Dahi Ke Kebab (Curd cutlet)

 Dahi ke Kebab (Curd Cutlet)

Dahi ke Kebabs are a starter that we have all grown up with. They are a luxury present only on days where the entire family would go out to have a lavish dinner, be it when I was a kid or a mother, the tradition remained the same. The contrasting light sweetness of hung curd and crispy taste of its outer layer has always made me want to attempt this recipe. I was suddenly reminded of this sweet childhood aspiration when I went to Chennai six months back. We decided to have dinner at Chennai's J W Marriot to enjoy a relaxing night. During a pleasant conversation with the staff, it was revealed to the chef that I am a food blogger and he decided to offer two of his signature dishes, one of which were Dahi ke Kebab. The Kebabs were extremely light, soft and creamy from the inside, while the outer layer. managed to retain its crispiness. He was delighted to share his recipe for the Kebabs, which led to the invention of today's recipe. This recipe is therefore a mixture of our acquired recipes and brings in flavours from various states.  I hope you enjoy this recipe with friends and family during a party night and manage to bring the feeling of a lavish restaurant home.

Preparation Time :  30 min

Cooking time : 20 min

Resting Time : 8 to 10 hours

Ingredients : 

• Hung curd 200 gm
• Paneer 100 gm
• Roasted channa dal 2 tablespoon
• Bread crumbs 1/2 cup
• Cornflakes crushed 2 tablespoon
• Ginger grated 1 teaspoon
• Green chilly chopped 1 teaspoon
• Cheswnuts roasted and crushed 2 tablespoon
• Raisins 1 tablespoon
• Chat masala powder 1/2 tablespoon
• Red chilly powder according to taste
• Salt according to taste
• Fresh coriander chopped 1 tablespoon
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure : 

• First of all, let's take 500g curd and we will tie it in a muslin cloth for around 8-10 hours to remove any excess moisture form the curd. This would give us our hung curd.
• Once we are ready with our hung curd, we move to chopping green chillies, ginger and coriander. 

• Then we move on to dry roasting and chopping our cashew nuts and keep them aside for a while.

• After that we prepare our Kebab filing by grating Paneer and adding chopped cashews, raisins, grated ginger, chopped coriander, chat masala, red chilli powder and salt. We mix these ingredients to have our filling ready. 

• We then move on to prepare our Kebab coating by taking hung curd and adding a teaspoon of chat masala and roasted Chana Dal powder. After mixing these ingredients together, we find our coating ready to be used.
• Since we have both the filling and coating ready, it's time to add a crisp layer to our Kebabs. This can be done by taking a plate filled with a mixture of bread crumbs and cornflakes powder. Blended Dry Poha can also be used as a substitute for cornflakes powder. 
• We then proceed to wet our palms with water, take a small portion of hung curd mixture on your palms, spread it evenly, add a tablespoon of our previously prepared filling, cover it nicely with the hung curd mixture in the shape of a boll, roll it in the mixture of bread crumbs and cornflakes powder and repeat the same with the leftover mixture. 

• Once all the Kebabs are ready, take a Kadhai for deep frying the Kebabs on a medium flame till it is golden brown from both the sides. 

• When the Kebab is ready, take them out on a tissue paper so that the excess oil is removed. 
• Your Kebabs are now ready. Serve them with a warm cup of tea.

About the Group : 

Another reason for choosing Dahi ke Kebabs for this month's blog has to do with the group of passionate food bloggers that I have recently joined. The group is called "Shh! Cooking Secretly" and they manage to create a healthy environment for creativity and growth through their idea of pairing up the members and asking them to give each other a secret ingredient that aligns with the theme of the month. This month's them was "Different Types of Kebabs", suggested by Sujata Roy . She is a supremely talented blogger who loves experimenting with vegetarian foods and eggless baking. Since I am also a vegetarian and often experience a limitation to my choices for food. Sujata Chilly Rasgulla recipe  is a dessert that has always intrigued me. With the contrasting flavours of spice and sweet,  manages to introduce a delicious dessert.

