Kachrey Ke Kabab (Repurposed vegetable cutlets or patties)
“Kachra” in this case refers to leftovers
that almost made it to the bin, but were brought forward in a new avatar.
P.S
When you have managed to bring your
eyebrows down, let me tell you this is indeed apropos perfectly edible kabab, and
no, I haven’t gone the Bill Gates way -consuming things purified from waste.
That still hasn’t cleared the polemic
around my dish, for a vegetarian kabab is a contradiction in terms.
Aren’t kababs supposed to be these
corpulent, hedonistic parcels of pure indulgence?
The food of the rich and the
royal, young and old… legend even has it that the ageing and toothless foodie Nawab
Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow had instigated the creation of the Galauti Kabab to
pander his passion for meat.
I am not qualified at all to talk about
these meaty matters, nor do I intend or dare to, but am wrong to imagine that a
lot of the epicurean charm of kababs comes from their exotic names?
Tunde ke kabab, chapli kabab, reshmi kabab
– names like these only pique one’s interest.
So why not call this kachrey ke kabab?
Or better and more exotic still, “Galti ke
kabab”, where galti is a testimony to the grand mistake or apology of a kabab!
After all, it’s only ghaas-phoos eating vegetarians
like us who not only dare to think of a vegetarian kabab, but even have the
audacity to think of making one out of left over roast vegetables and give the
dish a fancy name and fancier presentation!
I am just saying…
Kachrey Ke Kabab
Ingredients
2 cups roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes,
beetroot, mushroom, onions, carrots, capsicum, etc. (I used leftovers, but you
can use freshly sautéed vegetables and add some herbs like oregano or rosemary)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger and garlic, grated
¾ tsp Kashmiri chilly powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
½ tsp chaat masala
½ tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 slices day-old bread (I used multi-grain)
2 tbsp roasted chana dal, powdered
Oil for shallow frying
Method
Place all ingredients except the oil and
chana daal powder, into a food processor and blitz it. Check and adjust all the
tastes and flavours and then add the roasted chana daal powder to make the
mixture firm.
Divide the mixture into uniform sized balls
and flatten them. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the kebabs until golden
brown on both sides.
Serve hot with chutney, tomato ketchup and
a salad.
This post was written nearly three and a half years ago - but never made it to the blog - So this makes it a leftover post brought forward!
At the time, my very talented friend
and fellow blogger Suranga
Daté, who often bursts into
poetry at the slightest impetus, be it a photo, a dish or a post one has
written, wrote this in response to the Kachrey ke
Kabaab....
Do read her post on her blog Strewn Ashes!
