February 23, 2008

VEGGIE-SOY NUGGETS WITH CHEESE STEAK FRIES AND CHINESE CHILLI OIL





Veg Nuggets and Cheese steak fries
are my entry to Vanamala from "My Kitchen World" blog's event called "Kid's food" this month. Hope you like these Mala, enjoy!:)



If you have kids at home, you know how fussy they can be about food and how we parents struggle everyday to feed them the right kind!! As parents, it's our responsibility to make sure they get all the nutrients to help them grow and be healthy. There lies the problem when kids like only the "junk" food or high fat frozen prepackaged food, which I am sure most kids love. We have got to be smarter than them in that department by sneaking in Greens, vegetables, healthy Soy products etc in their favorite foods. My kids LOVE Chicken Nuggets from 'you know where', so these Nuggets are one of those sneaky things I do at home and they have no clue that they are eating "healthy junk"! Of course, I NEVER EVER tell them these nuggets have Soy flour and green beans!!:D

Vegetables-Soy Nuggets, cheese steak fries and fruit cup:
You can use any combination of vegetables, beans you have at home but make sure you add few tbsps of Soy flour which is a super healthy flour. Serve these with BBQ sauce or ketchup. Yeah, I have saved those Mickey and Minnie fork and knife my kids used to eat with eons ago. As teenagers now, they don't like Mickey and Minnie anymore!:D


To make Nuggets, you need:
2 large Potatoes,cooked and peeled, 1 cup cooked or canned Kidney beans, 1 can of Broad/flat/Italian green beans, cooked and drained Dill or Spinach leaves, 4 tbsp Soy flour, 2 tsp cumin seeds powder, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, salt, Mango powder or Chaat powder, 1 tsp Pav Bhaji masala.
1 tbsp Corn starch+ 1 tbsp water (Tandoori masala is optional) and 1/2 cup seasoned wheat bread crumbs in two separate plates
to coat the Nuggets. Some grated Cheese to sprinkle on Cutlets.
To make:
1. Mix all the above (except ingredients to coat) and mash well to a thick dough. Divide them into balls, make rectangle nuggets for kids, round patties for adults. Dip in the corn starch mixture (I added Tandoori mix powder,that's why the red color!) and then in breadcrumbs until all the sides are coated.
2. Heat a wide non-stick pan, add about 3 tbsp of oil and fry the nuggets and patties both sides until golden, sprinkle cheese on the patties, cool on the rack and reheat in the oven to serve or serve immediately with steak fries, ketchup or BBQ sauce and fruit cups.

To make cheese steak fries:
Potatoes cut into wedges instead of finger chips are called Steak fries. Russet potatoes are floury potatoes, easy to cook and they are crispier when sauteed than other potatoes like red waxy potatoes
1. Take 2 large Russet potatoes, wash and slice into thinner wedges. No need to peel the skin. In the same pan you cooked the Nuggets, add 2 tbsp oil, spread the potatoes wedges and let it cook until golden both sides on medium heat.
2. Sprinkle salt, garlic pd, chilli flakes, pepper, and some grated cheese on the wedges and take them out on a plate.

Note: You can also bake both patties and fries in the oven at 375F for about 30-40 mins. Spray a little oil on the patties and the potato slices if you bake. You might not get that golden colored crust you see on the nuggets above. Sprinkle spices and cheese 5mins before you take them out of the oven.

Have fun lil' kids and big kids!:)

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Chinese Chilli oil sprinkled on scrambled Eggs is my entry to Bindiya from"In love with food" blog. Her event "These are a few of my favorite things" this month has a theme of "Chinese food". I thought of making one of the usual Chinese dish but then I remembered a yummy recipe for Chilli oil I make at home which we splash on to give a zing to any dish, made a dish too to use it on, enjoy. Thanks Bindiya!:))


Chinese Chilli oil:
Chinese Chilli oil is a spicy condiment you can sprinkle on practically everything including snacks, savory pancakes, steamed Dim Sums, Pot stickers, Omelettes etc to spice them up. I am giving you how I make chilli oil at home which we use on soft Scrambled Eggs and such. A hint of Sesame oil makes it smell, taste delicious and authentic Chinese.

