Masala Kale Chips is crispy, crunchy, flavorful with a hint of spice; its a healthier snack option. Its a superfood you can’t stop with just one! 

Masala Kale Chips is a great snack option that’s healthier than many alternatives. It provides the perfect crispy crunchy snack loaded with flavors with a hint of spice. Take your regular Kale chips to a whole new level. If you don’t like Kale, try this version. 

While Kale is not a new vegetable, it is just recently gaining popularity as people are becoming aware of its numerous health benefits. Its a superfood loaded with Vitamins A, K, B6 and C, along with Calcium, Potassium, copper, and manganese.  It is known to be a very diabetes friendly option and also for weight control.

Kale can be eaten raw or cooked.  Some people find the taste of raw Kale to be pungent and peppery. When you bake Kale into crispy chips, it reduces the sharpness and more people enjoy the crunchy version.

In this recipe I have come up with a desi version with some added spice and flavor to kick it up a notch! Check it out.

Time: 30 minutes

Level of difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 snack size portions 

Tips:

•  The seasoning is very flexible, keep it simple with just salt and pepper, or add any seasonings you like as Kale does not have much of a taste.
• See more vegetarian and non vegetarian options in the  Appetizer Section.

A simple minced Chicken Kabob recipe, a perfect appetizer or afternoon snack with a hot cup of tea.

Looking for a simple kabob recipe – this is one of them! This simple chicken kabob is perfect for an appetizer or great afternoon snack with a hot cup of Masala Chai.

Simply mix the ingredients together, set aside to marinade, then roll, coat and fry. You have a delicious kabob ready.  You can even marinade it the day before an event so you all thats left is to fry when you want to serve.  You can even shape them and freeze them raw, thaw and fry whenever you need.  

You can serve it hot or room temperature with a sauce or chutney of your choice. Imli, green chutney, coconut chutney or even simply Ketchup or hot sauce will be great.

You can make this recipe with any ground minced meat, however I am using chicken as a healthier option than red meats. Chicken is very bland by itself so it takes extra amount of spices to become more flavorful versus other red meats.

Here is a step by step recipe for beginners, lets give it a try!

Time: 1 hour (includes marination time)

Level of difficulty: Easy

Servings: 15 small kabobs (count varies depending on the size you make)

Tips:

• To test if the oil is ready, use a fork to dip in the egg and let a drop of egg fall into the oil. If it goes to the bottom oil is not ready.  If it is hot enough the egg will start cooking and bubbling right away on the surface.  If the oil is smoking, it is too hot, turn it off and let it cool.  Do not reuse oil that has turned brown or black it is not healthy for you.
• You can marinate the meat and shape them a day ahead and store in a closed container in the fridge overnight.  Then the next day when you are ready, just coat, dip and fry. It will save time to get half of it done ahead of time.
• After shaping, you can also freeze them. Be sure to use an air tight container and lay them in 1 layer so they don’t stick together.  Make a large batch and freeze, then you can pull out a few at a time as needed. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and then they are ready to fry.
• See more vegetarian and non vegetarian options in the  Appetizer Section.

Veggie Tikki is a fritter appetizer, snack or lunchbox recipe loaded with vegetables of your choice. Serve hot with chutney and chai for a perfect filling afternoon snack!

Veggie Tikki is a great way to sneak in many different vegetables into a crispy fritter that everyone will love. Especially for picky kids, this is an excellent lunchbox idea. You can serve it as an appetizer, or side dish, or even as a veggie patty for a burger or wrap.  This is a versatile dish!  

In this recipe I have used Zucchini, Carrots and corn; however you can use many other vegetables like peas, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, or bell peppers. Any colorful combination will work in this loaded vegetable Tikki. Zucchini which is a fairly new vegetable in Indian food, this gives a nice semi crunchy texture inside unlike the typical mashed potato tikkis.

I love to serve this for a weekend snack along with sauces like Imli Chutney or green chutney and with a steaming hot cup of Masala Chai on the side. 

