Hors d'oeuvre / Appetizers - Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Waldorf Salad Recipe

Posted on November 15, 2017 by vinaya

Waldorf Salad traditionally prepared with apples and mayonnaise is now made with a variety of fruits. Mayonnaise could be replaced by thick yoghurt and celery with cilantro. Served with toasted walnuts it is a salad lover’s delight.

Ingredients :

1 apple cored and chopped
3 tbsps mayonnaise or thick yoghurt
Salt
1/4 tsp pepper powder
A few pieces of walnut toasted
1/2 tsp Lemon juice
Celery or cilantro
A few kishmish /raisins
Lettuce or Cabbage leaves

Method:
Drop the cored and chopped apples in a bowl and tip in the mayonnaise, salt, pepper, lemon juice, chopped cilantro or celery and the raisins. Mix well. Place on a bed of lettuce or cabbage leaves. Garnish with toasted walnuts. Serve chilled.

Crispy Fried Wanton Recipe

Posted on November 14, 2017October 27, 2020 by vinaya

Wantons are a Chinese delight. Steamed, fried or used in a soup, they can be enjoyed without any accompaniment, though a Schezwan sauce or a hot and sweet ketchup add zing to it. Here is a mixed vegetable Wanton which is super crisp and delicious.

For the outer covering:

Ingredients

250 gms Maida/ All purpose flour
2 tbsps oil
Salt

Method :

Mix the salt and oil with the maida. Crumble it. Add enough water to bind a semi soft dough. Knead well and rest it for about 15 mnts.

For the stuffing:

1 medium sized carrot
Cabbage
Purple cabbage
French Beans
Spring onion greens
Spring onions
Boiled Sweet Corn
The remaining vegetables to be chopped are in the same proportion as the quantity of the chopped carrot.
Salt
1 tsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp pepper powder
10 flakes garlic
2 inch piece of ginger
1 tbsp Amul butter
Oil for frying the Wantons

Method:

Chop all the vegetables fine and keep them aside. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger. Heat the butter in a pan. Drop in the ginger and garlic and roast till they give out an aroma. Drop in the chopped vegetables and salt. Sauté on a high flame for a couple of minutes. Add the soya sauce and pepper powder. Mix well and keep aside.

Preparing the Wantons:

Knead the dough for a couple of minutes and divide it into 12 portions. Take a portion and make a ball. Roll it out into a circle of six inch diameter. Cut it into a four inch square piece. Place the filling in the centre and fold it into a triangle. Seal the edges and bring the two ends of the triangle together. Pinch them together. Finish off similarly with the rest of the dough. Heat the oil. Gently slide in a wanton and deep fry till crisp and golden brown. Serve hot with sauce of your choice.

Mini Potato Papad

Posted on November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 by vinaya

A favourite of young and old alike, these potato papads can be served as a tea time snack or as a side dish with Dal and rice. A variety of these papads can be made by changing the spice or the condiments according to one’s preference. Here I have kept it simple as the children would find the spicy ones a little too hot.

Ingredients

250 gms rice
500 gms potatoes
5 cups (1.250 Litres) of water
Salt

Method :
Wash and soak the rice for four hours. Pressure cook the potatoes, deskin and mash them thoroughly. Grind the rice to a very fine paste. Pour it into a pan, add salt and five cups of water. Cook it on a slow flame till it turns transparent and forms into a lump. Remove and keep aside. When it has cooled sufficiently enough to handle, add the mashed potatoes. Mix thoroughly. Make tiny pellets of the dough. Place a pellet on the back of a dish and press it down with a bowl to get a two inch diameter Papad. Finish off with the remaining pellets. Dry them on a plastic sheet in strong sunlight for two to three days. Store in an air tight container.

To serve:
Heat oil. Drop in four of the papads and deep fry them till crisp. Drain on tissue paper and sprinkle with chilly or pepper powder.

Note: A coarse paste of green chilly and hing or of red chilly powder and hing depending upon individual spice level can be added to the rice batter when it is being cooked. You can also keep it simple by adding some cumin seeds and omitting the spice.

Cucumber Bites Recipe

Posted on November 11, 2017November 14, 2017 by vinaya

These cucumber bites are an instant hit at parties and get togethers. I have used a Cheese spread here. You may grate any cheese of your choice.

Ingredients :

1 Cucumber
1 tomato
Herb and Garlic Cheese spread
Coriander leaves
Pepper
Salt

Method : Deskin the Cucumber and slice them. Top them with the Cheese spread. Sprinkle pepper powder and garnish with small wedges of tomato and a sprig of coriander leaf.

Boiled Chana Salad Recipe

Posted on November 11, 2017November 11, 2017 by vinaya

A highly nutritious and delicious salad, the Boiled Chana Salad is an Indian delight. Each region of India has it’s own version of it. Serve it as an appetizer or as a snack.

Ingredients :

100 gms Chana/ Bengal Gram
1 large onion
1 medium tomato
2 green chillies
Coriander leaves
1/4 tsp Everest Chaat Masala
Lemon juice
Salt

Method :

Wash and, soak the Chana for eight hours. Pressure cook with salt. Allow it to cool thoroughly. Chop the onion, tomato and the green chillies fine. Crush the green chillies with salt. Mix everything together and drizzle with lemon juice. Sprinkle the chaat masala, mix thoroughly and serve garnished with coriander leaves.

Vegetable Bullets Recipe

Posted on November 8, 2017 by vinaya

Vegetable Bullets can be served as an appetizer or as a snack by itself. Teamed with a tomato ketchup or a green chutney, it is delicious and filling too.