To make Chilli oil:
1. Take a thick bottomed pan, pour in 1/2 cup Canola oil, 2 tbsp Sesame seeds oil, 1 tsp or more red dry chilli flakes as per your taste, few crushed Schezuan peppers, 2 tbsp finely minced onion, 2 minced Garlic, 1/" minced ginger, 1/4 tsp of Paprika for color.
2. Heat it gently until oil becomes hot. Do not let the spices burn but just sizzle.
3. Put a fine sieve or cheese cloth over a clean bottle and pour this oil immediately to strain all the solids and discard it. Let the oil cool and then store in the fridge.
4. Shake and use when needed. It's hot and spicy!!:)

Fluffy Scrambled Eggs sprinkled with spicy Chilli oil:

To scramble Eggs:
1. Spray little no-stick oil in a non-stick pan. Add 1 tbsp milk, 2 beaten Eggs. Keep stirring with a small whisk or wooden spoon.
2. Add a 1 tsp Soy sauce (optional), pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper or 1/2 tsp steak seasoning. When Eggs starts to settle but still semi-solid, take off the heat. It will cook further as it cools. Do not keep it on the heat until they become lumpy and hard.
3. Stir once more gently, garnish with 1 tsp few minced fresh Parsley or green onion and few splashes of chilli oil on top and serve with toast.
Enjoy!:))

47 comments:

Rina said...

Love your treats Asha ji...

Anonymous said...

Hi Asha,
the soy nuggets looks delicious and healthy.i must try ur scrambled eggs as i always make mine with onions and tomatoes.

shalini

Sig said...

A weekend post, cool... :) Love the idea of making your own chili oil...

Srivalli said...

wow..those look so yummy asha..those micky forks are so cutee..I am sure my daughter will love that...I will check around for them!..u think only kids will love that???...try giving me a plate!..slurp!!

Kalai said...

Brilliant idea with those nuggets, Ashakka! Chinese chili oil recipe is definitely a useful one to have as well! Now, please go and enjoy the rest of your weekend!! :)

Cham said...

The kid meal seems to be adult meal, I love the healthy version of chicken nuggets :) The scrambled egg with chilli oil would definetly kick up the morning! Lovely entries :)

EC said...

The veggie soy nuggets looks so tempting and very healthy tooo

Rachel said...

very sneaky indeed!!! Nice way to get healthy food into the kids..mine though I try sneaking veggies into her food..somehow manages to leave them back....should try your method..they look delicious!

Red Chillies said...

So well said Asha our responsibilities as parents. It is so difficult to put in the right ingredients into a fussy child.
You have saved those mickey and minnie forks? Just awesome. I loved your veggie soy nuggets and chilli oil. The former masks so many veggies.

Pravs said...

chinese chili oil is something i look for whenever i am in chinese resturant to drizzling on most of the dishes i will be ordering. I should try to make this at home and yeah zing things up :) Nuggets looks yummy.

sra said...

oh, so this is the scrambled eggs recipe you mentioned - it looks incredible - I've never seen such fluffy scrambled eggs. I recently added a spoon of mayo to eggs after I read about it somewhere - the taste was nothing much, but the texture was like nothing I've ever had before!

Kribha said...

Am I the first here? wow... It's so hard to get this place. Nuggets looks so tempting. Kavin has ust started eating chicken nuggets from McD. It's ok to have those but I really want him to eat something healthy. I'll surely try this for him. The fries with that melted cheese on the top is too much for me to handle. I mean the temptation. Thanks for the Chill oil recipe. It will sure come in handy for so many dishes.
Asha, 'B' has got a new assignment for which he has started working from home. Donno for how long it's going to be. He is watching me how much hours I'm spending in the internet. That's why I'm not spending time on blogging. Did see your previous posts but couldn't post a comment. Will go thru your posts at FH soon.

amna said...

those forks are so cute! and soy nuggets are kinda junk food looking but healthy still. very smart :)

FH said...

Thanks Rina, Shalini, Sig!:)

Sig, I was supposed to post this on Friday but got so busy and am running out of deadlines too! :D

FH said...

Sri, those cutlery are so old, one of the few kiddie things I saved!:D

I ill Kalai!:)

Cham, big round ones were for us with cheese on top!:)

Thanks EC!:)

FH said...

Mash them until they can't see any shapes Rachel. As long as they don't see the veggies, they will eat them happily!:))

RC, they are into Universal Studios now, don't even go near Disney or Nik TV!:D
Those Mickey set is really cute!

I love chilli oil too Pravs, add as much as chilli flakes or pd you need in the oil and don't let it burn!:)

FH said...

sra, milk or cream added will fluff the eggs and also you shouldn't let it cook too much until it gets lumpy. I learnt it from a surgeon's wife when visited her in the coast. Before that I used to cook it until dry too!:)

He is home now Kribha? Bummer!! Take it easy, hope it's just temporary and he will be in the office soon!!:D

Nags, as long you say it's junk, kids will eat them. Just don't show the green and shapes of veggies there! ;D
Lesson for you so you can use it in future!

Richa said...

those crispy nuggets look so good, u sneaky chef...lol
lovely chili oil .

TBC said...