Makes: 10-12 Fritters

Time: 30 mins 

Ingredients

• You can make these a day ahead if you like. Make the mix, shape them and store them overnight in the fridge. Cook them when ready to eat.
• Some people also like to add chopped boiled eggs in the filling. You can boil 2 eggs and dice them up and mix in.
• You can serve it with Herb Raita, or even Sour Cream if you like along with your favorite chutneys or sauce. Ketchup is great too.
• For vegetarians, this can become a great burger patty as well for sandwiches.
• Check out other veg and nonveg appetizer recipes here.

Bateta Chaap is an appetizer made of flavorful minced meat stuffed inside mashed potato exterior and fried for a crispy exterior. Serve it as an appetizer or perfect for a brunch meal.

Bateta Chaap is a classic appetizer served in Bohri cuisine with similar variations in Parsi and Goan Cuisine as well.  It is made with cooked flavorful ground meat which is enveloped with a mashed potato around it then coated in breadcrumbs, egg wash and fried to a golden brown.  This is a hearty and filling appetizer!

I have to admit, this is not a beginner dish and takes some work; however its a classic that most people love and will attempt to learn it at some point. Don’t be scared, here is a step by step recipe you can try out with detailed instructions and measurements. First we make the filling, then make the exterior potato mash, assemble, coat, and fry them.  Although the size can vary and most are large the size of a baseball; I recommend for beginners to make them in smaller sizes like golf balls so that its easier to handle.

The filling is typically made of cooked minced meat. You can use chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, goat whichever you prefer. After the meat is cooked we will drain out the excess liquid and oils so it does not matter how much fat it has when you buy it.  The meat is cooked with ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander as well as fresh greens like green onion, cilantro and mint leaves.

Lets get started:

Makes: 5 chaaps

Time: 20 mins to make filling, 20 mins to assemble, 20 mins to fry 

Step 1: Make the filling:

Ingredients for the Meat Filling:

• 3/4 lbs of ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef or lamb whichever you prefer). Clean and drained.
• 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste (adrak lasen)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp cumin & coriander powder
• Optional: 1 fresh green chili diced small (as much as you can handle)
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala or 1 tsp Seekh kabab powder masala (I like Shan and Laziza brands)
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions (white and green parts) or white regular onion is fine too
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and or mint leaves (fresh dhania & fudina leaves)

 

Method:

1. In a non stick pan, add ground meat, ginger garlic, salt, all the powder spices and cook till fully done. As you stir break up the large pieces to get a nice fine ground. Once cooked in about 15 mins, drain any excess liquid from the meat. 
2. Stir in the green onion, chopped cilantro and mint. Set aside. See picture below of how the filling should look.

 

Step 2: Make the Potato Exterior:

 

 Ingredients for the Potato exterior:

• 4 medium sized Potatoes
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Red Chili powder
• 1/4 tsp chaat masala (I like the MDH brand for this)

 

Method:

1. In a non stick pan, add ground meat, ginger garlic, salt, all the powder spices and cook till fully done. As you stir break up the large pieces to get a nice fine ground. Once cooked about 15 mins, drain any excess liquid from the meat. 
2. Stir in the green onion, chopped cilantro and mint. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, add the potatoes and cover with water. Boil for 20 mins till fully cooked. Poke a knife and it should be soft, its ok if the skins crack open.
4. Let it cool, then peel the potatoes. Add the spices and mash them completely with no lumps.

