Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a part of the culinary world. I really wanted to join a hotel management course but due to circumstances, ended up doing MBA instead.
I worked for about six years before I finally decided to completely concentrate on food. It’s blogging that helped me gain that courage to make my love for cooking a career choice. I started blogging a year before I quit my full-time job. I didn’t think there was any future in it but I just wanted to document my recipes. Little did I know that it would do so well and would help me make my dream a reality.
I love encouraging people to cook at home. I know it’s very difficult with the lifestyle and work timings that we have but with simple and easy recipes, anyone can make dishes at home and stay healthy. It’s crucial that one understands the importance of eating
home-cooked food.
I’ve always been adventurous when it comes to food so I don’t concentrate on only one particular cuisine. Everything I prepare is easy to make and suitable for everyone — from a spinster to a person who runs a family. For example, I have curated a recipe where you can make ‘naan’ in under 30 minutes!
Work is hectic and many times, I forget to make lunch. That’s why I prefer dishes that last longer so that I just heat and consume them.
As the festive season is around the corner, my ‘Kachhe Kele Ke Kebabs’ is something one can easily prepare at home. This was a dish my mother often prepared. Though it’s not a traditional ‘Navaratri’ recipe, the use of ingredients definitely add to its charm.
Though I don’t celebrate this festival too much, I grew up in a household that did. My mother used to fast the whole day but prepared the yummiest of dishes for us to savour. There would be plenty of dishes in the house, especially ones that were made with pepper and green chilli. I even used to devour vegetables that I normally don’t eat, especially bottle gourd.
This is the festive season where everything is prepared differently and that’s why ‘Kachhe Kele Ke Kebabs’ makes for an interesting choice.
Richa Gupta
Kachhe Kele Ke Kebabs
Ingredients
Vegetable oil, 1 tbsp
Green plantains, 2
Buckwheat flour, 1/2 cup
Pepper powder, 1/2 tsp
Green chilli, 1 finely chopped
Coriander, 1/4 cup chopped
Rock salt to taste
Method
Cut each plantain in half and pressure cook or boil till the plantains are cooked through. Pressure cook them for 3 whistles or about 15 minutes.
Peel the plantains and add them to a bowl along with buckwheat flour, ground black pepper powder, green chillies, coriander and rock salt.
Mash the plantains and mix well with the ingredients.
Mould the kebab mixture into flat, round balls about one and a half inch in diameter and set aside.
Heat oil in a non-stick skillet, and add the kebabs one by one, making sure they don’t overlap. Cook each kebab for 8 to 10 minutes on each side till they are golden brown. Cook these in two batches.
Serve these ‘kachhe kele ke kebabs’ with coriander chutney.
Published 26 September 2017, 14:57 IST