Keema Bruschetta - A DIY Party Snack

So you have a party coming up and you want to rustle up some easy snack/ starter. Worry not, this DIY (do-it-yourself silly!) Keema Bruschetta is the perfect party item. The keema can be made a day in advance( or few days in advance and frozen ), all that needs to be done after that is assembling. I had some leftover keema and this is the outcome! You can use your usual keema recipe or use this one here.

Aloo Ka Achaar - Nepali Style Potato Salad

The thing with having foodie friends is that you are constantly learning new things from them too. My one such very dear friend A is my partner in crime when it comes to food. We do lunches and dinners to satiate our souls every now and then! She is from Nepal and she treats us to these Nepali delights often. I wouldn't be exaggerating, if I say that she make the best momos I've ever had, so much so that now I never want to eat momos outside! Nepali cuisine is extremely under rated I would say and there is definitely more to momos. One such delightful dish is this Aloo ko Achaar - Nepali Style Potato Salad that A makes and we all love . She was very kind to part with the recipe and I did not lose much time preparing it in my kitchen. It is a delightful salad made with potatoes, red onions, garlic and sesame seeds. And what makes it so different is the tempering with mustard oil . Serve it as a starter with your drinks or as a side dish to your meal - you are going to love it anyway!

 

 

Ingredients:

Potato - 2 large sized - par boiled - thinly sliced

Onion - 1 large - thinly sliced

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp - dry roasted and grounded into a powder

Green chillies - 2 - finely chopped - use more or less as per taste

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Mustard oil - 1 tbsp

Fenugreek/methi  seeds - a few

Spring onion - finely chopped- for garnish

Method:

In a bowl mix together the thinly sliced potatoes, onions, green chillies, turmeric powder, chilli powder , salt, sesame seed powder and the lime juice. Give it a good gentle mix.
Check if its well seasoned. Feel free to add more lime juice as per your taste.

In a small pan heat the mustard oil and splutter the fenugreek/methi seeds. Temper the salad with this. Give it a mix. Garnish with chopped spring onion and some toasted sesame seeds.

This is best served at room temperature. A tells me that another variation would be to add dried fish or shrimps to enhance the taste. Sometimes even diced cucumber is also added to it. The options are many and in any which way this is one yummy dish that can be prerpared in a jiffy.

Fifa Fever with some Mini Lamb Pops

Well..what can I tell you about the FiFa World Cup fever that you don't already know! Probably this, that my husband is a football fanatic..a die hard Argentina fan..and says he will stop watching footie if his favourite team doesn't win! My 6 year old sings  his dads tune..so much so that the father-son duo has bullied the travelling brother/uncle to get them jerseys which they plan to wear on the finals nite and cheer for their team. The energy at home on match nights is unbelievable and me who is a football novice cannot help but cheer alongwith and get tensed and bite my nails and give in to all the drama! When KFB announced their latest event Game Night Bites..it left me wondering what should I make? Then a brilliant idea struck me! Keeping with my philosophy of easy recipes - I decided to give the usual lamb/mutton/keema koftas a make over.These Mini Lamb Pops - turned out to be a perfect party/game night snack with not much of prep required.

Ingredients:

Mutton/lamb mince - 500 gms

Onion - 1 medium - roughly chopped

Garlic  - 4-5 large pods - crushed

Black pepper powder - 1 tbsp.

Cheddar cheese - 2 cubes - grated. - parmesan would taste great too.

Salt - to taste

Worcestershire sauce - 2 tbsp.

Parsley - 1 tbsp. - I used the dried ones.

Egg - 1 large - lightly beaten

Refined oil - 2 tbsp. - for frying the pops

Green olives - a hand ful for garnish

Method:

In a blender jar put the lamb mince, onion,garlic,parsley, salt,pepper powder and Worcestershire sauce and pulse the mixture into a smooth paste.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl, add the egg and the grated cheese and give it a good mix. Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate for 15 mins.

In a non stick pan, heat the oil, shape the lamb mix into small balls and shallow fry till golden brown in colour.

Drain on a tissue and stick them up in toothpick along with some green olives. Serve with coriander-mint chutney.

For the chutney/dipping sauce - blend together a handful of chopped coriander and mint leaves, few green chillies( as per your taste), few pods of garlic, 2 tbsp. yogurt/curd and salt to taste.

Notes:

• Instead of shallow frying you could also bake the pops in the oven. Line a baking tray with foil, arrange the mince balls, brush with a little oil and bake at 180c for 20 mins.
• Black olives or jalapenos can also be used.
• It also tastes good when served with some mayonnaise.

Till then..Happy Cooking and as they say - May the best team win!