Veggie rolls / cutlets

I love making evening snack for my kids. They are just so hungry when they wake up after their nap that they tend to open every cookie jar or snack bags within their reach. Instead of such snacking we love making our own snacks. I lovingly accept every possible little help from my little helpers. They are so very happy to make their stuff but also fight on who wants to do what. But whatever it is snack time and snack-making time is fun-time for us. Thats my secret that I never feel tired being in the kitchen when fixing these tiny meals.

I usually make this for Niks school too as a mid-time snack. I know that this is the best-shared snack among all those that he carries regularly. He always says... 'last time this friend ate 2 and the other one asked for one more so pack 3 extras this time... ' So nowadays I have to pack a few more than usual... and yes I do it with loads of love and happiness.

This recipe can be made using any vegetable of your choice. Pick the best that you think your kid should have. I usually alter this recipe with vegetables that they hate to eat. Say beetroot, squash, sweet potatoes and may be a few more that I cant remember right now. Its a beautiful way to give them those veggies that they refuse to eat. I know this is not a very healthy way but atleast IT IS A Way  :)

Spices can be altered as per your taste. I sometimes go for the greener side - coriander, green chillies, curry leaves, onions etc whereas sometimes i go for red chilli, jeera, turmeric etc. They are a little different in taste but have their own uniqueness. Try this and your kids are sure to love it.

Serves... 2-3 kids

Serve option... Hot with ketchup

This is what u'll need....

Potato - 1
Carrot - 2
Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Garlic cloves - 2
Corn Flour - 2 tbspn
Maida - 1 tbspn
Bread slices - 1
Red chilli powder - 1 tspn
Cumin powder - 1 tspn
Salt to taste

Here is the stir....

• Peel potatoes and carrots  and roughly cut them into small chunks. Toss them into a pressure cooker. Add green peas and garlic to this along with some salt. Pressure cook this for a whistle and then simmer for 2-3 minutes

• Let the pressure go down and when it is good enough to handle, shake out the contents into  a strainer to drain out any excess liquid. Let it sit in the strainer till you start working on them

• Meanwhile tear the bread into rough pieces and powder it in a mixer to make fresh bread crumbs

• Transfer the cooked vegetables into a working bowl. Measure in cornflour, maida, bread crumbs, red chilli powder, jeera/cumin powder and little salt

• Mix all these together to make a dough like mixture. Let little chunks of vegetables of stay back to give a little texture to the rolls

• Heat oil in a pan to deep fry or heat a tawa to pan-cook the rolls. If you are worried about deep-fried stuff then go ahead and cook in a tawa

• Pick a little mixture and shape it into any shape that you want. I make round discs and oblong shapes frequently but when my kids are around we have all kinds of favorite shapes going in. Shape all the dough and keep the rolls ready for frying

• Drop in the rolls few at time into hot oil and fry them on both sides till golden brown. Take them out once done and transfer to paper towels to get rid of the excess oil

• Serve them hot/warm with ketchup and enjoy watching your little ones and loved ones snacking happily

Note:

• Dont overcook the vegetables or you will feel the rolls to be doughy. A little texture gives a good taste
• If you dont want to deep-fry, make small disc or flat oblong shapes to cook evenly on tawa
• Cooking this doesnt take a long time. Keep the oil hot and they are done in matter of 30-40 secs