Veggie patties

Anyone who has had a veggie/garden burger in the US would agree that they come as bland as bland could be. Infact the french fries are tastier than the burger. And so my mind wanders to the burgers mom made at home, or even the ones you get at Pune's Burger King. I have tried various versions of the veggie patties and some time back even had them as burgers with Whole Wheat English Muffins, some onions and tomatoes. And they packed more flavor than any of those you have to settle for at restaurants. You can even serve them as appetizers or snack with tea on a rainy day.


Ingredients

• 2 medium sized potatoes
• 1/2 cup grated onion
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cup grated beetroot
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1/2 cup chopped cabbage
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 2-3 finely chopped chilies (more if you like it really hot!)
  
• 1/4 cup chopped Coriander/cilantro
• 1 tsp garam masala (optional)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Some Rava/soji to dip the pattie in
  

Method
Pressure cook the potatoes. Also microwave the green peas for around 3-4 minutes so that they are soft. In a mixing bowl mix the grated carrots, beetroot, onion, cabbage and peas. (You can easily add or subtract any vegetables you prefer. I sometimes make these to finish off those small portions of leftover vegetables, and it works just as well.) Now add garlic, chilies, garam masal, coriander, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Mix it well. Then mash in the cooked potatoes and knead the mixture. If you intend to use these as patties for burgers, you might want to add more of all the spices, so that the flavors come through the bread just as well. Since I do not like things too hot, these proportions work perfectly for me even in a burger.

Now make medium sized flat balls of the dough and roll them in the rava/soji. In a pan sprinkle some oil, and pan fry the patties on medium heat until they are golden brown on each side. Since the veggies are mostly uncooked, frying them on medium heat will cook the veggies well at the same time not burning them. Another way to cook the patties (particularly if you are making them for more than four people) is to place them on a baking sheet. Brush both sides with some oil and bake them at 300 degrees for around 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Serve with some hot and spicy tomato ketchup and a cup of hot tea!

Fig n' Raisin muffin

As a kid I remember enjoying cupcakes (vati-cake) from the corner bakery. But over the years the quality reduced and it became a rarity in our house. However, the fascination for those soft and spongy no-fuss cupcakes continued. With continental changes, vocabulary changed and now those cupcakes have becomes muffins. So as I baked my first batch of muffins, childhood memories of that quick walk to the bakery with my dad, the excitement of finding a cupcake in the tiffin... came rushing back. And the fact that I was making them for a little girl made them even more special.

The recipe has been adapted from 'Food Network' to work with ingredients I already had, and the blueberries have been substituted with figs and raisins. This recipe makes eight muffins.

Ingredients2

• 3/4 of a stick unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/8 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup fig puree or jam
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 8 muffin liners
  

Method

Soak 1/4 cup raisins in water. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar so that it is light and fluffy. If you are using fig jam you could reduce the amount of sugar to suit your taste. Now add one egg at a time and mix well. Then continue to mix in the sour cream and milk. After that sieve the flour, baking powder and salt. Add this to the wet ingredients. Make sure to mix it well so that no lumps remain. Now fold in the fig jam/puree. Also drain the raisins and fold them into the mixture gently. (You may choose to use other nuts or fresh fruits instead of the figs and raisins. They all taste equally amazing.)

Fill the muffin liners to the brink with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Enjoy your delicious warm muffin with milk or coffee.

Sheera

If there was dish that my whole family loved, sheera would win hands down. It is a delicious quick fix to warm your winter evenings, sunday mornings or anytime you like.

Ingredients

• 2 cups rava/soji
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoon ghee or oil
• A pinch of salt
  
• Some cardamon
  
• Raisins and/or cashews to garnish (optional)
  

Method

Heat ghee or oil in a skillet. Add some cardamom seeds and cashews to it and let it fry till light brown. Then add the rava and fry on low flame till it is light pinkish brown. Add a pinch of salt to it too. At the same time bring two cups of water and milk to boil together. You could add the raisins to the mixture, or add them to the sheera later.

Once the rava is light brown and the water-milk mixture is boiled, pour the mixture into the rava and stir continuously. Make sure that no lumps remain. Be careful while stirring the mixture as the boiling rava can jump out on your hand. Then add the sugar and continue to stir till the mixture starts drying up. Cover the skillet and let it steam on low flame for a minute. Serve the sheera with lemon pickel and a nice hot cup of tea.

Upama

It is difficult to resist the quick fix snacks and meals especially when your living by yourself. But if you are health conscious you might not want to resort to the two-minute noodles or the frozen meals for long. So to our rescue is the Indian cuisine that offers a range of quick hot meal options.

We shall go into all of those as we go along the way. Today I shall being with one of my favorites, Upama. This dish is made of 'rava' or 'soji' which itself offers you three to four different dishes that take no more than a maximum of 30 minutes. While Upama can be made in various ways I shall give you the typical Marathi version.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rava/soji
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 medium sized onion
• 1 small tomato
• 3 tablespoons ghee/oil
• 2-3 chopped green chilies
• 1/5 cup green peas
• Approx. 1 inch finely cut ginger
• 1 table spoon udad dal
• 4-5 curry leaves
• Coriander to garnish
• Lemon to taste

Method

Heat one tablespoon of ghee/oil in a skillet. Add rava to it and fry on low flame until it is a very light brown. This stage is very important as a rightly fried rava sets the stage for a delicious and 'khamanga' Upama. Apparently it also reduces the chances of acidity after eating if you are prone to acidity caused by rava.

Once it is light brown set aside the rava and heat 2 tablespoons of ghee/oil in a skillet. Add chillies, ginger, curry leaves, udad dal and jeera to it. The add the chopped onion and fry till it is a light pink and seems transparent. Now add the chopped tomato and let it cook for a minute. Do not overcook the tomatoes as it would tun into a paste and give the dish a red color. We want to see tomato pieces at the end.

Now it is time to add the water and milk to the skillet. Some use only water, but I like to use some milk to give it that rich texture. Add salt to taste. It is better to add salt at this stage so that it mixes well. Once the mixture is about to boil add the peas. As peas are very easy to cook adding them at such a late stage helps them stay green. When the mixture starts boiling add the rava and stir such that no lumps remain. You should be very careful here as some boiling rava might jump out at your hand as you stir. You could use a lid for shielding yourself. So stir the rava well removing lumps till all the water is dried up.

Add the coriander and let it stay on low flame with the lid on. Turn off the gas after about a minute, squeeze some lemon for additional taste and enjoy!