Snacks & Finger Foods – Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Aloo Tikki.

Posted on January 18, 2023January 18, 2023 by vinayaprabhu2

Aloo tikki is a golden fried-potato patty that is stuffed either with peas or dal and served with a variety of spicy chutneys and sometimes chickpeas or just a potato patty that has spices added to it before being fried to a crisp.

Ingredients:

9 potatoes pressure cooked

5 green chillies

2 inch piece of ginger grated

5 cloves of garlic

3 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt

Bread crumbs

Oil to roast the tikkis.

Method:

Peel the boiled potatoes and grate them. Make a paste of the green chillies, ginger and garlic.

To the grated potatoes add the ginger, garlic, green chilly paste, finely chopped coriander leaves and salt. Mix everything really well and knead it. Shape into tikkis, roll them into bread crumbs and keep them aside.

Heat a tava/ griddle. Drizzle some oil on it and spread it evenly. Now place as many tikkis as possible on the pan. Drizzle them with oil. Let the tikkis roast till they get golden brown in color. Then flip and roast the other side as well. Transfer the tikkis to a plate and serve hot with tamarind and mint chutney.

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High tea-1

Posted on December 28, 2022December 28, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

Here is a platter of goodies that not just make up a high tea but can also be enjoyed for supper. Chutney sandwiches, Aloo chaat, Fruit salad with icecream and a chilled fresh lime with soda complete the meal. Recipe links to all the items are given below.

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/aloo-chaat/

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/chutney-sandwich-recipe/

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/fresh-fruit-salad/

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/lemon-sherbeth-with-a-difference/

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Pull apart Bun

Posted on December 28, 2022December 28, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

Try this pull apart Bun when in a hurry to make a quick and delicious snack. This can double up for dinner as well with a bowl of hot soup. The ingredients used are all those which one finds in most households.. I prefer buying fresh ready made burger buns for a quick snack.

Ingredients:

Burger buns

Tomato, onion, green bell pepper finely chopped (all in equal quantities)

Boiled sweet corn as per requirement

Grated mozzarella or processed cheese

Amul or any salted butter

Finely grated garlic

Mixed herbs, oregano, chilly flakes and salt

Finely chopped coriander leaves.

Method:

Make cuts on the burger bun horizontally and vertically keeping a distance of 3/4 of an inch taking care to keep the base intact.

Melt the butter and add the grated garlic, a sprinkling of mixed herbs, oregano and chilly flakes to it. Tip in the chopped coriander leaves, mix and keep aside. Your garlic butter is ready.

Drop the finely chopped vegetables in a bowl. Add the sweet corn, grated cheese, chilly flakes, oregano, mixed herbs and a pinch of salt. Mix and keep aside.

Brush the melted butter generously in between the slits made in the burger bun. Fill it up with the vegetable mixture and again brush the bun with the garlic butter on top.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for five to six minutes or till you see the cheese melt. Alternatively you can even bake it in an aluminium kadhai/pan or pressure cooker. Just line the base with salt. Heat the cooker or kadhai for five minutes. Place a trivet. On it place the bun on a baking dish or any aluminium plate. Cover with lid and bake on medium flame for seven minutes or till you see the cheese melt. Remove and serve hot with tomato ketchup or a cheesy dip.

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Grilled Pineapple.

Posted on December 14, 2022December 14, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

A delicious, sweet, spicy and tangy starter which the children and adults just love!

You can cut the pineapple into wedges or slice them thin as I have done. They can be grilled or pan fried. Make sure that they sit in the marinade for atleast half an hour.

Ingredients:

One pineapple de skinned and cut into slices or wedges.

Salt

Sugar

Chilly flakes

Butter

Honey

Method:

Tip the sugar, salt, chilly flakes and honey into a bowl. Drop in the sliced pineapple, mix well and refrigerate for atleast half an hour. Pan fry or grill them to a golden brown after basting them with butter. Serve hot

The amount of the ingredients to be used in the marinade is totally one’s choice. Some may like it extremely sweet whereas some may like it on the spicier side. I prefer mine without sugar as honey is included in the marinade.

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Vegetable Burger -2

Posted on November 16, 2022November 16, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

The veg burger that I had posted earlier was a cheat one with veggies sauteed and piled on to the burger. It was just to get the children to eat their veggies.. Here is the regular one with vegetable Pattie, lettuce, tomato and onions. The Pattie is made in a simple and easy way. No corn flour slurry, no dipping in bread crumbs. You may use any number of vegetables of your choice. Children and adults will both enjoy it.

Ingredients:

5 Burger buns sliced into half

2 large potatoes pressure cooked

1 carrot grated

15 French beans chopped fine

1 medium sized onion chopped fine

1 inch piece of ginger

7 cloves of garlic

2 green chillies

1 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder

Salt

4 slices of bread

Rava/ semolina to coat the patties

Oil to fry

Butter

5 Cheese singles

Mayonnaise

Tomato ketchup

Tomato sliced thinly

Onion sliced thinly

Lettuce

Method:

Peel the cooked potatoes and grate them. Steam cook the beans and carrot. Make a paste of the green chillies, garlic and ginger. Heat oil in a pan and drop in the onions. Allow them to turn translucent. Drop in the ginger, garlic and green chilly paste. Roast till the raw smell disappears and then add the steamed veggies and salt. Mash with a masher and then add the potatoes. Mix and heat thoroughly. Wet the slices of bread, squeeze out well and add them to the mixture. Continue mixing till it leaves the sides of the pan. Tip it into a bowl. Cover and keep aside to cool. After it has cooled refrigerate the mixture for around half an hour. Pinch five equal sized balls of the mixture and pat it into the shape of a Pattie. Dust with semolina and deep fry in medium hot oil till it turns golden yellow and crisp. Do remember the Pattie continues to cook even after being removed from the hot oil so it is absolutely essential to see that it is removed from the oil once it turns a deep golden yellow.

Assembling:

Apply butter on the inside of the two slices of the bun. Gently roast it till it turns a golden brown. Spread Mayonnaise and sprinkle with pepper. Place a lettuce and top it with a slice of cheese, slices of tomato and onion. Drizzle with tomato ketchup. Place the Pattie and the other half of the burger bun. Serve with more mayonnaise and ketchup as required.

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Spicy Cashewnuts.

Posted on October 31, 2022October 31, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

Salted cashews are a favourite the world over. Since the Indians love theirs sprinkled with spices, decided to make a batch this Diwali with a few spices added. They have turned out extremely crisp and delicious. Do take care while buying the cashewnuts. The large sized ones are the best . The smaller ones can be used in seasonings for Pulao or for making cashew paste.

Ingredients:

500 gms whole Cashews

2 tbsps chilly powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt as required

2 tbsps coriander powder

1 heaped tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp asafoetida powder

3 tbsps corn flour

5 tbsps Besan/ gram flour

3 tbsps oil

Oil for frying.

Method:

Tip the cashews in a sieve and hold them under running water. Wash and drain thoroughly. Drop them into a bowl when they are still wet and add the salt, asafoetida, chilly, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder. Mix thoroughly. Add the oil, corn flour and besan and keep mixing till the cashews are evenly coated. Marinate for an hour. Microwave for three minutes just to dry them out a little. This also helps in the cashews absorbing hardly any oil while they are being fried. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the cashews when the oil is medium hot. Remove them once they turn golden yellow and place them on a kitchen towel. They turn a beautiful golden brown by the time the next batch is fried. Do not allow them to brown in the oil as the heat roasts them even after they are removed. Finish off with the remaining cashews, allow them to cool and store in an air tight container.

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Makhana and toasted seeds Chivda

Posted on October 9, 2022October 9, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

A healthy, delicious and extremely nutritious Chivda to make during Diwali this year. Makhana or foxnuts are a stellar Indian super food. Low in fat and sodium, and high in calcium and potassium. They are an ideal snack to munch on when one feels those mid morning or late evening hunger pangs.

I usually roast foxnuts with just half a teaspoon of ghee and a sprinkling of salt. I decided to make a chivda this year, adding a variety of seeds to make it more nutritive. The amount of fat used in this recipe is also extremely less. Enjoy it with your evening tea or pack it for your children in their tiffin boxes.