For this month my partner is Sasmita Sahoo Samanta .She is an avid food blogger who excels in vegetarian and vegan recipes. Her Baked Masala peanut are a true delight to have as an evening snack and adds to a fluent conversation and scenic evening. Following the system that our group follows,  chose cornflakes powder and cashew nuts as the secret ingredients that I had to work with. Her choice for the ingredients led me straight to Dahi ke Kebabs and motivated me to share this recipe. Similarly, I chose green chilli and peanuts as her secret ingredients, which she skilfully included in Her Sago Kebab recipe. Got to learn so many variety of Kebabs this month. 

Tips : 

• If you feel that mixture is too sticky add Chana Dal powder 1 tablespoon extra
• I case if Corn flakes powder is not available use poha. Just take 2 tablespoon od dry poha and blend this in a mixer jar for a minute or two.

Lemon Chilly Baby Corn

 Lemon Chilly Baby Corn 

The pandemic has impacted our productivity and inspiration to work immensely. I am no stranger to this experience as I took a hiatus for the same reason. Getting back on track has been difficult but it isn't impossible. I joined a group of food bloggers Healthy WELLthy cuisines and relied on them to help me find my lost inspiration. The group decides on a theme, based on which every member has to share a recipe every fortnight. Not only did the idea narrow my horizons and gave me a deadline but also helped me learn from all the other members. This fortnight's theme was monsoon and so I present to you Lemon Chilly Baby Corn.

This recipe was inspired by a restaurant Yellow chilly we visited a long time ago. The dish had a delicious sour and tangy combination and I tried to reticulate that. Monsoon is the weather of love, bickering and mischief. The tangy taste in this dish brings out those elements of monsoon and makes it the perfect companion to rain. So the next time it rains, prepare some Lemon Chilly Baby Corn and a cup of warm tea and enjoy the moment with your family and loved ones.

Preparation Time : 30 Min

Cooking time : 15 Min

YouTube Video : 

Ingredients : 

• Baby corn 400 gm
• Green chillies 8 to 10
• Lemon juice 2 tablespoon
• Corn flour 1 tablespoon
• Maida 1 Tablespoon
• Red chilly powder accoutring to taste
• Dry mango powder 1 teaspoon
• Salt according to taste
• Oil for frying 

Procedure : 

• Take Baby corns, wash them and blanch them in hot water for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Take green chillies, chop them and make a paste in mixer 

• In a bowl take blanched baby corns, add green chilly paste along with 2 tablespoon lemon juice, add chilly powder and dry mango powder. Mix all together and leave this for 15 to 20 minutes. So that baby corns get marinated nicely. 

• Now add salt, corn flour and All purpose flour to baby corns. 

• In a pan, heat oil, now deep fry corns on medium flame till it is properly cooked and golden brown in colour 

• Repeat the step with rest of the baby corns.
• Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee 

Tips :

• To give it a more crunch and crispy taste add a tablespoon of rice flour
• You can add chillies according to your taste
• To give it more spicy taste, sprinkle some chaat masala before serving 

Raw Mango Pakora

Raw Mango Pakora 

Waking up to the soothing sound of raindrops falling, the lingering scent of Petrichor and the pleasantly cold weather made my husband crave for Pakoras. Pakoras and rain seem to be an obvious duo and Monsoons feel incomplete without spending time with your family in the balcony, whilst enjoying the rain and talking about anything and everything.

So, Pakoras were a must for today's menu. However, the rain or maybe my recent internet surfing, pushed me to add a surprising twist. I recently stumbled upon a recipe of Chef Ranveer Brar where he made onion and raw mango Bhajia. My family, though has more of a sweet tooth, so, to customise it I used a raw mango that was a bit ripe, delivering a sweet and sour taste that made the Pakora a lot more complimenting to the showers we were enjoying. I hope your family would enjoy this recipe as much as mine did and would lead to sweet bickering moments we only need during this lockdown.