 

Step 3: Now Assemble & Fry them:

 

Other Ingredients needed:

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• oil for frying

Method:

1. Divide the potato mash into 10 equal sized portions. Using your fingers and palm, flatten the potato portions into a round smooth patties about 1/4 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.
2. Take one patty in your hand and round your hand like a cup. Fill the center with about the meat filling.
3. Take another patty and lay on top. Using your fingers pinch the edges all the way around to join the top and bottom patties. Reshape it into a round ball with no cracks.
4. Roll the ball in breadcrumbs to coat all the way around. See picture below of the chaap just before frying.
5. In a small frying pan fill oil to halfway up the pan and on Medium. 
6. In a bowl, crack and whisk the eggs
7. Roll the ball in the egg wash to coat all the way around and gently put it in the pan to fry. Turn on both sides till a nice golden brown color all around. Because of the egg, there will be foamy bubbles forming on the surface of the oil as they fry, this is perfectly normally.
8. Pull out on paper towel.
9. Serve with your favorite chutney or sauce.  Green chutney and Imli goes really well with this.

 

 

Tips:

• You can make these a day ahead if you like. Once you coat them in breadcrumbs you can cover and store in fridge overnight. Egg wash and fry when ready to eat.
• I am not a fan of frozen potatoes as the texture becomes crystalized so I do not recommend you freeze these.  Although, they are so delicious, I rarely have leftovers.  
• Because potatoes come in different sizes, it can be tricky to get the right ratio of meat to potato evenly. You may have one or the other left over. Do not worry, either is a great grilled sandwich filling.
• Another way to fold the chaap is like aloo paratha. You can make one large potato patty and then fill it. Bring up all the edges of the potato and pinch at the top to seal.  If 1 patty is easier for you versus 2, go for it.
• Some people also like to add chopped boiled eggs in the filling. You can boil 2 eggs and dice them up and mix in with the meat filling.
• Check out other veg and nonveg appetizer recipes here.

Tostones is a popular fried plantain snack dish in Central and South America. Here we have added a desi twist which makes it perfect with your afternoon chai.

Tostones is a Latin American dish made with double fried plantains slices. It is found in many Caribbean countries named differently but all served with different sauce dips on the side.  Herb Crema, salsa, Guacamole, or Chimichurri are popular dips served with this dish.  This dish is very similar to how afternoon fried snacks are served in the Indian subcontinent. With a few twists, this becomes a great Desi Tostones recipe.

You can serve these as per the recipe below with the dips on the side as an appetizer or snack.  However many take use it as a base and add toppings to it like pizza.  Beans, cheese, tomato, onion, olives, salsa can all be used as per your liking and gives it a colorful look and also makes it a heavier more filling side dish.

While Plantains and bananas look similar, they are not the same thing.  They differ in taste and how it is used. Ripe bananas are sweet and can be eaten as is, sometimes used in baked desserts.  Plantains however cannot be eaten raw, they have to be cooked and have a very bland taste. That’s why it needs a sauce.

This is a great beginners recipe, check it out.

Makes: 4 appetizer servings

Time: 20 mins to cook

Ingredients:

• For other simple ideas, check out more recipes in the Appetizer Section. 

Tandoori flavored fish broiled in the oven. Lightly charred on the outside, flavored with tandoori spices on soft flaky white fish, this is a great appetizer.

Broiled Tandoori Fish is a recipe that gives you grilled tandoori flavor without the need of any special Tandoor Oven. Easy to make at home, this recipe is perfect for beginners. It incorporates the traditional tandoori flavors that we are used to eating on chicken, only this time on fish. Using any white flaky and tender fish like Tilapia works best.  You get the char marks on the outside, with tender flaky fish on the outside all covered in flavorful tandoori spices.

Although this has spices and has the traditional red color, it does not have to be spicy chili hot. It will be flavorful but yet delicious for even those that cannot handle the heat. Don’t let the color fool you to thinking this is a very spicy dish.

Baking fish is a common way to cook using the oven, however most people do not use the broil function in their ovens.  The broil function works great in this case to give the fish lovely char marks like you would get with BBQ. The broil function heats the oven to the highest temperature around 500 degrees Fahrenheit.  Using the highest level shelf to have the food closest to the top allows it to cook and char at the same time.  This recipe is perfect for the broil function.

This is a great beginners recipe, check it out.