Ingredients :

6 potatoes
A small bowl each of the following vegetables :
Peas
Carrots chopped
French Beans chopped
5 slices of bread
2 inch piece of ginger
9 flakes of garlic
7 green chillies
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Coriander leaves
Juice of half a lemon
Salt
Vermicelli
Oil for frying

Method:

Deskin the potatoes. Chop them along with the other vegetables. Boil all the vegetables together . Mash them coarsely. Grind the green chillies, ginger and garlic to a coarse paste. Tip it into the mashed vegetables. Dip the slices of bread in water, squeeze them well and drop them into the vegetable mash. Add the lemon juice, salt and finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix thoroughly. Pinch pieces of the dough and shape into bullets. Coat them with vermicelli. Heat oil. Drop the Vegetable Bullets three at a time in the hot oil and fry till they are a golden brown. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

This measurement yields 24 Vegetable Bullets.

Sabudana Vada recipe

Posted on November 7, 2017October 23, 2020 by vinaya

Another favourite snack is the Sabudana/ Sago pearl vada. It is popular as an evening snack and is accompanied by a yoghurt dip.

Ingredients:

250 gms Sabudana/ sago pearls
4 potatoes pressure cooked
2 tsps jeera/cumin seeds
12 green chillies
100 gms roasted peanuts crushed coarsely
Salt sugar and lemon juice as per taste.
Coriander leaves chopped fine.
Oil for frying

Method :
Wash and soak the sabudana in just enough water to cover it for 5 hours. Mash the boiled potatoes and grind the green chillies and sugar. Add salt, whole jeera, lemon juice the peanut crush and the chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Refrigerate for two hours. Pinch portions of the dough and roll into balls. Flatten them as shown in the picture. Heat oil. Fry them in batches of four till they are crisp and golden.

For the dip.

One cup curds beaten till smooth and creamy
3 tsps Sugar
Salt
1/4 tsp jeera/cumin powder
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp chaat masala
1/4 tsp chilly powder
Coriander leaves chopped finely
A few pomegranate seeds

Method :

Add all the above mentioned ingredients to the curd and mix well. Serve with the vada.

Note:The vada dough is refrigerated for a couple of hours so that the vadas do not soak up oil.

Vegetarian Fajita recipe

Posted on November 7, 2017November 8, 2020 by vinaya

Each country has it’s own version of our Indian Roti subzi. Tried my hand at a vegetarian version of Fajita which is basically a Tex-Mex cuisine and it turned out simply delicious.

Ingredients :

1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
6 baby corns boiled al dente
100 gms boiled sweet corn
2 onions
2 tbsps Garlic flavoured butter
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1/2 tsp pepper powder
Salt
Salsa sauce
6 corn tortillas or even chapatis work equally well.

Method :

Thinly slice the Bell peppers, baby corn and onions. Boil the sweet corn and the baby corn al dente. Saute all the vegetables in the garlic flavoured butter for about five minutes on a high flame taking care to see that that they are done but retain their crunch. If you do not have garlic flavoured butter, finely crush around seven to eight cloves of garlic, drop in 3 tbsps of salted butter and a sprinkling of chilly flakes. Mix and use. Add the herbs, salt, pepper and the salsa sauce. Mix well. Heat the corn tortilla or the chapati. Spread a couple of heaped tablespoons of the mixture on it. Either tightly fold it like a wrap or enjoy it as you would a pizza.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Poha Cutlets Recipe

Posted on October 31, 2017November 12, 2017 by vinaya

Poha or beaten rice cutlets are an easy to make evening snack. They can be made by adding either a couple of slices of bread or potato to bind them. Enjoy them with some green chutney or with tomato ketchup.

Ingredients :

250 gms gms poha
2 potatoes
6 green chillies
1tsp jeera/cumin
1tbsp kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves
1 tsp sugar
Salt
Juice of one lemon
Coriander leaves
A pinch of haldi/turmeric powder
Oil for deep frying

Method :

Wash and drain the poha. Pressure cook the potatoes, peel and mash them. Grind the green chillies, jeera and sugar coarsely and add it to the mashed potatoes. Chop the coriander leaves fine. Tip in the lemon juice,
Coriander leaves, kasuri methi, salt and the drained poha into the mashed potato. Mix well. Shape into cutlets. Heat oil in a pan. Drop the cutlets four at a time into the oil. Deep fry till crisp and golden brown. Serve with green chutney.

Makes 15 medium sized cutlets.

Methi Leaves Pakoda Recipe

Posted on October 28, 2017November 12, 2017 by vinaya

Methi leaves/ Fenugreek leaves have that distinct aroma when fried. They are used to make zhunka, in subzi, Dal and also dried and used as a garnish in North Indian dishes. Posting a Methi leaves Pakoda today which can be served as an appetizer or as a side dish with rice and dal.

Ingredients :

250 gms Chana dal (Bengal gram dal)
A small bunch of methi leaves
A few sprigs of coriander leaves
9 green chillies
4 medium sized onions
2 inch piece of ginger
7 flakes of garlic
Salt
3 tbsps rice flour
Oil for frying

Method :

Wash and soak the Chana dal for four hours. Drain and grind to a coarse mixture in batches without water. Do not grind it all at once as it turns into a paste. Remove in a bowl. Chop the onions, methi leaves and coriander leaves very fine and add them to the chana dal mixture. Grind the chillies, ginger and garlic coarsely and tip it into the mixture. Finally add salt and mix thoroughly. Keep it aside for five minutes. The onions release water. Mix well and add the rice flour. Make small balls of the mixture. Pat them into roundels. Heat oil. Slip in five of the pakoras at a time and fry to a deep golden brown. These pakoras need no accompaniment.

Makes 27 pakoras.