Over this add the tamarind- date chutney.

1. Top this with sweet curd then with chopped onions, chopped tomatoes.

1. Sprinkle with cumin powder, chaat masala and a few drops of lemon.
2. Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and end this amazing chaat by sprinkling the sev/ mixture.

Spicy Mutton Kabab Burger

Burger is US’s quintessential comfort food, that can be enjoyed anytime of the day without counting the calories. There are endless number of varieties and sold in many road side joints.

My little one is a big fan of KFC and McDonald's burgers, but after coming here we have reduced to go to these places, instead I started making them at home. Who want to eat the outside burgers when you can make a perfect, delicious burgers at home. Even though it takes time, homemade ones are the best.

Usually mayonnaise is used for the burgers, instead I have used sriracha sauce. We can use anything of our choice. If not just the buns, patties and choice of veggies will be fine. Just try this and enjoy an amazing snack at home...

Ingredients:

1. Minced Mutton- 100 gms
2. Egg- 1 no
3. Mint Leaves (chopped)- 3 tbsp
4. Coriander Leaves (chopped)- 3 tbsp
5. Ginger (chopped)- 1 tbsp
6. Garlic (chopped)- 1 tbsp
7. Green Chillies (chopped)- 4- 5 nos
8. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
9. Garam Masala Powder- 1 tsp
10. Salt- as required
11. Burger Buns- 5- 6 nos
12. Sriracha Sauce- as required
13. Lettuce Leaves (shredded)- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Clean the minced meat well and let it drain.
2. In a bowl take the drained minced mutton, chopped green chillies, chopped garlic, chopped ginger, chopped mint & coriander leaves, egg, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and required amount of salt. Mix well with hand.
3. Divide and shape them in the form of cutlets. Shallow fry them in little oil till it turns golden brown on both the sides and keep it aside.
4. Toast the burger buns with a little butter and keep it aside.

Assembling the burger:

• Place the burger, spread with sriracha sauce, over that place the prepared mutton kebabs followed by shredded lettuce leaves and at last place the other half burger bun.

Leftover Chapati and Vegetable Cutlets

As the Ramadan fasting is going on, there will be many dishes which will be left over and so one among these are the chapatis which we almost always end up wasting. Last couple of days we have been wasting the leftover chapatis, but I felt bad doing that. So I decided to do something and googled many sites and hit upon this recipe, which can be made easily within minutes.

Many recipes can be made with leftover chapatis, but I liked this as I didn’t have much time left before the Iftar time( breaking the fast). Believe me I made this dish within half an hour including the pics.

This is a very nutritious preparation with all the veggies stuffed in the cutlets.

Instead of egg, we can roll them in semolina or else dip them in egg and roll them in breadcrumbs or corn flakes. As I didn’t have any of these I simply dipped them in eggs and shallow fried them. This turned out to be a yummy iftar dish which I am sure I will repeat for sure. You can freeze the uncooked cutlets and can be made any other day.

Adapted From Foodsand flavorsbyshilpi

Ingredients:

1. Left Over Chapatis- 5 nos
2. Onions- 2 nos
3. Cabbage- ½ Cup
4. Carrots- 2 nos
5. Green Chillies- 2 nos
6. potatoes- 2 nos
7. Red Chilli powder- 2 tsp
8. Semolina- 2 tbsp
9. Salt- as required
10. Egg- 1 no
11. Lemon Juice- 1 no
12. Oil- for shallow frying

Method:

1. Blend the left over chapatis in a hand blender coarsely.
2. Chop the vegetables (cabbage, carrot, onions and green chillies) in the blender and keep this aside. Boil, peel and mash the potatoes.
3. Mix the powdered chapatis, vegetables, mashed potatoes, red chilli powder, semolina, lemon juice and required amount of salt well.
4. Divide this into round balls and spread it on your palm in the shape of tikkis. Meanwhile beat the egg along with salt in a bowl.
5. Heat oil for shallow frying. Dip these tikkis in the egg mixture and fry this slowly in a pan. Serve hot along with tomato ketchup and enjoy.