Veggie Kebabs

Ingredients:

• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 2 medium sized potatoes
• ¾ cup peas, fresh or frozen
• 1 tsp coriander seed powder
• 2 tsp ginger
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• 2 ½ tbsp gram flour
• salt as required
• 1 or 2 tbsp sesame oil for frying the kebabs

Instructions:

1.    Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water. Drain and keep it in cold water and keep aside.
2.    Roast the besan/gram flour in a small pan until it becomes aromatic and changes its color. Don’t over-roast or darken the gram flour.
3.    Steam or boil the potatoes and peas. Put the spinach in a bowl and grate the boiled potatoes into the bowl. Add the peas & green chili paste.
4.    Mash the kebab mixture with a potato masher or with a wooden spoon.
5.    Add coriander seeds powder, roasted gram flour, and salt. Mix the kebab mixture uniformly.
6.    Shape into round patties and shallow or pan fry the kebabs till golden brown.
7.    Serve hot with mint sauce.

Comments:

If you think of ‘kebab’, you’re reminded of minced meat with veggies made into delectable patties that are either grilled or fried. Here, we’re giving you a version that vegetarians can enjoy. This recipe is also a typical example of the change brought about in the properties of the ingredients through mutual combination and preparation method. Here, the spinach, potatoes, and peas are good Pitta pacifiers – but are aggravating for Kapha and Vata. So, combining these with coriander powder, ginger and black pepper takes care of a possible Kapha aggravation, and frying the kebabs takes care of the Vata aggravating potential of these ingredients. This is interestingly true for traditional cuisines worldwide where the ingredients either enhance or counterbalance each other’s bad effects.