Recipe submitted by Nibedita Das
Crispy Veggie Balls with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Crispy Veggie Balls with Cilantro Dipping Sauce is a delicious appetizer to entertain guests throughout the years. It has been highly appreciated by all my guests who have tried it. Whenever I invite people for dinner, they ask if I will be serving crispy veggie balls! Hope this recipe pleases your crowd as well!
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Nutrela Soya Chunks (soak in 2 cups warm water for 10 min, then squeeze out the water and chop roughly)
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs (Japanese style bread crumbs)
- 1 cup fresh coconut grated
- 1 cup cilantro, un-stemmed and roughly chopped
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 cup French green beans, cut into 1/4 inch long sections 1 large potato, cooked in microwave (approx 6 or 7 minutes), peeled, and mashed
- 1/2 of a large onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (substitute: 1 tsp red chili pepper - can adjust to taste)
- 2 tbsp powdered corn starch
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 4 cups canola oil (or oil of your choice, for frying)
Dipping Sauce (optional):
- 1/3 cup tomato ketchup
- 1/4 cup honey mustard
- 1/4 cup cilantro, un-stemmed and finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (or more, according to taste)
Instructions
Method
- In a 10” stir fry pan, heat 2 tbs cooking oil over medium high heat. Add coconut and cook until slightly brown. Next add garlic, onion, jalapeno (or chili pepper), curry powder. Cook for 2 minutes and then reduce to medium heat.
- Add Nutrela (which you prepared as above), carrots, beans, and salt. Combine thoroughly and let cook with lid on top. Let cook for approx 3 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through.
- Uncover the pan and increase the heat a bit. Cook until the water that was released by vegetables dries out. Then turn off heat.
- Add garam masala, cashews, raisins, and cilantro. Combine thoroughly for approx 2 minutes. Then set aside for a few minutes to allow mixture to cool down.
- Add mashed potato (as prepared above) to cooked vegetables and combine thoroughly. Potato will serve as a binder. Use a candy or melon scooper to make approx 30 (1” diameter) balls. Set these aside on a large dinner platter.
- In a 1 or 2 qt sauce pan, bring 1/3 cup of water to boil over high heat. Add corn starch and boil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes (stirring frequently) to make liquid starch. Set aside for a few minutes to allow it to cool before working with it.
- Place 2 cups of Panko on a medium platter. Place liquid starch in a bowl. Dip one ball at a time in the starch and roll over the Panko. Place on a clean dinner platter. (Starch will act like glue to help Panko stick to balls). After you have breaded all the balls, repeat the process by re-dipping balls in starch and rolling in Panko again. Let the balls rest for approx 5 minutes at room temperature - this will allow Panko to settle on the veggie balls.
- Over medium high heat in 10” stir fry pan, place rest of cooking oil and wait until it has heated up. Fry 4-5 balls at a time until golden brown all over. Adjust the heat as necessary during frying.
- Serve immediately with cilantro dipping sauce (you can substitute with any store-bought cilantro chutney or tomato ketchup)
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Hi,
This recipe looks very very delightful. I would definitely try it. Thanks for sharing & congratulation to you on winning.
Could you let me know the difference between corn starch & corn floor?
Thanks
-Deeps