Sunday, March 17, 2013

A healthy signature recipe @ home - Hara bhara kabab

Come summer and my kitchen in Hyderabad is like a pre-heated oven. I do most of my kitchen work before 8.30 in the morning and then only in the late evening. I  light the gas burner only when the sun goes down. So, the tea time snacks are generally from the oven or something which does not require putting things on the stove.

One of our favourite signature recipe is Hara Bhara Kabab which is a from a old  Savvy cook book of 96, I treasure. A very healthy and tasty  recipe which is made from some of the fresh summer greens which i source from my weekend grocery outing. I  de-stem them and store it  for the weeks use, as and when the recipe demands I use them liberally. Fresh Pudina( mint), methi leaves(fenugreek), Dhania( green coriander) and Palak leaves. And i also have loads of Green peas which i source during winter @rs12/kg, deshell and stock it for a few months use, sometimes it even lasts a whole year. Shallots, the small sambar onions are very good coolants so this is also stocked in the refridgerator and  I use it for  garnishing salads, raithas, curd rice and whenever the recipe demands usage of onions.





The above ingredients ground and spiced with a few ingredients make a healthy food. I generally grill this kebabs. But for the first time decided to shallow fry with Fortune Rice Bran healthy oil. You can also deep fry them.



Now for the recipe of HARA BHARA KABAB


A patty made with greens like Spinach, coriander leaf, fenugreek leaves and green peas. A healthy snack/starter which can be grilled, shallow fried or deep fried. Tastes good when served with mint-yogurt chutney.
Ingredients:

For the kebabs
Chopped spinach---- 1 cup
Chopped coriander leaves --- 1 cup
Methi leaves chopped ---- ¼ cup
Shelled peas ----1/2 cup
Chopped onions ( i used shallots this time)--- ½ cup
Bread slices dipped in water and sqeezed well --- 4 nos( I use multigrain/whole wheat bread)
Green chillies – 3 nos
Ginger piece – 1”
Maida - 2-3 tbsp
Halved cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Amchoor powder --- ½ tsp( i also substitute with amla juice/lemon juice)
Red chilli powder --- ¼ tsp
Fortune Rice Bran oil for frying

For the chutney
Thick curd --- ½ cup
Coriander leaves ---- ½ cup
Mint leaves --- ½ cup
Green chillies --- 2
Salt to taste
Lemon juice --- 2 tsp

To serve
1 onion cut into rings
juice of half a lemon
A few mint leaves, chopped finely

Method:

  • Grind spinach, coriander, methi,peas,chillies and ginger into a fine paste.
  • Add crumbled bread, chopped onions,salt and other spices. Mix well to make the mixture of right consistency, neither too tight or soggy.
  • Make small balls of this mixture and pat them into flat, circular shapes about half inch thick. Gently press a piece of cashewnut in the centre of each kebab.
  • Roll in maida and shallow fry them in Fortune Rice Bran healthy oil  till golden brown. You can even deep fry them if you like it deep fried.
                                   
                                                             Grind them in  a mixer
                                                 Mix the ground paste with the spices and bread
  Add fortune rice bran healthy oil on a non stick tawa and shallow fry the patties after dusting them with maida
                                                   Press a cashew nut in the middle and allow them to shallow fry, when done on one side
                                               Flip them and fry on the other side, when done serve them on a bed of onion rings
 Grind coriander, mint and green chillies. Mix the ground paste with thick curd, season and serve as a dip . Enjoy the nutrition loaded cool kabab.

 This post is a part of Healthy & Tasty Recipe Contest with Fortune Rice Bran Health OilBlogAdda.com

6 comments:

  1. Wow!! Looks very tempting!
    Liked your recipe for chutney too... have never added curd in it... will try it out!
    All the best for the contest :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, shilpa:), try the curd variation, makes a nice dip.

      Delete
  2. Looks really easy and healthy too.
    All the best.
    BTW, how do you store baby onions in the fridge, maybe you could share some of your tips on freezing vegetables with us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you, Rama:)

    Just peel the shallots and store them in refridgerator. this actually needs no cover and since it is not cut, the onion odour does not spread in your fridge. you can even cover them with kitchen tissues. I store them only for 6 days, by then my next grocery visit happens.

    the greens i generally de-stem and store in airtight containers as you see above. I wipe off any moisture that collects on the lid with kitchen tissue whenever i remove them for use. The methi leaves last only for 4 days. after that it turns yellow.

    The peas, I de-shell them from the pods and store in ziplocks, just like the way we do with commerical storages like safal. This lasts for a whole year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The peas require freezer storage.

    ReplyDelete