Crispy Zucchini Fritters

August 7, 2021 No Comments

These crispy Zucchini Fritters are so crispy and delicious, you cannot stop at just one! Believe me, I tried, but I couldn’t help myself to another! 😁

They make a great appetizer or snack. Chickpea flour(besan) and rice flour make it crispy. So, this is gluten-free and vegan! You can add more green chilies to make it spicier. This is such a great way to use up zucchini.

Let’s get straight to the ingredients for these Crispy Zucchini Fritters:

Zucchini – grated, sprinkle salt and keep it aside for 15 minutes

Onion – red onion chopped

Green chili (use more for more spice)

Cilantro

For the batter:

Besan ( chickpea flour)

Rice flour

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder

Kashmiri chili powder

Cumin powder

Chaat masala powder

Oil to pan-fry them

Here are some of my Amazon Kitchen Favorites:

(Disclaimer: These are affiliate links, which means if you buy any of these recommended products, I will receive a small commission from Amazon at no extra cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products that I love and know to be of great quality. Thank you for your support!)

How do you make these Crispy Zucchini Fritters?

Grate zucchini, sprinkle salt over it and let it sit for about 20 minutes. This is to draw out the moisture from the zucchini.

Chop your onion, green chilies, and cilantro.

In a big bowl, add the besan, rice flour, and spice powders, mix them up.

Squeeze out all the water from the zucchini and put it into the bowl with the dry mixture.

Add the onions, chilies, and cilantro.

Add about 1/3 rd cup of water and mix gently using a wooden spoon or a spatula.

Your mixture should be neither too thick nor too thin, it should be a little thicker than pancake batter.

Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot, add your batter with a spoon. Flatten it a bit making fritters. I made 4 at a time. I kept the flame on medium. Fry till golden brown on both sides.

Drain on a paper towel. Fry them immediately before serving them, because they will not remain crispy. However, they can be warmed up in a toaster oven or an air fryer.

Serve hot with ketchup, Sriracha sauce, or even a nice yogurt dip!

Enjoy these crispy tasty fritters!

Crispy Zucchini Fritters

Shredded zucchini mixed with chickpea flour, rice flour, and a few spices, pan-fried till crispy!

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Author Nandini

Ingredients

1 Zucchini (shredded)
⅓ cup Chickpea flour(besan)
2 tbsps Rice flour
¼ Onion (chopped)
1 green chili (chopped)

Spice powders

¾ tsp Kashmiri Chili powder
Salt to taste
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp chaat masala powder

Instructions

Grate zucchini, sprinkle salt over it, and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
Chop up the onion, green chili, and cilantro.
In a bowl, add the chickpea flour, rice flour, and spice powders. Mix with a whisk.
Squeeze out all the water from the zucchini and put it into the bowl with the dry mixture.
Add onions, chili, and cilantro.
Now pour around ⅓ cup of water and mix gently with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Your mixture should not be too thin nor too thick. The consistency should be a little thicker than pancake batter. Add a little more water if required.
Heat oil in a pan, when hot, add a spoonful of the mixture. Flatten it to make fritters. I made four at a time keeping the flame on medium heat.
Fry till golden brown on both sides. Drain them on a paper towel.
Serve these fritters hot with ketchup, Sriracha, or a yogurt dip.

Notes:

You can add more green chilies or chili powder to make it spicier.
Fry the fritters just before serving as they do not remain crispy. However, you can heat them up in a toaster oven or an Air Fryer.
The consistency of the mixture is important, add water a little at a time.
You can add chopped garlic too if you like the flavor.
I added chopped red onion, but any onion is fine. You can even add scallions instead of onion.

Let me know if you try it out by leaving me a comment below, also don’t forget to rate this recipe.

You might also like to try my other snack/ appetizer recipes:

Fried Masala Mushrooms – Deep-fried Vs Air-Fried!

Broccoli and Quinoa Patties

Jalapeno Poppers

Pan-Fried Crispy Shrimp

Air Fryer Tortilla Samosas

Thank you as always for being here!

