Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Photo: Anu Pushkarna

Right for the weather Subzi chokker kababs prepared by Monish Gujral

All children love their mother’s cooking. When a mother watches her children eat a hearty meal cooked by her, it’s the most satisfying experience. Like most people, if I were asked who I believe is the best cook, my answer would be, “My mother”. Regardless of the dish, the unique taste of my mother’s cooking comes purely because of the love with which she cooks for her family.

Although I loved all the dishes my mother made, I rate her spinach tikkis the best. She added cardamom to the numerous vegetables in these patties and called them “power balls”.

She used to tell me that these would help me grow. Whether that meant lengthwise or breadth wise, I understood only much later! And by the time I had realised what she meant, I had already become disproportionate in shape having gorged on her spinach tikkis.

This made me want to reinvent the tikkis. I started to heat them on a non-stick pan, rather than deep fry them. I use a mix of garden fresh seasonal veggies as one must savour the produce of the season as its the gods gift.

The veggie basket contains palak, cauliflower, lemons, carrots, coriander and potato, blended with a right mix of Indian spices and wheat bran to provide, the required fibre enough to call the kababs – power kababs!

1 cup Chokker (Wheat Bran)

1carrot, grated

1 cup cauliflower, grated

1 potato, boiled, peeled, and grated

1cup finely chopped spinach

1 green chilly, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp chat masala

1 tsp lemon juice

2 seeds green cardamoms, crushed

2 tbsp curd

1 tbsp oil – to brush the pan

Mix together all the ingredients with the chokker other than the curd, oil and chat masala. Add enough curd to bind the mix.

Divide the mix into small tikkis. Heat oil in a non-stick pan .Stir the tikkis till golden brown Remove from the pan. Serve hot after sprinkling chaat masala with green chutney.

(The author spoke to Nandini Nair. He is the MD, Moti Mahal Tandoori Trail chain of restaurants and can be e-mailed at motimahal@vsnl.com )

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail