Vegetable Chop (Vegetable Croquettes)...........A Winter Must-Have

There's no doubt that Kolkata is the hub of street foods. It is one of the friendliest cities for street food lovers. Vendors selling Fuchka (Pani Puri), Jhal Muri (spiced puffed rice), Bhel Puri, Ghugni Chaat, Chowmein, Egg Rolls (and the list goes on) can be found at every nooks and corners of the streets. 

Bengali's love to enjoy their evening tea with "Muri and Telebhaja" (Puffed rice with deep fries). These so called "Telebhaja" can be Aalur Chop (Potato Croquettes), Mochar Chop (Banana Blossom Croquettes), Dimer Chop (Egg Croquettes), Macher Chop (Fish Croquettes) etc....etc......

"Chop" is nothing but Cutlets or Croquettes. They are small, cylindrical shaped, stuffed with minced meat, mashed potatoes or mixed vegetables. They are then dipped into corn flour batter, rolled in breadcrumbs and then deeply fried. It doesn't matter whether it's vegetarian or non-vegetarian variety they all have different taste and equally tempting. They serve as a great appetizer and a complete party pleaser. 

Today I'm going to share Vegetable Chop which are stuffed with mixed vegetables and they pair well with tomato ketchup and finely chopped salad :)

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes(medium sized): 2

2. Beetroots(medium sized): 2

3. Carrots(medium sized): 2

4. Peas: 1 cup

5. Coconut (shredded): 3 tbsp

6. Roasted Peanuts (peeled and halved): 10-12

7. Onions(finely chopped): 1 cup

8. Green Chilies(finely chopped): 1-2

9. Ginger-Garlic Paste: 1 and 1/2 tbsp

10. Poppy Seeds: 1 tbsp

11. Garam Masala: 1 tbsp

12. Salt to taste

13. Sugar to taste

14. Cornflour: 2 tbsp

15. Water: 1 cup

16. Breadcrumbs for coating

17. Oil for frying + 1 tbsp

18. Panch Phoron (Mixture of Cumin Seeds: 1/4 tsp, Nigella Seeds: 1/4 tsp,  Fennel Seeds: 1/4 tsp, Mustard Seeds: 1/4 tsp, Fenugreek Seeds: 1/4 tsp)

Method:

1. Wash all the vegetables thoroughly and cook them in a pressure cooker (including the green peas) until you hear two whistles. Let it cool down.

2. Mash or grate the boiled and peeled vegetables. I use my grater for doing so. As the vegetables get a very good texture for making chops and they get easily mixed with the other ingredients.

3. Now add in the ginger-garlic paste, roasted peanuts, garam masala powder, salt and sugar to the mashed vegetables. Mash all the ingredients with your hands.

4. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and then add paanch phoron and poppy seeds. Once they splutter add finely chopped onions and green chilies. Fry them until the onions get a nice golden color. Add the shredded coconut and cook it for a minute.

5. Now add the vegetable mixture in the pan and fry it for 5-6 mins until the mixture gets dry or there's no moisture left. You can check it by taking small amount of mixture in your hand and try to form a round ball. If you are able to do so then the mixture is perfect. Once done remove the pan from heat and allow the mixture to cool down.

6. In a small bowl take cornflour and mix it with water to make thin batter. 

7. Take small amount of mixture in your hand and give it a cylindrical shape. Dip the chop in the cornflour and water batter and then roll it on breadcrumbs. Refrigerate the chops for 15-20 mins.

8. Repeat the process so that the chops gets coated with breadcrumbs twice. 

9. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan or medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot enough fry the chops till you get a nice golden-brown color. Remove the chops on a plate lined with paper towel to soak the excess oil.

10. Serve it with tomato ketchup, salad or kasundi (bengali mustard sauce).

Note:

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Mochar Chop......Banana Blossom Croquette

We all are familiar with Banana: nature's own energy rich food but did you know you can eat its flower too? You might be wondering how, right? This question is very obvious for the one who hasn't tasted it. The flower of Banana is known as Mocha(in Bengali) or Banana Blossom(in English).

Mocha or Banana Blossom is used as a nutritious food item in Southeast Asia. It has a lot of medicinal values like blood purification, curing stomach ulcers, constipation, menstrual disorders etc. Since they are rich in fiber content they help in increasing the hemoglobin level of our blood.

Banana trees are very common in India and especially in West Bengal. We Bengalis utilize each and every part of Banana tree. The stem a.k.a "Thor", the leaves are used to serve food or used in wrapping and cooking, the flower a.k.a "Mocha" and of course the fruit "Banana". These trees also have religious values. They are used in pooja and wedding ceremonies.

Enough of rambling now coming back to our "Mochar Chop". 

How to clean Mocha:

Mocha is a large, dark-red colored flower that grows from the end of a Banana bunch. Its bracts (leaves) snugly enclose the sweet-scented, light yellow colored flowers. You need to remove those red or brown color bracts and separate the flowers as shown in Image(a)). 

Image(a)

Image(b)

Image(c)

Each flower has florets. You have to take each floret and remove the hard stigma (a match stick like structure) and scale (the pinkish small petals or casing at the stem base) As shown in Image(b) and Image(c).

Image(d)

Image(e)

Once the darker and tougher outer bracts are removed you will find much paler and lighter bracts(as shown in Image(d)). At this point stop peeling, as you can chop it and mix with the earlier chopped flowers(as shown in Image(e)).

The cleaning process of Mocha is very tedious, so every time I have to do it I say to myself that next time I won't buy it. You need a lot of patience for cleaning and shredding it. But the end result is so delicious that all the pain is worth it.