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest @lovetostayhomeblog to know when I post new content.

You can also subscribe to my newsletter to get the latest.

Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash

Recipes

Fried Masala Mushrooms – Deep-fried Vs Air-Fried!

July 28, 2021 No Comments

These Fried Masala Mushrooms – Deep-fried Vs Air-fried are such a treat! You can serve these as an appetizer or snack. They can also be an accompaniment to any meal.

I like mushrooms but struggle to find different ways of cooking them. So I decided to cook them this way as let’s face it, who does not like fried food?! As I am a big fan of the Air Fryer, I decided to try them in an Air Fryer as well. So read on to find out how it is done, and how it turned out!

If you have any leftovers(if there are any!😁), give them a makeover and make Mushroom Manchurian(bonus recipe included)!

Whichever way you eat it, these mushrooms will be your new favorite!

What are the ingredients required for Fried Masala Mushrooms – Deep-fried Vs Air-fried?

Mushrooms- Button mushrooms, I’m sure you could make these with baby Bella mushrooms as well. If you do try them out let me know if it works.

I wash the mushrooms and dry them thoroughly. I know most people say don’t wash mushrooms but I do as that’s the only way to get rid of stuck-on dirt. Moreover, I have never had a problem with washing and then cooking them.

Oil – For deep frying use a high heat oil like Vegetable Oil, Canola Oil, Peanut Oil, or Sunflower Oil.

For the masala coating:

Chickpea flour or Besan – you can find this flour in any Indian store. Bonus it is gluten-free!

Rice flour – This flour can be found in an Indian store as well.

Ginger garlic paste (optional)

Kashmiri Chili Powder

Turmeric powder

Cumin powder

Pepper powder

Chaat masala powder

Salt to taste

Water to mix

Here are some of my Amazon Kitchen Favorites!

(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you buy any of these recommended products, I will receive a small commission from Amazon at no extra cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products that I love and know to be of great quality. Thank you for your support!)

How do you make these Fried Masala Mushrooms – Deep-fried Vs Air-Fried?

Add all the dry ingredients for the batter together in a mixing bowl, and use a whisk to mix them.

Add water a little at a time to get a smooth batter. I used about 1/2 to 3/4th cup. The batter should not be thin, it should be on the thicker side.

Add the mushrooms into this mixture and coat them well.

How do you fry these mushrooms? I tried 2 ways. DEEP FRIED Vs AIR FRIED

DEEP-FRIED

In a cast-iron pot, heat oil, I used canola oil.

When the oil is hot, add mushrooms one by one, they should start sizzling as soon as you put them in. That’s a good indication that the oil is at the right temperature. Let the flame be on medium.

Turn them after a few minutes. Fry them till they are crispy about 8 to 10 minutes.

Take them out and put them on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

Serve them hot! They will become soft as they sit. But you can always warm them up in a toaster oven or air fryer.

AIR-FRIED

If you have seen some of my previous recipes, you probably know that I love the Air Fryer! So I had to test this out in the Air Fryer to see for myself how they compared to the deep-fried Mushrooms.

First, line the air fryer basket with foil. Then brush a little bit of oil on the foil.

Drizzle some oil (1 tablespoon) on the coated mushrooms and mix.

Using tongs, place battered mushrooms on the foil in the Air Fryer.

Close the Air Fryer basket and switch it on to 400degrees for 10 minutes.

Turn the mushrooms once in between.

After 10 minutes your crispy air-fried mushrooms are ready!

Taste-wise I would say surprisingly both tasted equally good!

The only thing with using the Air Fryer was that you can only put it a little at a time. So it might take longer depending on the quantity you are making. And it does tend to stick to the foil a bit. Next time I would try parchment paper.

Enjoy your fried masala mushrooms with some tomato ketchup or Sriracha sauce!

Here are some of my Favorite Amazon Dining Picks!

