Kumara and Chickpea Patties/Cutlets

This is one of my own experiments since I got "Down Under". It has been a hit with both friends and hubby alike. The best part - it is easy and Kumara aka Sweet Potato is of really good quality here.

P.S. I am yet to fully settle in to cooking in a smaller kitchen, so please excuse the lazy picture taken with my phone. But I urge you to try this recipe as it tastes really good.

Prepation time : 5 minutes
Cooking time : 10 minutes excluding time to pressure cook the chickpeas and kumara

Ingredients ( For 10 medium cutlets):

1. 2 medium sized Kumara/Sweet potato
2. 1/3 cup boiled chickpeas - soak overnight and boil in salted water, may be 2 whistles on high and 2 whistles on low in a pressure cooker
3. 1.5 tbsp ginger garlic green chilly paste
4. 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
5. 1tsp garam masala powder
6. 1/4 tsp amchur powder
7. Oil for deep frying/shallow frying
8. Salt to taste

How I made it :

1. Boil the kumaras - 1 whistle on high in a pressure cooker will do.
2. Peel and mash the kumaras.
3. Add all the ingredients listed from 3 to 7 and mix well.
4. Lastly add the boiled chickpeas.
5. Shape into cutlets and shallow or deep fry as per preference. When deep frying, please ensure that the oil is very hot else it will just split.

You could serve these as a snack or make sandwiches or use them in pita pockets. Versatile and tasty.

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Channa/Chickpea Pulao

What do you do when you have some channa but not enough to make sufficient chole masala? I decided to make channa pulao. Usually, I'd make this from the leftover chole masala. This is a simple crockpot meal with most of the ingredients found around the kitchen.

Time taken :
Preparation : 10 minutes + time for soaking
Cooking time : 30 minutes(for chickpeas) + 15 minutes

Difficulty : Easy

Ingredients (Serves 2) :

1. 1/2 cup chickpeas soaked overnight
2. 1 cup rice washed
3. 1 large onion sliced finely
4. 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
5. 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
6. 1 tbsp oil
7. 1inch cinnamon stick
8. 4 cloves
9. 1 bay leaf
10. 2 tbsp chole masala
11. 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
12. 1 tsp lime juice
13. Salt to taste
14. Water - 2 cups for the rice + 4 cups to boil the chickpeas
15. Chopped coriander

How I made it :

1. In a pressure cooker, boil chickpeas with 4 cups of water with salt. Give one whistle on high and about 5-6 whistles on low or about 20 minutes on low. This ensures that they are well cooked and soft. Drain any remaining water.
2. In another the pressure cooker, heat oil.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves and bay leaf.
4. Once the cloves start bursting, add the onions.
5. Fry the onions till dark golden brown. This is what gives the colour as well as imparts some taste.
6. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till raw smell goes away, about 2 minutes. 
7. Add the tomatoes and fry till soft.
8. Add the red chilly powder, chole masala, salt. Fry for a minute.
9. Now, add the rice and fry for a minute.
10. Add the water and the boiled chickpeas.
11. Adjust salt. Add lime juice.
12. Let it come to a boil.
13. Cover the cooker and when the steam starts to build, lower the flame and cook on low flame for 8 to 10 minutes. 
14. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

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