Soybean Sami Kabab

Hello everybody,

So imagine it is a winter evening and in stead of dining out you have invited a special someone to your home to showcase your newly acquired (or barely there) culinary skills. It is both unique and exciting because home is after all the cosiest place of all, and you can be more relaxed in the familiar surroundings. Also, it is a sneaky way to engage your special someone in an informal atmosphere which usually brings out the real person. So, there are more than one reasons you should opt for a date at your home. It is even better if you have an open kitchen for then you can bond over chopping onions and mincing garlic. 

However, what if your date is vegetarian. The usual option is paneer (cottage cheese) in such case, which is predictable and boring. Now we all know how winter is the season of tandoori chicken and kababs. So here is a special recipe for my vegetarian friends or friends who have vegetarian friends. 

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

250 gms of Soybean chunks

1/2 litre of milk

1" piece of ginger

10 cloves of garlic

2 green chillies

1/2 teaspoon of garam masala (or 1 teaspoon allspice)

1 teaspoon of cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon of chickpea flour/gram flour/garbanzo bean flour

1/3 teaspoon of dried mango powder or aamchur (or juice of 1 lime)

1 sprig of coriander leaves (finely chopped)

1 sprig of mint leaves (finely chopped)

1 teaspoon of chaat masala (absolutely essential)

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Preparation:

Bring the milk to boil and add the soybean chunks. Keep on high heat for a couple of minutes before switching off the gas. Let the soybean sit in the warm milk for 15 to 20 minutes and then strain and discard the milk. Squeeze the soybean well so that there is very little moisture. coarsely grind in a food processor. Chop and blend ginger, garlic and green chillies together to make a fine paste. Heat oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté. Add garam masala, cumin powder and coriander powder and stir for 10 to 12 seconds before adding the soybean paste. Add salt, mango powder (or lime juice) and stir fry on medium heat until the paste leaves the side of the dish. It should take anything between five to eight minutes depending on the moisture content of the soy paste. Set aside and let it cool. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves, chickpeas flour and a couple of pinches of chaat masala to the soy paste and mix well. 

Now put a saucepan on medium heat and add oil for shallow frying. Clean your hands well. Keep a bowl of water near you. Take a large spoonful of soy mix on the palm of your slightly moistened left hand and with both hands form a thick, roundish patties and immediately place in the oil. Moisten your palms and fingers occasionally and this will help to shape the patties easily. If the patties are breaking down, either the mixture was not sautéed thoroughly or it needs more chickpeas flour. Cook each side of the patties for 3 to 5 minutes and take them out on a paper napkin to absorb the excess oil.

Sprinkle chaat masala on top and serve with yoghurt chutney. For this blend coriander and mint leaves and add to a cup of yoghurt along with rock salt and chaat masala.

Zero Carb Caesar Salad (My patented version)

Hi friends,

So let's be honest...we usually don't think 'yummy' when it comes to salads (unless you spice it up with chaat masala or tabasco sauce). However, I make a version of Caesar Salad (let's say a remote cousin of the original one) that is actually tasty as well as super healthy, with loads of anti-oxidants, fibre, Vitamin C, Calcium and what not. I don't use the traditional Caesar Salad dressing, therefore you would be cutting down on mayo and unnecessary oil consumption also. So without further ado, here it goes...

Ingredients:

1/2 a head of romaine lettuce (cut into 1/2 inch stripes)
100 gms of grapes (green and black in equal quantity)
1/2 green apple, cubed (please use nothing but green apple and if you don't have it, skip the apple altogether)
1 boiled egg (hard or soft, based on your preference), diced
1 handful of roasted peanuts (for the crunch, NOT optional)
2 cubes of processed cheese (cut into small cubes)

For the dressing:

1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper powder (freshly ground)
1/4 teaspoon of rock salt
1/2 teaspoon of sugar

Preparation:

Assemble the fruits and the lettuce in a bowl. Add the peanuts, diced eggs, cubed cheese and toss well. Add the ingredients for dressing and toss lightly again. Serve at room temperature.

There you are...simple enough! Please refrain from adding lime juice and trust me when I say this because I am a compulsive lime-juice user in pretty much everything. But the salad will already be quite tangy from the natural tartness of the green apple and the grapes. Prepare it and please keep me posted if you like my version of Caeser salad or not.