Now who does not like cutlets or vegetable kebabs like the hara-bhara or corn kebabs of the world. We love them too as a nice snack, however, the thought of frying stuff is often repulsive, and we have a "never deep fry until mandatory" rule at our home. So we keep our eyes and ears open for any recipe that can help us re-create something we love but replaces 'frying' with 'baking'. This recipe was one such marvel. Took a bit of effort, but was totally worth it.
Ingredients (For 6-8 Fritters)
1/2 cup masoor daal
1 bay leaf
1/2 cube vegetable bouillon(broth)/water
100g white mushrooms
1/4 cup oats
Mixed dried herbs and spices (oregano, parsley, thyme, red chilli flakes)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1-2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
2 tbsp red wine (aha!)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 egg (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Ok, this is going to take some time but here we go.
1. Rinse the daal and add to a pan with 1 cup of water. To the pan add the bouillon and bay leaf. Bring the water to boil, then lower the flame, and let it simmer for 10-12 minutes. The daal needs to become soft but not completely done. Remove from the heat, drain, and let it cool for a few minutes.
2. In a food processor, add the cooked daal, mushrooms, oats, and spices. Pulse, until the mixture is semi-coarse.
3. In a pan saute the onions and garlic. Add the pulsed mushroom-daal-oats mixure and cook for a few minutes. Add the red wine (oh, what deep flavours that brings), soy sauce, and salt and pepper. Mix to form a consistent mixture.
4. Now is the turn to make the fritters. Given that we want to bake these, and not shallow/deep fry, the challenge is to make sure that they stick together after baking and don't fall apart while eating. The tips we have seen to do this is to add whisked egg into the mix to help binding while baking. This, of course, is optional and vegetarians can bake without the egg.
5. Make fritters out of the mixture and bake in full temperature (250C) in a well pre-heated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the fritters become crisp on the outside.
Enjoy with some greens, and ranch or mayo dips. It is healthy, has unique flavors of mushroom, red wine, herbs, and makes a great appetizer.
Ingredients (For 6-8 Fritters)
1/2 cup masoor daal
1 bay leaf
1/2 cube vegetable bouillon(broth)/water
100g white mushrooms
1/4 cup oats
Mixed dried herbs and spices (oregano, parsley, thyme, red chilli flakes)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1-2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
2 tbsp red wine (aha!)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 egg (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Ok, this is going to take some time but here we go.
1. Rinse the daal and add to a pan with 1 cup of water. To the pan add the bouillon and bay leaf. Bring the water to boil, then lower the flame, and let it simmer for 10-12 minutes. The daal needs to become soft but not completely done. Remove from the heat, drain, and let it cool for a few minutes.
2. In a food processor, add the cooked daal, mushrooms, oats, and spices. Pulse, until the mixture is semi-coarse.
3. In a pan saute the onions and garlic. Add the pulsed mushroom-daal-oats mixure and cook for a few minutes. Add the red wine (oh, what deep flavours that brings), soy sauce, and salt and pepper. Mix to form a consistent mixture.
4. Now is the turn to make the fritters. Given that we want to bake these, and not shallow/deep fry, the challenge is to make sure that they stick together after baking and don't fall apart while eating. The tips we have seen to do this is to add whisked egg into the mix to help binding while baking. This, of course, is optional and vegetarians can bake without the egg.
5. Make fritters out of the mixture and bake in full temperature (250C) in a well pre-heated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the fritters become crisp on the outside.
Enjoy with some greens, and ranch or mayo dips. It is healthy, has unique flavors of mushroom, red wine, herbs, and makes a great appetizer.
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