Best wishes for my readers for festival of Maha Shivaratri

Hope Lord Shiva fills your life with fulfillment and joy this year on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri

 

 

 

How to make Potato Cheese Balls (Step by step)

Potato cheese balls are wonderful party snacks enjoyed by adults and kids alike. Full of flavor these awesome snacks which can be made by deep frying, pan frying or even baked in oven. The following recipe is about deep frying but for kids I prefer baked in oven only.In fact a lot of times this dish was made for my kids' tiffin. The recipe goes on like this-

Preparation Time: - 20 min

Cooking Time: - 15 min

Servings: - 3~4 persons

Ingredients:

1. 250 gm. Potato
2. 3 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
3. ½  tsp Red Chili flakes or Kashmiri Red chili powder (you can have more according to your taste)
4. ¼ tsp Black pepper crushed
5. ½ tsp Mixed Herbs (Oregano, Thiam and Basil dried)
6. 2 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped
7. Sunflower/olive/canola oil  as much as required for deep frying.
8. 1 ½ tsp Garam masala powder
9. Salt to taste
10. 50 gm. Cubed Mozzarella cheese
11. 2 tbsp Corn flour
12. 2 tbsp Maida or all-purpose flour
13. 6 tbsp Bread crumbs

Preparation: 

1. Wash and boil potatoes such that it is not too soft and mushy. This is because softer potatoes absorb too much bread crumbs and the outcome will be too much crispy.
2. Use fresh ginger and garlic to make the ginger and garlic paste with the help of pestle of mortar. You can use the ready-made paste also.
3. Crush the black pepper with the help of mortar and pestle. Keep aside.
4. Cut the stems and chop the coriander leaves. Keep aside.
5. Smash rusk biscuit to prepare the bread crumbs with the help of pestle and mortar. You can use the ready-made ones though but homemade ones are best for crispiness.
6. Cut the Mozzarella cheese into cubed form and add a little bit of herbs, black pepper and red Chili powder around the cubes. Keep aside.
7. In another bowl make a smooth thin paste of corn flour and Maida by adding little bit water to it.
8. Peel the boiled potatoes and grate the same.
9. Smash and mix thoroughly potato, ginger garlic paste, black pepper, coriander leaves, garam masala, Red chili flakes or powder and Herbs.
10. Make small balls out of the mixture.
11. Flatten the balls in hand and place the cheese cubes in the middle. Gently bring the edges to reconstruct the balls. Caution should be taken not to have any cracks on the surface of the balls.
12. Dip the balls in flour paste and roll them in the breadcrumbs to have a thin coat of bread crumbs around the potatoe cheese balls. Prepare an army of potatoes cheese balls.
13. Take a non-stick Kadahi suitable for deep frying and heat sufficient oil for frying.
14. Once the smoke comes out change the gas burner to medium heat and add the balls in it.
15. Continue frying until the balls become golden brown.
16. Remove the balls from the pan to a plate lined with kitchen towel.

Serve as a starter with any of the coriander chutney or Tomato ketchup. Even I like mayonnaise sauce as well.

Please note that if you want to bake this recipe you should pre heat the oven for 5 minutes at 200’C and bake 15 minutes inside it.

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As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.

Bengali Mete Chorchori - A Chicken Liver curry

Bengali Mete Chorchori is a side dish cooked with chicken/goat liver with big chunks of potatoes. Chorchori is neither a curry nor a fry. In Bengali cuisine Chorchori is identified with big chunks of vegetables. In this recipe it is potato. Mete in Bengali means liver. This dish can be cooked with mutton/lamb/chicken liver. I love this dish with chicken liver as it is soft and cooks faster. The recipe goes on like this-

Preparation Time: - 10 min

Cooking Time: - 25 min

Servings: - 4 persons

Ingredients:

1. 250g Chicken liver
2. 4 Potato each one halved
3. 1 big Onions finely chopped
4. 1 large Tomato chopped
5. 1 ½ tbsp Garlic paste
6. 1 ½ tbsp Ginger paste
7. 2 Green Chilies silted
8. 1 tsp Turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp Kahmiri Red chili powder (you can have more according to your taste)
10. 1 Bay Leave
11. 2 ~3 Green Cardamom
12. 1 inch Cinnamon stick
13. 2~3 Cloves
14. 3 ½ tbsps Mustard oil (I love mustard oil being a Bengali but you can use any vegetable oil if you feel the smell too pungent)
15. 1 tsp Garam masala powder
16. Salt and sugar to taste
17. Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
18. 1 tsp Ghee (optional)

Preparation:

1. Clean and chop the liver into bite sized pieces. Marinate with 1 tsp each of ginger and garlic paste, a pinch of salt and turmeric powder and a splash of mustard oil. Keep aside.
2. Chop the onion and tomato. Use fresh ginger and garlic to make the ginger and garlic paste with the help of pestle of mortar. You can use the readymade paste also.
3. Smear the diced potatoes with salt and turmeric powder. Heat 2tbsp mustard oil in a kadai, add the potatoes and shallow fry till a gorgeous golden. Remove from heat and keep aside.
4. Add the rest of oil and temper the same oil with crushed cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves and bay leaves.
5. When the spices start to splutter and release their aroma, add the chopped onions and fry till translucent.
6. Add the tomato pieces, ginger and garlic pastes, silted green chilies and salt. Continue to cook till the masala and tomato starts to release oil.
7. Now add the marinated liver and keep cooking on a medium flame. If the masala is getting a wee bit too dry or the spices are beginning to char, splash some water. Continue cooking till the liver changes color from the blood red to just the hint of an opaque brown.
8. Now add the fried potatoes and 1 cup of water.
9. Stir well. Cover and cook, another 3-5 minutes till the liver is done. Since we are using chicken liver it would be quicker to cook.
10. Sprinkle Ghee and garam masala and stir to mix well. Switch off the burner and your yummy meter jhol (Chicken liver curry) is ready to be served.
11. Garnish it with some chopped coriander leaves and a green chilli.

Serve as a side dish with any Indian fried rice/Pulao/roti/steamed rice.

If you like the recipe, then click my Facebook Page and like my page for regular updates. You can even share the recipe via Facebook, twitter or Pinterest.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.