Shallow Fried Paneer Patties

I don’t much like fried stuff and will avoid it as much as I can. Its not because it is bad for health, but also too much oil in food spoils my appetite. Whenever I go to a restaurant, I normally squeeze out the excess oil from the fried spring rolls that is dripping oil. The fried stuff served in restaurants is not good because it is fried in trans-oil. The scientists are convinced that fried food, especially those fried in oil that is re-used throughout the day (which most restaurants do) is the major contributors to Alzheimer disease. The frying causes tons of free radicals which is directly proportional to number of times the oil is reheated and there is a direct link between free radicals and Cancer.

Let us face the facts:

Fried food clogs the arteries and leads to stroke.

Modified, processed and fried food don’t break down in body properly; remaining in kidney, liver, intestine, prostate, and colon for extended period of time, if not forever.

But that does not mean that we should not eat oil at all. No, if eaten in moderation, it is important.  Yes, we do need oil for free lubrication of the joints in our body. Fat makes up part of our brain and provides reserves when we are sick.

The great news is that we can unclog our arteries by doing periodic detoxification of blood and re-fortify our organs.

Fried food is delicious, if only it was healthy.Sigh!

But then, Not to worry, there are many other ways that we can replace fried stuff with alternate methods, such as by steaming, baking, sautéing, stir frying or roasting.

We just need to be creative to enjoy the meals.

Last week I made Cottage-cheese-stuffed patties and it was equally delicious.

Ingredients:

½ kg potatoes

1tsp sesame seeds

1tbsp ginger, grated

1tbsp garlic, crushed

1 medium size onion

1 cup cottage cheese, grated

1tsp mango powder

1tsp cumin powder

1tsp red chili powder

1tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1 cup bread crumbs

2tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

Method:

Step one

Boil the potatoes, mash it up into a smooth paste, add salt, add sesame seeds and keep it aside

Step two

Stir-fry garlic, ginger, finely chopped onion, add cottage cheese, add dry spices like mango powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, add coriander leaves, add salt. The cottage-cheese-filling is ready

Step three

Make a pair of golf size round balls for each patties

Step four

Flatten one ball, place the cottage-cheese-filling and cover with other ball, Flattened and shape it round and dip into bread crumbs

Step five

Shallow fry in olive oil, slightly brown it and flip to the other side, press lightly for third and fourth flipping till it dark brown and crusty.

Serve it with mint chutney and sliced onions.