Makes: 4 appetizer servings

Time: 30 mins to overnight to marinate, 20 mins to cook

Ingredients:

• Depending on the thickness of the fish it may take a few mins more or less. Check it to be sure it is cooked through.
• You can also adjust the cooking time if you want more char marks, be careful not to overcook and dry out the fish. 
• If you want to use whole fish you can, remove scales, make slits on both sides and follow the same recipe.
• In my experience Tilapia works best, but other white flaky fish like cod and whiting can be used.
• For other simple ideas, check out more recipes in the Appetizer Section.

Yucca Wedges are a great appetizer or an afternoon snack, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. Try it today.

Yucca also known as Cassava or Mogo is a root vegetable that has a tough brown skin on the outside and a hard starchy white flesh inside like a potato, however its shaped like a long thin radish.  It is popular in South and Central America as well as Africa.  It can be cooked in many ways but most common is made like a potato wedge or thick cut fries. sprinkled with some spices and dipped in your favorite sauce, I grew up eating this as an afternoon snack with a hot cup of Masala Chai.

You can buy these at Latin, Indian, or Asian supermarkets.  The skin is very tough, be careful pealing them.  You can also find them in the frozen section already pealed and cut into large chunks.  This is a great time savings and ready to use when you want.  

The perfect texture is supposed to be soft inside and crunchy outside which you can get by cooking it twice. First boil it to get them cooked all the way through, then fry (or Airfry) it to get them crunchy on the outside.  Then sprinkle some salt, red pepper, or chaat masala and you can even squeeze a bit of lemon juice.  Dip it in Imli chutney, green chutney or simply ketchup and enjoy them hot!

I miss the days growing up vacationing in Mombasa, going to the lighthouse in the evenings and buying these from street vendors who cook them right there at the beach. 

Well if you like Yucca, try out this recipe.

Makes: 4-5 servings

Time: 40 mins 

Ingredients:

• Instead of frying, you can spray them with oil and put in Air fryer for 10 mins till crispy on the outside.
• It takes great dipped in raita as well, try this variation as a sauce – Herb Raita.
• For other simple ideas, check out more recipes in the Appetizer Section.

Traditional Gujarati Handvo is a savory cake which is served as an appetizer or afternoon snack; made with rice, lentils and loaded with vegetables. Cook on stovetop, bake, or steam it, either way it is a filling snack.

Gujarati cuisine from India is a world famous for its afternoon tea snacks like gathia, fafra, handvo, dhokla, etc.  These are heavy afternoon snacks served with green chutney and other sauces along with a hot cup of Masala Chai.  Handvo is one of those quintessential vegetarian gujarati snack foods which is like a savory cake. Made from rice, lentils and loaded with vegetables, it can be a fairly healthy snack.

Some soak the lentils for hours, then add yogurt and ferment again for hours before cooking. Takes time and planning ahead.  I have found a few shortcuts to save time, you can grind the lentils and rice into a flour and  let it soak to ferment.  You can cook it on the stove in a small frying pan, or you can bake it in the oven or you can even steam it for a healthier option.

What I love about handvo is that the recipe is very flexible and forgiving. There are so many vegetable options you can use depending on what you have on hand, from corn, peas and carrots to zucchini, cabbage, bell pepper, or lauki.  Use whatever you have on hand.

Here is a simple step by step recipe and instructions for a perfectly soft and spongy handvo with various options to cook it.  Try it out and see which you prefer.

Makes: 8″ X 8″ dish, or 9 in muffin tray or steamer dish

Time: 6 hours to soak and ferment, 10 mins to cook on stove, or bake for 45 mins, or steam for 15 mins.

Ingredients:

• If you are going to make this often, go ahead and grind the lentils and rice and store a larger batch. When you want to make it, just use the already made flour and move to the fermentation step.
• Ideally do the prep the night before and make it the next day, or in the morning for the the evening. Plan backwards from when you want to serve it.
• Once you add the Eno cook immediately to let the activation make it rise while cooking.
• You can easily reheat it in the microwave for 30 secs, but be careful not to heat too much as it will get hard. If it feels dry and crumble, sprinkle some water on it before reheating to soften it up.

