Wednesday 11 July 2012

SAGO CRUSTED STUFFED CHILI CROQUETTES

I love sago-wada and I also love stuffed spicy chili.
So I decided to put them together into one preparation for one of my after-dinner parties. These parties are great when you don't feel like cooking an entire meal and yet want to have friends over and this snack just fits the bill. It is spicy just like the spicy conversation that continues through the night into the early hours of the morning. Or is perfect for a ladies-only party or at a tea party.

Sago wada is one of my favourites and is one dish that has to be included in my friend Meenal's menu if she is inviting me. I really don't care if I have eaten it just a few days ago or even on the same day. She makes the most fabulous ones. Like me she loves long beautiful spicy chilies. This dish has been created especially for her by me.

sago crusted stuffed chili croquettes
Sago is prepared from the starch extracted from the center of the tropical palm stems.
It is very high in Carbohydrate but other nutrients are almost negligible. It is used in puddings, papads, khichdi, croquettes and is used as a thickener.
Combining it with peanuts and other nuts and seeds, adds to it some nutritive value. However, when fried, like most starchy foods it tastes great.

Sago is used in the texile industry to size the fibre.

Chili on the other hand is rich in Vitamin C. Red chili which is the ripe fruit contains more Vitamin C and carotene than green and yellow chilies. They contain  most of  the B vitamins especially Vitamin B6 and are very rich sources of potassium, magnesium and iron. Adding chilies to the food not only adds the punch but also helps the digestive system to absorb the non-heme iron from beans and grains in the meal.

SAGO CRUSTED STUFFED CHILI CROQUETTES
Ingredients:
makes 6
.Long green chili...................3 slit and de-seeded
.Long red chili......................3 slit and de-seeded
                                       or
.Jalapeno or Pasilla or Anaheim or Fresno Pepper.........6 slit and de-seeded

For the stuffing in the chili:
.Potato................................100g or 1/2 cup, boiled and mashed
.Cottage cheese(paneer)......90-100g. approximately 1/2 cup, grated and tightly packed
.Peanuts...............................2 Tbsp. roasted and coarsely crushed
.Sesame seeds.....................1 Tbsp. toasted
.Coriander leaves.................2 Tbsp. finely chopped
.Green chili..........................1/2 tsp. finely chopped
.Ginger................................1/2 tsp. grated
.Dry raw mango powder......2 tsp.
.Red chili powder.................1 tsp.
.Garam masala powder.........1/4th tsp.
.Asafoetida powder..............1 smidgen (optional)
.Salt......................................to taste
.Lime juice............................1 tsp.

For the sago crust:
.Sago pearls..........................3 cups, small sized
.Potato..................................200g, boiled and mashed
.Peanuts................................6 Tbsp. roasted and coarsely crushed
.Sesame seeds.......................3Tbsp. toasted
.Coriander leaves..................1/4th cup, finely chopped and tightly packed
.Green chli............................1 tsp.
.Ginger.................................1 tsp. grated
.Red chili powder..................1 1/2 tsp.
.Garam masala powder.........1/2 tsp.
.Dry raw mango powder.......1 1/2 tsp.
.Salt......................................to taste, approximately 1 to 1 1/4th tsp.
.Spicy Coriander Dip............3 Tbsp.
Sago Crusted Stuffed Chili Croquettes

Method:
Getting ready for the recipe:
.Wash and soak sago pearls in luke warm water for atleast 5 to 6 hours to overnight or until double in
 size and crushes easily between fingers.
.Drain well and marinate 1 1/2 cup of the soaked sago pearls in the Spicy Coriander Dip for 15
 minutes.
.Set aside the remaining sago pearls in a plate for crusting the stuffed chili.
.Wash and boil the potatoes with skin in a pressure cooker.
.Mash, but do not mash into a mushy mix.
.Dry roast 1 cup skinless peanuts and coarsely powder them when cooled. Store in an airtight container
 until further use.
.Toast the sesame seeds required for the recipe.
.Prepare the Spicy Coriander Dip and store in the refrigerator until further use.
.If using homemade fresh Cottage cheese(paneer), prepare it ahead or grate the ready store bought
 cottage cheese and set aside.
.Chop the green chili and coriander leaves and grate the ginger and set aside.

 For the stuffing in the chili:
.Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing in a bowl and stuff into the slit chilies and set aside.

 stuffed chili croquettes(without sago crusting)
.For the outer covering:
.Put together in a large bowl, the boiled potato, marinated sago pearls, peanuts, sesame seeds,
 coriander leaves, green chilies, ginger, red chili powder garam masala powder, dry raw mango
 powder and salt to taste.
.Mix well and set aside.

How to proceed:
.Divide the potato mixture evenly and with wet palms spread the potato mixture for the outer covering
 onto the chili to cover it evenly from all sides, leaving the stem visible.
.Repeat with all the stuffed chilies and set aside in a plate for 10 minutes to air-dry.*

.Spread the remaining soaked sago pearls in a plate preferably in a single layer.
.Roll the stuffed and layered chili in the sago pearls to evenly crust them on all sides.
.Press lightly to fix the sago pearls onto the potato.

.Heat oil in a pan.
.Add a small piece of the mixture to check for temperature. The oil is ready when the piece rises to the
 top immediately but does not turn brown right away.
.Add one chili at a time or at the most 2*.
.Do not stir for 2 minutes. When it starts colouring flip* and cook on the other side, flipping often, till
 golden.
.Drain on a kitchen absorbent paper.
.Serve hot with Spicy Coriander Dip or Quick Red Hot Salsa or use my home made sour cream recipe
 that I use in my Burrito With Vegetable Filling.

Note:
*At this point the croquettes can be deep fried without the sago crusting if you like.
 Crusting with sago gives a very crisp crust that stays crisp longer than the uncrusted version.
*While adding the chili to the hot oil, dip the slotted ladle(preferably a flat one) in cold oil(to prevent
 the uncooked croquette from sticking to the ladle).
. Place the stuffed, crusted chili onto it and gently lower it into the oil. This prevents the splattering of
 oil and protects you. One at a time prevents the chilies from coming in each other's way while flipping.
*Flip often to get a crisp evenly coloured coating.
.Lower the heat while adding the chili to the hot oil.
.After adding the chili to the oil increase the heat to bring it back to the required temperature.
.Once the oil has reached the required frying temperature lower the heat to an even medium to hot
 range.
.If the oil is cold, the fried product will absorb a lot of oil.

Caution while using Chilies
Hands:
.When handling chilies try to wear gloves. If like me you too prefer bare hands be careful not to touch
 your face or eyes.
.In case while handling chilies, you do experience the fire in your hands DO NOT WASH them as
 water spreads the fire. Capsaicin, the fiery compound is not soluble in water so the best way to handle
 it is by turning it into a salt. In a bowl add 1 part of bleach to 5 parts of water and dip your hands
 quickly into it. .Do not keep for long as it may irritate the skin.
.Another solution that I often use is soaking my hands in a bowl of luke warm water to which I add 1
 Tbsp. of salt. My hands do burn for about 2 minutes but the burning subsides very quickly after that.

Mouth:
.Fats found in the dairy products are good for dissolving the Capsaicin compound and prevents some of
 the capsaicin molecules from finding the pain receptors on the tongue. It is the fat in the dairy products
 that is the magic ingredient, so do not use low-fat sour cream or low-fat yogurt as it will not help.

No comments:

Post a Comment