Fried Masala Mushrooms

Mushrooms in a spicy chickpea and rice flour batter, deep-fried or Air-fried to crispy deliciousness!

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Author Nandini

Ingredients

15-20 Button Mushrooms
2 cups Canola Oil (for deep frying)

For the batter

½ cup Chickpea flour (Besan)
¼ cup Rice flour
1 tsp Kashmiri Chili powder
¼ tsp Turmeric powder
¼ tsp Cumin powder
¼ tsp Pepper powder
½ tsp Chaat masala powder
1 tsp Ginger garlic paste (optional)
1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
½ to ¾ cup Water

Instructions

Wash and dry the mushrooms. Cut them into 4 depending on the size of them If they are small you can cut them in half. Keep them aside.

To make the batter

Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl using a whisk or a fork.
Add water a little at a time, using a whisk, mix until you get a nice batter consistency. It should not be too thick nor too thin. The batter should be able to coat the mushrooms.
Add mushrooms to the batter and mix until all the mushrooms are coated evenly with the batter.

To deep-fry:

Heat oil in a cast-iron pan. When the oil is hot, drop the mushrooms into the hot oil. It should sizzle as soon as it goes in. Fry the mushrooms on both sides till crispy. This should take about 6 minutes or so.
Take them out and drain them on a paper towel. Fry them in batches without overcrowding the pan.
Serve hot with Sriracha or Tomato Ketchup.

To Air-Fry

Line air-fryer basket with foil or parchment paper.
Brush the foil or paper with oil. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil on the battered mushrooms. Mix well.
Using tongs, put the mushrooms into the Air-Fryer basket leaving space in between each one.
Close the basket and switch on your Air Fryer to 400° for 10 minutes.
Turn the mushrooms once in between.
After 10 minutes, take them out of the Air-Fryer and enjoy!

Notes:

To make it spicier, use more Chili powder or add chopped green chilies or jalapenos.
You can use the same batter for other vegetables as well. Good options are onions, cauliflower, bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, etc
If you do not have an Air fryer and want to make this without deep frying it, I am sure you can use your oven at 400F, and bake the mushrooms for maybe 15 minutes. Let me know if you do try it out in your oven.
To re-heat these mushrooms, you can use a toaster oven or the Air-fryer. They do become soft after a while.

If you happen to have leftovers, I did because I made so much! I decided to experiment with making Mushroom Manchurian.

Bonus recipe using Fried Masala Mushrooms!

Mushroom Manchurian

Chop up a quarter of an onion (or use scallions), 5 cloves garlic, 1-inch ginger, and 2 green chilies.

Sauce – To make this easy sauce, add 1/4 cup soya sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 1 tablespoon chili sauce(I used Sriracha) to a bowl. Mix it up.

In a pan, heat some oil. When the oil is hot, add all the chopped ingredients. Fry well till slightly brown. Add your sauce and mix well.

Put in your fried mushrooms and mix well to coat them with the sauce. I did not add any salt and didn’t need to. But you can taste it and add if required.

I also added a squirt of tomato ketchup as I felt it was too spicy.

So you can adjust the spice accordingly. Garnish with lots of chopped cilantro or scallion greens. Enjoy your easy and tasty Mushroom Manchurian

It turned out really delicious in the end!

If you like easy recipes like this, you might also be interested in:

Broccoli and Quinoa Patties

Easy Egg Masala

Potatoes and Dill Indian Style

Jalapeno Poppers

Easy and Tasty Chickpea Burgers

Homemade Pizza

Air-Fryer Potato Wedges

Pan-Fried Crispy Shrimp

Air Fryer Okra Fries

Air Fryer Tortilla Samosas

Thank you for visiting! Hope you will try out this easy recipe, let me know if you do, by leaving a comment and rating the recipe. I would love to hear from you!

Take care and Happy Cooking!

Photo by Anthony Garand on Unsplash

Recipes

Jalapeno Poppers

June 14, 2021 No Comments

Jalapeno Poppers are a delicious appetizer that you can make to impress your family and friends!