Preparation Time : 20 Min

Cooking Time ; 20 Min

Serves : 4

Video :  

Ingredients :

• Raw Mango 1 Thin sliced
• Onion 1 Large sliced
• Potato 1 Thin sliced
• Gram flour 2 Tablespoon
• Rice flour 1 Tablespoon
• Green chilly 2 chopped 
• Ginger 1 Teaspoon grated
• Salt according to taste
• Souf (fennel seeds) 1 Teaspoon
• Ajwain (carom seeds) 1 Teaspoon
• Pakora mix spices 1 Tablespoon (Chilly powder, dry pomegranate, garam masala, dry coriander, Kasuri Methi, chat masala,) you can prepare this at home or use readymade pakora mix masala 
• Oil for frying

Procedure : 

• Wash and cut onion, Potato and mango slices nicely. try to cut a thin slice of onion, Mango and potato
• In a bowl add onion, mango, potato, Besan, rice flour, green chillies, grated ginger, Salt and all spices. Add 2 to 3 tablespoon of water to this and mix all ingredients nicely

• Once the batter is ready. Keep it aside for 10 minutes 

• Heat oil in pan. Once the oil is heated take a small portion of park batter and drop it into the hot oil 

• Repeat the same step with rest of the batter. Fry pakora on medium flame. once the pakora is nicely cooked from all side. Take it out on tissue paper 

• Repeat the same step with rest of the batter 

• Crispy and tasty pakora is ready . Enjoy with a cup of tea .. 

Tip :  

For Pakora mix either you can use the readymade powder available in market. Or you can prepare at home. As I have done take Chilly powder 1 teaspoon, dry pomegranate 1 teaspoon, garam masala 2 teaspoon, dry coriander seed 2 teaspoon, Kasuri Methi 1Tablespoon, chat masala 2 teaspoon. Mix all these spices together. Use as required and rest keep in the air tight jar for latter use. 

Schezwan Veggie Lollipop

Schezwan veggie Lolipop 

While all that glitter might not be gold, what looks good is what gets sold. A few days ago, I hosted a gathering at my place. As a host I had the responsibility of exceeding the expectations of my guests. So I needed a new yet guaranteed hit that's when I came up with this dish. It is the classic cutlet with an exotic presentation because at times, a classic dish just needs a modern touch.

Preparation Time : 30 Min

Cooking Time : 20 Min

Video Link : 

Ingredients : 

• Baby corn 10 t- 12 (better if it is small and fresh)
• Potato 2 medium size grated
• Carrot 1 medium size grated
• Beans 12 - 15 finely chopped
• Paneer grated 1/2 cup
• Bread crumbs 1 cup
• Coriander chopped 1 tablespoon
• Green chillies 2 chopped
• Schezwan sauce 2 Tablespoon (or according to taste)
• Salt according to taste
• Oil for frying

Procedure :  

• Finish all cutting and chopping first

• In a bowl take grated potato, carrot, beans, paneer, green chillies, coriander, 1/2 of the bread crumbs and schezwan sauce

• Mix all the well and form a dough as shown in picture

• you can check the consistency of cutlet dough by taking a small portion of mixture and fry it. make our smooth then it is ok else add little bit more bread crumbs
• Now take baby corn and cover is with cutlet dough from one side as shown in picture to give it a lollipop shape 

• Repeat the step with rest of the baby corns and cutlet dough

• In a plate take remains bread crumbs and roll the lollipops in it so that bread crumb is nicely coated on it and keep aside. repeat the step with rest of the lollipops 

• In a pan heat oil and deep fry lollipop on medium flame. cook it till it is golden brown and properly cooked

• Once it is dome take out from oil and transfer it on kitchen towel os that the excess of oil is removed

• Your Schezwan veggie lollipop is read serve it with chutney of your choice and enjoy

Tip  : 

• In case if you feel that baby corn it little bit hard. You can boil them first. Mine was fresh and soft so I used it directly