When I say ‘starters’, maybe you all would think of some
fried cheese balls, pakoras, onions rings, fried paneer balls, crispy vegetables stir fries in tomato sauce
but somehow I think of all the oil that goes into it while making these
starters. One fine evening , I had an
occasion of offering starters to my guests and that made me think about some
starter variations that do not include deep frying. While there are still some
contradictions about deep frying and shallow frying- which one is healthier. I
choose to opt for shallow frying that really need oil in trickles and not in
litres!
Most of us are familiar with the idea of tikkis, we know of
aloo tikki , don’t we? I made a rajma tikki and shaped it like a stick and
shallow fried it. I then thought of the concept of canapés. I prepared a potato
and cheese mixture with corn and spread onto some toasted garlic bread. They
were enjoyed by my guests and none mentioned the absence of the oil! Rajma or
Kidney beans as it is popularly known as is said to an excellent source of protein. It also contains minerals such as iron, phosphorus, magnesium and dietary fibre. It also contains folate and vitamin B1.
Rajma needs to be cooked with
care. It has to soaked for 6 hours, drained, washed and pressure cooked till it
is quite soft. We often suggest spices like asafoetida and ginger along with
rajma to make it easy to digest. Starters go well with some homemade delicious hot soup.
Rajma sticks
Ingredients:
Boiled and mashed Rajma - 1cup
Boiled and mashed potatoes -
2 medium
Boiled and mashed beetroot
- 1 small
Onions –chopped -1
Tomatoes chopped -1
Ginger garlic Paste – 1tblspoon
Turmeric- ½ tsp
Chilli Powder – 1 tsp or to taste
Coriander cumin
powder – 1tblspoon
Garam masala powder-1 tsp
Salt to taste
Cumin seeds -1 tsp
Some slices of bread
-4or 5
Coriander leaves- a bunch-chopped
Oil for shallow frying
Method:
In a pan heat about a teaspoon of oil and add cumin seeds,
When they crackle add asafoetida and
then onions, sauté till they are a bit brown and add tomatoes. When the
tomatoes are cooked add ginger garlic paste and sauté for a while , add garam
masala, coriander cumin powder, turmeric and chilli powder , and fry for
sometime. Sprinkle a little water if the mixture becomes dry. Set aside.
In a bowl collect the remaining ingredients like rajma,
potatoes , beet and mix them thoroughly. Add the onion mixture , coriander
leaves, salt and mix. Break the bread
slices into pieces and mix them into the mixture one by one so that the mixture
can be moulded easily. Keep the mixture into the refrigerator for half an hour.
Shape into tikkis or
sticks and shallow fry.
Corn Canapes:
Ingredients:
Garlic bread/ toasted bread/ rusk -10-12
Mashed potatoes -2
Boiled American corn
Mixed dried Italian herbs- 2tsp
Salt to taste
butter -2 tblspoon
Cheese -2 cubes, grated
Method :
In a pan, heat butter , add the mashed potatoes and stir ,
add salt, corn, herbs and sauté till the mixture thickens , Lastly add the
cheese and mix it in.
On each slice of garlic bread , spread some of the mixture
and toast the other side on a heated flat pan or an oven , Drizzle some butter
on the sides and toast till they are crisp. Serve hot with Tomato salsa or
ketchup.
Another variation to this is to add some vegetables to increase the nutrition value. Take some finely chopped or grated carrot
and shredded cabbage and sauté them with a pinch of salt, add mashed potato and
cheese , some mint leaves and spread this mixture on the bread. This is a handy
variation in case you do not have the corn with you.