Ingredients:

100 gms Makhana

25 gms flax seeds

50 gms pumpkin seeds

25 gms sunflower seeds

2 tbsps sesame seeds

25 almonds

1/4 of a dry coconut/ copra slivered

1 tbsp chilly powder or paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1tsp sugar or Stevia

1 tsp Hing/ asafoetida

2 sprigs curry leaves

Salt

1tsp ghee/ clarified butter

Method:

Tip the Makhana into a wide mouthed pan or kadhai. Sprinkle salt, turmeric powder, curry leaves and add half a teaspoon of ghee. Mix thoroughly and switch on the stove. Roast on a gentle flame till the Makhana is crisp. Keep aside. Take half a teaspoon of ghee in a pan. Roast the coconut slivers to a golden brown. Keep aside. Roast the pumpkin seeds till they change colour and turn crisp. Remove and tip in the flax seeds. Roast till they splutter. Remove and add the sesame seeds. Roast till they splutter. Mix all the three roasted seeds and sprinkle a little salt over them when they are still warm. Mix thoroughly and keep aside. Roast the almonds till they change colour and keep aside. Powder the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and sugar. Heat a pan and add the roasted Makhana, the seeds, almonds and sprinkle the powdered spices. Drop in the chilly powder and heat the entire mixture till the spice powder coats the Makhana well … Allow to cool thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

Note: All seeds need to be roasted separately or they could burn as roasting time for each varies. The entire process of making the Chivda took me just fifteen minutes. Keep all the ingredients at hand so you do not lose time heating the pan over and over again. Do not roast the coriander and cumin seeds as you are powdering them along with the sugar. The sugar will melt and the resultant sticky mass cannot be used.. the asafoetida will give out it’s aroma when the mixture is being re heated.

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Beetroot pockets.

Posted on September 17, 2022September 17, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

Pretty looking beetroot pockets to make the children eat their veggies without a murmur. These are nothing but Momos or dim sums with beetroot puree added to the dough. The easiest and regular way of stuffing momos is by rolling out a poori, placing the filling in the centre, folding the dough into pleats and shaping it into a pouch.

Peel and chop a beetroot. Puree it and sieve it. Add it to the dough while kneading it.. the recipe link below gives you the exact measurements to make the dough and the filling.

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/dim-sums-or-momos/

To shape pockets:

Roll out the poori. Place the filling in the centre. Pleat one half of the poori and press it tightly on the unpleated side. Bring the two ends together and press them on the centre of the dim sum to form a pocket. Similarly finish off with the remaining dough. Steam them in the manner mentioned in the recipe link given above.

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Caramel Phool Makhana/ Fox nuts

Posted on June 18, 2022June 18, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

Healthy, crunchy Phool Makhana which are considered as the wonder food today.. I have posted a simple version of it here in my blog. Today posting the caramel version of it as suggested by my friend Anita A Burde. It’s the same as making caramel popcorn, recipe of which you can find here in this website. I have used jaggery instead of sugar to caramelize both the makhana and popcorn.

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/roasted-foxnuts-phool-makhana/

Ingredients:

100 gms Phool Makhana

4 tbsps jaggery

1 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter

A pinch of salt

1 tsp ghee to roast the makhana

Method:

Roast the phool Makhana with a teaspoon of ghee and a pinch of salt on a slow flame till crisp. Keep aside. Add the jaggery and ghee into a pan. Allow the jaggery to melt and froth. Add the roasted makhana and mix well. Transfer immediately on to a greased plate and separate it with a spatula… Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight tin.

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Mayonnaise and vegetables sandwich.

Posted on May 3, 2022May 3, 2022 by vinayaprabhu2

An absolutely delicious option which is ideal for summers, this mayonnaise and vegetables sandwich is not just filling but enjoyed by young and old alike. Serve it at parties, get togethers or as a quick snack as they are extremely easy to make.

Ingredients:

One loaf of bread

Butter

Equal quantities of the following vegetables finely chopped:

Cucumber

Tomato

Onion

Capsicum/ Bell pepper

Grated carrot

Pepper powder

Eggless mayonnaise

Salt

Method:

Trim the edges of the slices of bread. Use the discarded edges to make bread crumbs. Butter the slices and keep aside. Tip in the chopped vegetables and grated carrot into a bowl. Refrigerate for an hour. Drop in mayonnaise, and pepper as per preference. Mix thoroughly. Add salt, mix and apply the mixture on the buttered side of the slice. Cover it with another slice of buttered bread, cut into triangles and serve immediately.

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