They are so easy to make and taste amazing!

You can make them in a big batch and bake them in your oven. If you are making them just for your family you can bake them super quick in a toaster oven or Air Fryer!

So without further ado let’s see what ingredients you need to make this deliciousness!!

( The above links are affiliate links, if you choose to buy these products, I will receive a small commission from Amazon at no extra cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products that I love and are of the best quality. Thank you for your support.)

Ingredients for Jalapeno Poppers:

Jalapeños of course! I like buying the bigger ones as you can stuff more of the filling in there, but you can buy any size you get by all means.

Try to keep them all more or less the same size so they cook evenly. Also, Please wear gloves while handling the Jalapenos. Or be sure to wash your hands really well after you cut and de-seed them. It can really sting if you happen to touch your face or eyes. Yes! It happened to me! True story! Definitely not going to happen again! LOL

For the filling:

Cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Scallions or Spring onions chopped

Bacon/ ham chopped into bits

(If you are vegetarian you can try grilled mushrooms chopped up)

Mexican blend cheese – that’s what I had. You can certainly go for any cheese that you have on hand. Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella are all good options.

How do you make these Jalapeno Poppers?

Wash and dry your Jalapenos. Cut off the top stalk, then cut them in half lengthwise, scoop out all the seeds. If you like it spicy you could leave a few seeds in there.

We basically want a hollow space where we can stuff the filling into.

I used a spoon to scoop out the seeds or just use a knife to get everything out.

Make the filling by combining all the filling ingredients.

Use softened cream cheese so it’s easier to mix.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add scallions chopped both white and green parts. Last, add the bacon bits or mushrooms chopped. Add some cheese and mix it all up.

You can taste and add more seasoning if required.

Stuff the jalapeños with the filling. Do not overfill, just make it full and flatten it out.

Add some cheese on top of each Jalapeño, drizzle with olive oil.

Put the jalapeños on a baking tray and bake in a toaster oven at 400F for about 10 minutes till the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

If using a regular oven follow the same directions, and broil for a few minutes to brown the tops a little.

For the Air Fryer, I recommend adding some foil to the bottom, so that the cheese does not melt all over the air fryer

Remove from the oven and serve your appetizers. They taste so good, the baked Jalapeno pepper along with the creamy filling and melted cheese make for a really yummy appetizer that anyone would love.

Jalapeno Poppers

Jalapeno Peppers stuffed with a creamy filling, topped with cheese, and baked to melted perfection!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Author Nandini

Ingredients

4 Jalapeno peppers
2 tbsps Shredded Cheese (Mexican blend/Cheddar/Monterey jack or Mozzarella)for the topping

Ingredients for the filling

2 oz Cream cheese (approx 4 tablespoons)
2 Scallions or Spring Onions
Salt and Pepper to taste
Bacon bits or ham
Grilled mushrooms chopped up (Vegetarian option)
¼ cup Shredded Cheese (Mexican blend/Cheddar/Monterey jack or mozzarella)

Instructions

Wash and dry your Jalapeno Peppers. Cut off the stem, then cut the Jalapeno in half lengthwise.
Remove the seeds and scoop out the insides.

To make the filling:

First chop up the scallions, both white and green parts.
Chop up the bacon, ham, or mushrooms into little pieces.
Put the cream cheese into a bowl, add the chopped scallions and bacon or ham or mushrooms. Add the cheese, salt, and pepper to taste.
Mix everything well and your filling is ready.

