Delicious 7 Easy Appetizers- Indian Party Appetizers ( Non- Vegetarain)

 

 Delicious 7 Easy Appetizers- Indian Party Appetizers

 Are you looking for appetizer ideas for entertaining? Appetizers never fail to impress, and everyone loves to get around the table, chat and nibble tasty appetizers. Kids will also love these delicious finger foods. So it is always a good idea to have a variety of options. Why not try some Indian inspired appetizers for your next gathering. Some of the most popular Indian party favorites are samosas, pakoras, spring rolls, vadas, panipuri, chaats, etc. The recipes I am sharing today are some that I made during the holidays. They are some re-imagined classics with an interesting twist. Here is a list of some of my go-to appetizers that have become a hit among family and friends, and I hope you will find them interesting.

Persian Kotlet

Persian kotlets is meat patties made with minced beef/chicken and grated potatoes.

Ingredients
Minced beef or chicken- 1 lb
Potatoes- 2 medium
Onion- 1 medium
Egg-2
Turmeric- 1/3 tsp
Pepper --1/2 tsp
Cinnamon- 1/8 tsp
Nutmeg and cardamon - a pinch
Cumin- 1/3 tsp
Rose water- a few drops (optional)
(or ground dry rose petals)
Saffron- a pinch (optional)
Bread crumbs- 3 tbs
Salt to taste
Oil for frying- 1 cup

In a large mixing bowl, add the minced meat. Wash two medium sized potatoes and peel. Grate the potatoes finely and add them to the minced meat. In the same way, grate the onion. Mix all the spices, bread crumbs, salt, and eggs and mix well with the minced meat and potatoes. Portion the mixture into small equal-sized balls. Place one ball into your palm and flatten it into a thin oval or round patties.
 Heat oil in a frying pan and gently place the patties. You can fry around three patties at a time. Fry in medium heat for 4-5 minutes on one side. With a spatula gently flip over and fry the other side till it is golden brown. Drain into paper towels.

Egg Masala Puffs

An Indian party favorite, puffs is easy to make with store brought puff pastry sheet and egg vegetable masala. You can also try chicken or meat puffs.

Ingredients
Puff pastry sheet- 1 pack

For the filling
Hard boiled eggs - 4
( I cut pastry sheet into 8 pieces)
Onion - finely chopped- 2 medium
Ginger garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp
Grated beetroot- 1/3 cup
Grated Carrot- 1/3 cup
Finely chopped cauliflower- 1/3 cup
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Meat masala- 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup- 1 tsp
Lemon juice-  a few drops(optional)
Chopped coriander leaves- a little

Heat oil in a pan, and saute onion till it is golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste, and fry till the raw flavor disappears. Add the grated vegetables and saute for two minutes. Cover and cook till vegetables are soft. Make a paste of all the masala powders with 2-3 tbs of water and mix well. Saute till the masala is soft and comes together. Finally, add ketchup, lemon juice, and coriander leaves. Allow this to cool completely.

Thaw puff pastry as per package instruction. Roll out and cut into squares. Beat one egg to use as egg wash and keep aside.

Place spoonful of masala and boiled egg cut into half. Brush the four sides of the pastry sheet with egg wash. Pull the corner towards the center and seal. Brush the outside with the egg wash and bake at 325 degrees F and bake till the outside becomes crispy and golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, and it cools down completely before serving.

 Butter Garlic Prawns/ Konju Fry/ Big Head Prawns  Fry

 

Prawns fry is a favorite among sea food lovers. Konju fry/ Big head prawns with the flavor of butter, garlic and pepper is an irresistible delicacy.

Ingredients
Prawns large- 8-10 large
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Minced garlic- 1 tbs
Tomato paste- 1 tsp (optional)
Pepper powder- 3/4 tsp
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Yogurt- 1/3 cup
Egg white- 1
Corn starch- 1 tsp
Garlic powder- 1/2 tsp
Butter- 3 tsp
Oil- 1/3 cup
Garlic pods- 4-5
Curry leaves- a few(optional)
Salt to taste

Rinse and wash the konju/ big head prawns with its head-on. Trim the long whiskers and the pointy part of the head. If you like, you can remove the shell and keep the head and tail intact. Using a sharp knife, make a slit, and remove the vein. Wash thoroughly under running water and set aside.
In a bowl, add turmeric powder, tomato paste, garlic, pepper powder, salt, chilly powder, and yogurt. Beat in an egg white and add 1/3 cup of water. Add the prawns into this marinade, cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours. When it is time to fry, drain off the excess marinade. Add corn starch, garlic powder, a pinch of salt and pepper if needed. Coat well and set aside.
Heat butter oil in a pan. Add curry leaves and chopped garlic and fry the prawns till it is crispy and golden. Drain on paper towels. Drizzle lemon juice before serving.

 Shami Kebab

Shami kebab is a classic Mughalai dish made with lentils and minced meat. It has a delightful soft melt in mouth texture and is a perfect finger food.