Those forks are so cute! I used to have a Mickey mouse watch.

Love the color of the chilli oil.

Finla said...

Ahsa I am surprised to see you posting on weekend. :-)
I would love to have the feast you've prepared for the kids. Each of them looks so delicious.
And thnks for the recipe for chinese chilli oim, i always buy them from the chinese shop, but now as you've shown how to make them, I will start making them at home too.

Dhivya said...

wow!nuggets look very tempting....Pic looks awesome.keep rocking asha:))))

Namratha said...

Lovely dishes Asha,nice twist on the nuggets. Love the chilli oil, cant wait to try it!

FH said...

Richa, I should get a TV show and call myself "sneaky chef"!!;D

tbc, I just found them at the bottom of my cutlery when I was cooking these, I was so happy, brought back memories!!:))

FH said...

F, this post was ready to go on Thursday but just didn't get the time to and email them for their event. I did y'day instead!:)
Chilli oil is easy to make at home, we can control the how hot we want. Store bought is great too. Sunday is almost over, it's very cloudy here right now. Good weather for a cocktail and Samosa!;D

Thank you D, enjoy the Sunday girl!:)
I love the baby in your profile, it's not you,is it? :))))))

FH said...

Chilli oil is great with any Chaat or snacks too Namratha, try it with a small amount oil at first and see if you like it:)

Coffee said...

I was soo looking for this Chinese chili oil!! Thanks Aunty!! ;):P

Nice new header!

Bindiya said...

Splendid Asha as usual!!, I am off to make the chilli oil.

FH said...

Hi Coffee, good to see you girl, ope you are little bit free to blog now. Hope you try chilli oil but you probably get excellent choice of oil there where you live at the stores better than here!:)

Thanks Bindiya, glad you liked it. I thought I will make spicy oil for you instead of a dish!:)

Laavanya said...

Asha what amazing entries.. the cutlets look awesome and when paired with the steak fries, no one can resist. My daughter is a huge Mickey fan.. :)
I love the color of the chilli oil.. amazing pic and your scrambled eggs look so fluffy and perfect.

FH said...

Thanks Laavanya, show these forks to your daughter, I bet she loves looking at those. My kids are not very "kids" anymore! I have saved them for a long time now!:D

Pooja said...

nice kids food :) , i am still a kid(as you say sometime ) please pass some to me too :) .
lovely idea of chili oil. you are always a wonderful inspiration of innovative ideas for me.

FH said...

Okay baby Pooja, grab some cutlets and I will let you use Mickey and Minnie fork and Knife too! Hahaha!!

AnuSriram said...

Looks tempting.... Not just for kids... But for adults too.. Nice entry!

FH said...

Thanks Anu. Big round ones were for us adults, makes great dinner as well!:)

J said...

Love that chilli oil....I'll make that today. How have you been, Asha? :)

Archana Doshi said...

You sneaky mom :). Well my kids are way to smart. I have no problems with them eating veggies in this original form, but when i twist it like a cutlet, nugget, pav bhaji. No WAY, nothing mashed and mushy :(.

FH said...

J, good to see you. I am doing well, trying to spring clean the house before Spring comes!:D

Archana, my kids like Potatoes, Broccoli and Spinach. They hate Tomatoes and green beans, so I do this trick!;D
If your kids eat the veggies as they are, then it's not a problem for you at all, it's excellent. Cook away, lucky girl!!:))

Deeba PAB said...

WOW Asha...the scrambled eggs look SO GOOD; I'm envious of them ! Great chili oil post too! Love it!!

VINI said...

what a treat!!! just last night my hubby and I were discussing about trying out something new other than the normal chicken nuggets...thanks a ton for posting this recipe :). I have a mongolian chilli oil in my pantry, which I drizzle on almost everything I eat...should try yours.

FH said...

Just a little change now and then is good Vini, that's why I add different veggies and flour and tried these.Kids will love them!:)
Sesame seeds oil will make all the difference in the chilli oil, doesn't it? I love it too.

Anonymous said...

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Well, i have something for you at my blog, i know you have already recieved it, but i couldnt help and present you that again. You are such a dear!
Congrats :-)

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Seema said...

Delicious.... Why only kids, even i would love these kiddie foods :-)

FH said...

Thank you Mona, I will check it right away dear girl. Hugs to you!:))

Seema, of course you can, you are a big kid too!:D

nalakitchen said...

Thank you asha :)

Its lovely dish


-vanamala

FH said...

You are welcome Mala, glad I could send it to you. Enjoy your first event hosting!:)

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Pears with black beans? That sounds intriguing. Thanks for an unusual and fabulous recipe!

FH said...

Hope you try Susan, makes a great lunch too wrapped in lettuce!:))