Hara bhara kabab

This is arguably one of the most popular starters in India. Whether at restaurants or at home parties, this is a dish that makes an appearance at the table quite frequently. The kabab possibly gets its name from the distinctive green color it has. Mine are not green because I used yellow peas instead of green peas.

What you need: 
Potato - 1 medium sized, boiled peeled and mashed
Spinach - 1.5 cups, packed, steamed, squeezed and mashed
Peas - 1/2 cup - soaked overnight, cooked and mashed
Salt
Garam masala - 3/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - a small piece, chopped fine
Green chilli - 2, minced
Cilantro/corriander - a little, finely chopped
Oil - a little for shallow frying the kababs
Cashew - one for each kabab (optional)

Mash the potatoes, spinach and peas together in a large bowl . Ensure that any excess water is squeezed out from the veggies before mashing. Heat oil. Toast the cumin seeds in it. Add in the ginger and chilli and saute for a minute. Pour this over the mashed vegetables. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Shape into balls. I was able to make 13 kababs using this recipe. Flatten slightly between your palms. Press a cashew into the center of the kabab. Shallow fry on tawa, turning over now and then until both sides are well browned and crisp.
Serve hot with ketchup or mint and tamarind chutneys.
This is my first post for Week 2 of Blogging Marathon #47 under the theme North Indian party starters.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 47

Moong sprouts kabab aka Disaster management kabab

It was to be just another ordinary day with no post from me commemorating the ordinariness of my everyday cooking. Some moong beans soaked in water the previous night, drained and sprouted were to be combined with onion and tomatoes to make an ordinary salad. However, at the last minute, inspiration struck and I thought of turning the sprouts into deep fried vadas. Then, the rational mind intervened and said, why deep fry? Why not make baked kababs? And that, my dear friends, is how this recipe was born.
I drained the sprouts and ground them with an onion, some garlic and green chillies. This is where the disaster management part of the post title kicks in. Despite ensuring that there was absolutely no water in the beans, the ground mixture had the texture of a thick chutney. Definitely not kabab material. So, in went a boiled potato and some quite a bit of chick pea flour (besan). The resulting mixture, while not dry, could be shaped if I wet my hands frequently. Baking was out of the question as I knew without doubt that the mixture would stick to the pan. So, back to the frying pan it was, quite literally. The end result, though, was not bad at all, and quite possibly something I might attempt again, this time, intentionally, of course.


What you need:
Moong sprouts - 1.5 cups
Potato - 1, boiled, peeled and mashed
Onion - 1, peeled and chopped into large chunks
Ginger - a small piece
Garlic - 7 or 8 cloves
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Besan ( I didn't measure this, but kept adding a spoonful at a time till the mixture was fairly dry. Probably close to 1/4 cup)
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Grind the sprouts, onion, ginger, garlic and turmeric powder to a smooth batter without adding any water. Add the mashed potato and salt to this. Mix well. If you are able to shape this mixture into kababs, proceed to deep fry at this point. If not, add besan, little by little, until you are able to shape the batter. Deep fry in oil over a medium flame until both sides are well browned. Serve hot with ketchup/tamarind chutney.