Crispy Masala Bhindi, flavorful fried Okra strips is a perfect appetizer or afternoon snack. Once you try it, you cannot stop at just one!

Kurkuri or Crispy Masala Bhindi is a newer innovation that’s flavorful and perfectly crispy. If you like southern fried okra, this is very similar but with flavorful spices.  Spices are added to a dry flour coating on the outside of the okra, then deep fried to a crispy crunchy okra strips.  Its a great appetizer or a snack with your afternoon tea. Like French fries or popcorn, its irresistible and hard just to have one!

The okra is cut into strips, the seeds which make them sticky are removed.  The strips are coated in rice and chick pea flour (besan) along with dry spices.  Once coated in the dry flour mixture it is deep fried to a perfectly golden crispy crunchy strips.  Once fried sprinkle with Chaat Masala on top.  It has masala flavors in it already, however you can certainly dip them in your favorite chutney or sauce.

For this recipe, you need whole fresh bhindi.  Frozen bhindi does not work well for this dish. Fry them and enjoy them while they are hot and crunchy.

Makes: 4 servings as appetizer

Time: 30 mins 

Ingredients:

4.  Heat oil in frying pan on medium high. Once hot add the okra few at a time to the oil. Fry turn on both sides till golden brown about 4 mins. If you add to many at once they will stick to each other and become a lump.  Be sure there is enough room for each piece to fry separately.

5.  Pull out on paper towel and immediately sprinkle Chaat Masala on top and serve.

• If while cutting the okra the knife is getting sticky, rub a lemon or lime wedge on both sides of the knife to avoid sticking.
• Use very little oil, just enough to cover the Okra. Some of the dry masala will fall off into the oil, and may be usable again.
• If you have an Air fryer, this is a great option. Lay them in a single layer in the basket and air fry them till crispy golden to avoid deep frying.

Try this herby delicious chicken in a creamy green gravy with sweet corn, enjoy as an appetizer or with naan!

There are endless chicken curry variations! With onion, tomato, nuts, creams, yogurt and various spices which are all so delicious. Green Chicken is a unique variation that has minimal spices to let the green herby flavor be prominent.  Spinach, green bell pepper, cilantro (coriander) leaves, mint leaves give it the bright green color. Coconut milk and cream which are optional give it a nice creamy finish. Try this delicious, Green Chicken with sweet corn variation.  

You can serve this as an appetizer with a thicker gravy or with naan as a curry!  Either way it will be a nice change for your next dinner party.  Check out the tips section for easy time saving tricks to make this in a hurry with premade store bought ingredients, a perfectly fine cheat for beginners and when you are in a hurry!

I like to add corn just to give it another color dimension, buts that’s completely optional. Either way, try it today, your family will love the change and the kids will never know there was spinach in there….shhhh!

Makes: 5-6 servings

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients for the chicken:

• Be sure not to boil the green gravy too long, as it will lose its bright green color the longer it cooks and become more brown. Remember, everything in the green mixture can be eaten raw, so cook just enough to bring it all together, do not boil more than 15 mins.
• If you are short of time, here are some substitutions of premade store bought ingredients that will speed things up:

1. Use fully cooked store bought rotisserie chicken, take skin off and cut up to smaller pieces. Then follow the recipe with the green gravy portion.
2. Use store bought jar of alfredo sauce if you don’t have coconut milk, this will give it a great creaminess
3. If you gravy is too thin, you can thicken it up by adding potato flakes – yes the ones you use for instant mashed potatoes!

• If you have leftovers and need to repurpose it, add in some boiled pasta and you have a yummy new dish!
• Or you can easily freeze the leftovers for next time, will stay good for 3 months in the freezer.
• For other simple dessert ideas, check out more recipes in the Sweets Section.