Ingredients
Mutton- 1 lb
Chana dal- 1/2 cup
Ginger garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp
Green chilly paste- 1 1/2 tsp
Onion- 1 small
Mint leaves chopped- 2 tbs
Coriander leaves - 1 hand full
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tbs
Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Meat masala- 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice- 1/2

Whole spices- Black cardomom-2,green cardamom- 4,Clove- 3
Cinnamon stick- 2 pieces, Bay leaves- 2 ( Make a potli /pouch using a muslin cloth)
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Cook chana dal till soft and drain off the excess water.
Pressure cook the meat with the ginger garlic paste, green chilly paste, salt, and 1/2 cup water. In a cheesecloth add all the whole spices and tie it into a small pouch. Add this along with the meat and cook. Make sure the meat is cooked and fork-tender. If there is any excess liquid simmer, till and all the water evaporates. When it cools down, remove the spice pouch.  Into a blender or a food processor, add the cooked meat, cooked chana dal, chopped onions, mint leaves, coriander leaves, spice powders, and the juice of a half lemon. Grind the meat till it is smooth with no visible meat chunks. Divide the mixture into a small lemon sized ball and flatten into patties. Let it chill in the refrigerator for two hours. Heat three to four tsp oil in a frying pan. Shallow fry till both sides are golden brown.
 Serve warm with mint coriander chutney.
 

Undaputtu- Rice Dumpling with Prawns

Undaputtu is a steamed rice dumpling with spicy prawns filling. You can also try chicken or meat filling. 

Ingredients

Rice flour- 2 cup
Salt -to taste
Sugar-  1 tsp
Coconut oil- 2 tbs
Crushed fennel seeds- a pinch
Coconut for garnish- 1/4 cup

For the filling
Prawns- small size-100 grams
Onion- 1 medium finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/4 tsp
Garam masala- 1/4 tsp
Fennel powder- 1/4 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves- 2 tsp
salt to taste and coconut oil

To make the filling 

Heat oil in a pan and saute onion till translucent. Next, add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw flavors disappear. Add spice powders and fry for a minute. Add the cleaned prawns, mix, and then cover cook for three minutes. Stir fry till the masala gets completely dried up. Sprinkle coriander leaves and allow this mixture to cool down completely.

To make the dough 

Boil two cups of water along with salt and sugar. In a bowl add rice flour and make a well in the center. When the water comes to a rolling boil, carefully add the water little by little into the flour and mix with a wooden spatula till all the dough comes together. Add fennel seeds and coconut oil, cover, and let it rest for a few minutes. When it cools down a bit knead the dough. You need a smooth soft dough. It feels stiff to add a little more water and knead. If sticky add more flour. The coconut oil enhances the flavor and reduces the stickiness of the dough and make it easy to handle. Make into a large lemon sized ball. Cover and set aside. 

To make undaputtu

Take one ball each and flatten it into a circle on your palm. Form it into a cup shape. Place spoonfuls of prawn filling in the center. Carefully bring the edges together and seal. Smooth it into a ball. Roll this on grated coconut and gently press so that the coconut sticks on top of each ball. Steam this in a steamer for 10 to 15 minutes. Allow it to cool and serve with tea.

 Zucchini Wrapped Meatballs

Delicious and tempting Indian style meat balls that can be served as a appetizer. Zucchini adds flavor and also keeps it moist. You can use eggplant instead of zucchini for a different taste.

Ingredients
To make the meatballs
Minced meat- 1 1/2
Onion- 1 medium
Grated zucchini- 1/2 cup
Egg-1
Bread crumbs- 1/2 cup
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbs
Minced green chili-  1 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp
Butter melted- 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves- 3 tbs

Zucchini- 1 thinly sliced lengthwise
Oil for frying

Heat one tsp of oil in a pan. Take one zucchini and slice it thinly lengthwise. Pan-fry the zucchini for two minutes on either side. Drain and set aside.

In a bowl add minced meat, onion, ginger garlic paste, grated zucchini, minced chili, pepper powder,garam masala, salt, and turmeric powder and mix well. Add one egg, bread crumbs, one tsp of melted butter, and chopped coriander. Mix to form a uniform mixture and make a small ball. Take each ball and wrap it with the fried zucchini slices. Use skewers to secure the meatball with the wrap. You can either bake it or pan fry the meatballs. Heat oil in a pan and fry the meatballs. When one side is brown, flip to the other side and fry. Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Crab Croquettes

 Crab croquettes is delicious appetizer. It has a creamy and tasty crab meat filling and is crispy in the outside

 Ingredients

Crab meat- 8 oz.

Onion- 1 small

Garlic 2 cloves

Pepper powder-to taste

salt to taste

Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp

Chopped parsley- 2 tsp

Lemon juice-a few drops

For the white sauce

Milk- 1/2 cup

Cream-1/4 cup
Butter-  3 tbs
All purpose flour- 2 tsp

Panko bread crumbs- 1 cup

Egg -1

Oil for frying- 2 cup

 

The first step is to make the sauce. Heat a pan and add butter, when it melts add the flour. Cook the butter and flour on low heat till the raw flavor disappears and the flour changes color. Do not allow it to brown up. Add milk and cream and whisk till it thickens to sauce consistency. Switch off the flame and let it cool down.
 If you are using regular crab cook and break the shell. Scoop out the meat and set it aside. You can also use cooked crab meat available in supermarkets.
Heat one tbsp of oil in a pan and saute onions and garlic till golden brown. When it cools down, make it into a paste and add to the crab meat along with the white sauce, salt and pepper, garam masala,lemon juice, and chopped parsley. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for one hour or till chilled and firm. Once chilled divide into equal portions. Take each portion, and make it into small balls and flatten into patties. Dip in egg whites and then roll on bread crumbs and set aside for another ten minutes. You can put it back in the fridge till you are ready to fry.
 Heat two cups of oil in a pan. Fry croquettes in batches. Fry till both sides are crispy and evenly brown. Serve warm. 

Try it,

Hope you will all enjoy!