Take necessary precautions while working with Mocha as it gives nasty black stains to your hands. So apply oil to your hands before even touching it. Spread few old newspapers on your working surface to avoid the stains.

Image(f)

Once all the cleaning process is done i.e peeling the bracts, removing the flowers, separating the stigma and scales; chop the flowers very finely(as shown in Image(f)). Take a heavy bottomed pan, fill it with enough water and add salt and turmeric powder to it. Once the chopping is done put the chopped Mocha in this water. This will help in removing the bitter and metallic taste. 

Drain the water and boil the Mocha on medium heat for 15-20 mins. (You can also use pressure cooker for doing so. Cook it until 3 whistles.)  Once done, drain the water by using a colander and allow it to cool down. Now remove the excess water by pressing it in between your palms. Your Mocha is now ready for making chops.

How to make Mochar Chop:

Ingredients:

1. Mocha: 1

2. Boiled and peeled potato : 2 (medium sized)

3. Onions (chopped): 1 (big sized)

4. Ginger-Garlic paste: 1 tbsp

5. Coconut (shredded): 3 tbsp

6. Roasted Peanuts (peeled and halved): 10-12

7. Green Chilies (chopped): 2

8. Garam Masala Powder: 1 tsp

9. Salt to taste

10. Sugar to taste

11. Cornflour: 2 tbsp

12. Water: 1 cup

13. Breadcrumbs for coating

14. Oil for frying + 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Mash the boiled and peeled potatoes. I use my grater for doing so. As the potatoes get a very good texture for making chops and they get easily mixed with the other ingredients.

2. Add the boiled and squeezed Mocha to the mashed potatoes.

3. Now add in the chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste, shredded coconut, roasted peanuts, green chilies, garam masala powder, salt and sugar. Mash all the ingredients with your hands.

4. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Transfer the mixture in the pan and fry it for 5-6 mins until the mixture gets dry or there's no moisture left. You can check it by taking small amount of mixture in your hand and try to form a round ball. If you are able to do so then the mixture is perfect. Once done remove the pan from heat and allow the mixture to cool down.

5. In the meanwhile take a small bowl take cornflour and mix it with water to make thin or watery batter. (Add very little water at a time.)

6. Take small amount of mixture in your hand and give a shape of chop or cutlet. Size and shape of the chop depends on individual choice, I prefer to do a cylindrical shape.

7. Dip the chop in the cornflour and water batter and then roll it on breadcrumbs. 

8. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan or kadhai on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot reduce the heat to medium and fry the chops till you get a nice golden-brown color. Remove the chops on a plate lined with paper towel to soak the excess oil.

9. Serve it with tomato ketchup, salad or kasundi (bengali mustard sauce).

Note:

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If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.

Dahi Vada

The taste of Indian street food is so addictive that it's irresistible. It leaves your taste buds tingling even after the dish is finished. The spicy and tangy flavor of the food always ask you for "Thoda Aur"(little more). Dahi Vada or Dahi Bhalla is an Indian Chaat (snack) to be more precise a North Indian street food but now its taste has spread in the entire world and can be found easily in many Indian restaurants around the globe.

Dahi Vada is deep fried lentil dumplings made from Urad daal (split black gram), soaked in beaten yogurt and topped with flavored chutneys, spices and garnished with Sev or Boondi. It is making me drool even when I'm writing this post. It's taste is just inexplicable. So, without any further ado I'm sharing it's recipe:

Ingredients:

(For 16-18 vadas)

For making Vada:

1. Urad Daal (split black gram) : 2 cups

2. Asafoetida :1/4 tsp

3. Cumin (crushed) : 1 tbsp

4. Green chili : 2-3

5. Salt (to taste)

6. Oil (to fry)

For assembling Dahi Vada:

1. Yogurt: 4-5 cups

2. Water: 2 cups

3. Tamarind chutney

4. Sev or Boondi (to garnish)

5. Cumin powder (to sprinkle)

6. Red chili powder (to sprinkle)

7. Black Salt (to sprinkle)

8. Fresh Cilantro (Coriander)

9. Warm Water (to soak the vadas)

10. Salt (to taste)

11. Sugar (to taste)

Method:

1. Wash and soak the Urad daal for 7-8 hrs or overnight. Wash well and drain the water from the daal. 

2. Grind the daal to a smooth paste with the green chili. Use very little water while grinding (few drops at a time). Remove the paste (batter) into a large bowl and add asafoetida, crushed cumin and salt and mix well with your hands or a whisk. This will make the batter airy. Always remember the key to make melt in mouth Dahi Vada is beating the paste very well until you feel pain in your arms. As we all know "No pain No Gain"

3. Heat oil in a pan or wok on medium heat. Wet your hands, take out small amount of batter and put small blob of the batter. Fry them until they get a nice golden hue. Fry the vadas in batches. Remove them in a plate lined with paper towel to soak excess oil. 

4. Take warm water in a large bowl and add salt to it. Dip the vadas or dumplings in the warm water for 10-15 mins.

5. In the meanwhile whisk yogurt with salt (remember you have used salt before so be cautious while adding it to yogurt), sugar, cumin powder, red chili powder and black salt.

6. Just before serving squeeze out the excess water from the vadas by pressing it in between your palms. Place them on your serving plates. Pour the whisked yogurt over them. Drizzle the tamarind chutney and sprinkle red chili powder, cumin powder.

7. Garnish it with finely chopped cilantro, sev or boondi.