Vegetable cutlets are one of my favorite weekend snacks. Having them with a cup of tea it is just perfect! I remember as a child In my family these were favorite appetizer to serve up for birthday parties, or weekend get-togethers. They also make make a fun meal for the family and a perfect way to get your fill of choice vegetables served up as a burger or appetizer. These crisp, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside patties are vegan which be used for vegan burgers as well, just switch it with vegan cheese and mayo.

Tip – I have used raw vegetables to make these patties because I like the crunch but you may steam the vegetables if you like.

I have pulsed the vegetables in my food pro for the fine chop but you may finally chop them or grate them if you like .

I have used boiled yukon gold potatoes but you may used boiled russet potatoes as well.

Ingredients

4 potatoes – boiled and mashed

2 carrots – pulsed in food pro or finely chop

1 small beetroot – pulsed or finely chopped

1/4 cup frozen peas – pulsed or finely chopped

1/4 cup green beans – pulsed or finely chopped

1 inch of ginger – grated

2 green chili – finely chopped

3 tbs rice flour

3tbs bread crumbs ( I used panko bread crumbs )

1 tsp -pepper powder

1 tsp- cumin powder

1 tsp-all spice powder (optional)

1 tsp – coriander powder(optional)

1tsp- chaat masala or lemon juice

3 tbs- cornstrach

3tbs – all purpose flour

breadcrumbs to coat

salt to taste

oil to shallow fry

In a large mixing bowl add the boiled potatoes and mash them well. Now add the all the finely chopped vegetables , ginger , chillies, spices, lemon juice and salt to taste. Combine everything well with your hands , taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Add the three tablespoons of rice flour, three tablespoons of bread crumbs for binding and incorporate it all well and form patties of the desired size and shape.

Set up the breading line by making a pouring consistency slurry with cornstarch and flour, lay out the remaining bread crumbs in a plate.

In a nonstick pan add oil for shallow frying and heat it up on a medium flame. Now dip the patties in the slurry, coat them with breadcrumb on all sides and fry them on both side until golden brown. serve hot with sauce of choice or as burgers .

Basic Cilantro Mint chutney .

1 cup – Fresh cilantro

1/2 cup – Fresh mint leaves

1 to 2 – hot green chili

1/2 tsp- cumin seeds

1/2tsp – Sugar

Juice of one lemon

salt to taste

Blend all the chutney ingredients into a smooth paste add a few tablespoons of water if required. Serve with any appetizer or sandwich/burger spread .

Chili chicken is one of my family’s favorites to order in Indian restaurants . This very flavorful dish is inspired by Asian spices and many such dishes have crossed borders and are relished.

Some of the most delicious and satisfying meals are simple, and this is a great example! With just a few ingredients you can make it at home and dazzle everyone with this amazing, flavorful chili chicken.

Spicy, sweet and tangy, chili chicken can be served as an appetizer, or a main course rounded out with fried rice or noodles. While historically this dish is deep fried, I am going to show you how to do it with an air fryer for extra simplicity and super taste.

Ingredients

2 pounds – Chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces

Marinade for the Chicken:

3 tbs corn starch

3 tbs all porpuse flour

1 egg beaten

3 tbs soya sauce

1/2 tsp of white pepper powder

2 to 3 tsp of oil

The Sauce:

5 tbs of soya sauce plus 3 tsp to season the chicken

1 tbs of chili sauce ( add more if needed)

2 tsp of vinegar

1/3 cup water

1 medium onion cut in to squares or triangles

1 large bell pepper cut in to squares or triangles .

2 serrano chillies cut in strips length wise

2 scallions green part cut length wise

1/2 tbs of ginger finely chopped

2 tbs of garlic finely chopped

In a large mixing bowl add the chicken pieces and season with 3 tsp of soya sauce and pepper powder. Mix well , adding one beaten egg, cornstarch, flour and 2 to 3 tsp of oil. Mix until well coated.

Line your air fryer basket with liner or grease with oil and arrange the chicken pieces in one layer. Cook on 400 degrees for 15 mins checking in between to get a nice golden crispy fried chicken. See my video to see how awesome it looks!

Sauce

To prepare the sauce, mix soya sauce, vinegar, chili sauce and 1/3 cup of water. Set this aside for now.

Heat a wok on a medium high flame and add 3 tbs of oil. As the oil heats add the ginger and cook for about 15 to 20 seconds, then add the garlic and green chilis and saute for another 15 seconds. As that is done add the onions and peppers and saute on a high flame for about 30 seconds. Careful, do not over cook here since we need to maintain slight crunch to the onions and peppers. Now add the air fried chicken to the wok and pour the soya sauce mixture over it all. Sprinkle white pepper powder, then stir fry to mix well and quickly add the cornstarch slurry and mix well again. Turn off the flame and add the green onions to garnish. Serve hot with noodles, fried rice or steam rice .

I started my small kitchen gardening about 3 years ago, and the first thing I experimented with was tomatoes. Just that took one year of no results, but last year was a success with tons of delicious tomatoes, and this year as well we had a bumper crop of them.

Tomatoes are something we use pretty much every other day, be it in salads, soups, curries, sandwiches or even with just a sprinkle of some salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil — yum yum!

This time with all excess of tomatoes I wanted to try something new, so I experimented with making a tomato jam/chutney, and it turned out amazing. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

5 large green unripe tomatoes ( roughly chopped )

1 medium -onion finely chopped

1 inch -ginger finely chopped

3 cloves – garlic finely chopped

1/2 tsp of lightly crushed fennel seeds

1/2 tsp – pumpkin pie spice powder

1/2 tsp- cayenne powder

1 cup – sugar

3 to tbs- oil

salt to taste

Heat one tbs of oil in a pot over medium low flame , add the chopped tomatoes and cook until all the tomato is soft like a thick pulp. Set aside.

Heat another pot on a medium low flame and add the remaining 2 tbs of oil, and add the crushed fennel seeds, onions and saute until light golden brown.

Now add ginge and garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes back in, along with the onions, cayenne, pumpkin spice powder, salt to taste and 1 cup of sugar. Cook this for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until it reaches a jam like consistency. Cool it and store in air tight container in the fridge.

Enjoy with aged cheddar or as a sandwich spread.