HOW TO MAKE EASY INDIAN APPETISERS
Whether you are hosting a dinner party, organising a special occasion or simply putting on a spread for a family meal, you will need to buy Indian spices so that the flavours are authentic. So why not start the meal on a high by making delicious starters to whet people’s appetite for the course to come.
These 2 appetisers are made using traditional methods but they are a twist on the most popular versions, so you might not have tried them before.
Broccoli Bhajis
You will need: - 2 cups Gram flour - 2 tbl sp Rice flour - 2 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 pinch Baking soda – Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup Water – 2 cups Broccoli (separated into florets) - 1/4 cup Oil ( for frying) 1) In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together the gram flour, rice flour, red chilli powder, baking soda and salt to make bhaji base mixture. 2) Using a fork, gradually whisk all the ingredients together and gradually add water to thin the mix a little and ensure a smooth consistency. 3) Chop up the broccoli into small florets and then put them all into the batter and mix thoroughly around until each one is completely coated. 4) Heat oil in a wok or kadai and when the oil is hot enough, add each broccoli floret to the pan and deep fry them. Be careful to not overcrowd the pan as they could stick together. 5) When each bhaji is fried, remove excess oil with a paper towel and serve still crisp with tomato relish or mango chutney.
Samosas
You will need:
- 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste
- 2 Green chilli
- 6-7 Cashews - 2 Potato (boiled and cubed) - 1 Carrot (boiled and chopped) - 1 cup Green peas
- Salt to taste - 1/2 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - a pinch Turmeric powder - ½ Lime/Lemon – 2 packs Tortillas
- Oil ( for frying) 1) Heat oil in a pan and fry the cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, green chillies and cashew nuts. 2) Add the pieces of potato, boiled carrot pieces and green peas along with salt, chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. 3) Cook for 2 minutes to let the flavours blend together. Add few drops of lemon at the end. The filling is ready. 4) For the outer covering, cut a tortilla in half and wrap it into a cone shape.
5) Stuff it with the filling and then close the parcel by folding one end of the cone inside itself. 6) Seal the edges using egg or with few drops of water. 7) Deep fry in oil till it becomes golden brown
8) Wipe of excess oil and serve, still hot with chutney. These two appetisers are delicious and will make the perfect start to a satisfying meal.
If fancy giving these recipes a go and need any of the above spices, pop on over to ShopSpicy where you will find all the spices and ingredients needed!