To stuff and bake the Jalapeno Peppers:

Stuff the filling into the Jalapeno halves.
Sprinkle with grated cheese and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake in a toaster oven at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
Once the cheese has melted and the tops are slightly brown, take them out of the oven.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes:

I shared the filling recipe for only 4 Jalapenos, but feel free to double or triple ingredients if you are making it for a party.
You can bake them in a toaster oven, regular oven, or an Air Fryer.
If you like it spicy, you could leave a few seeds in the Jalapeno.
You can serve these with a dip or sauce., but they are delicious just on their own.
Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature so it’s easier to mix.
You could add breadcrumbs on top to make it crispy and crunchy.
The amount of cream cheese you need just depends on the size of the peppers you use, I used just 2 oz but use more and adjust seasonings depending on the size of the Jalapenos you are using.
If you have any extra filling left, you can make a really delicious grilled cheese sandwich! Just spread the cream cheese mixture on 2 slices of bread, put a slice of cheese on one side. Put the 2 slices of bread together and toast in on a pan or in a sandwich maker. Enjoy the deliciousness!!

Try them out for your next party! Do let me know how they turn out for you. Please rate the recipe and comment down below.

Check out my other easy appetizer/snack options: Air Fryer Tortilla Samosas, Pan-Fried Crispy Shrimp, Air Fryer Salmon Fish Fry, and Air-Fryer Potato Wedges

Thank you for visiting and please do come back for more! I post at least 2 to 3 times a week.

Have a wonderful day! Until next time, here is some inspiration!

Recipes

Pan-Fried Crispy Shrimp

May 24, 2021 No Comments

Pan-Fried Crispy Shrimp is the simplest, tastiest way to cook shrimp! It needs very few ingredients to marinate them, but the secret to them being crispy is the coating of Fine Semolina.

Sometimes the recipes with the least amount of ingredients are the tastiest! And this recipe certainly proves that!

Since shrimp cooks really fast it’s ready in no time. It can be served as an appetizer with a chutney or dip, or it can be eaten with rice, paratha, etc.

What ingredients do you need for Pan Fried Crispy Shrimp?

Shrimp – I used large shrimp without the tail. You could use extra-large shrimp too but I don’t recommend using smaller shrimp.

For the marinade:

Turmeric powder

Kashmiri Chili powder

Salt to taste

Ginger garlic paste

Lime juice

For the coating:

Fine Semolina (Known as Rava or Sooji in India)

How do you make Pan Fried Crispy Shrimp?

Just mix the marinade ingredients together and add to your cleaned shrimp. I kept it aside for 20 minutes.

To fry the shrimp, heat up a pan, add some cooking oil, about 1 tablespoon.

Coat both sides of the shrimp with the semolina.

I put some semolina on a plate and using tongs coat the shrimp on both sides.

I do that for about 8 to 10 shrimp, then put them in the pan. Cook on medium heat, for about 2 to 3 minutes on both sides. Shrimp cook really fast so take care not to overcook them.

Once done, drain the excess oil on a paper towel, transfer to a serving plate or bowl.

If serving as an appetizer you could have a dipping sauce like a green chutney or a yogurt dip.

Your crispy shrimp is ready to be enjoyed!

Pan-Fried Crispy Shrimp

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Author Nandini

Ingredients

20 Large Shrimp
½ tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
¼ tsp Turmeric powder
½ tsp Kashmiri Chili Powder
½ Lime
Salt to taste
1/4 cup Semolina (Rava/ Fine Sooji)

Instructions

Clean, devein and remove the tails of the Shrimp. Add them to a bowl.
Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chili powder, salt to taste, and the juice of half a lime to the shrimp.
Mix the marinade and the shrimp well. Leave aside for about 15 minutes.
Add semolina/sooji to a plate. Using tongs, drop shrimp onto the Semolina and coat on both sides.
Coat about 10 shrimp. Then fry in a hot pan with about a tablespoon of oil.
Fry for about 2 minutes on each side till the shrimp is cooked.
Take out crispy shrimp and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Fry the rest and serve hot.

Notes:

You can use medium, large, or extra-large shrimp.

You could leave the tails on, I just took them off as it makes it easier to serve with toothpicks.

If you do not have or like ginger-garlic paste, you could leave it out.

Serve these Crispy Pan-Fried Shrimp immediately after frying them as they do not remain crunchy for very long.

If you like crispy appetizers and snacks, do check out my Air Fryer Okra Fries

or my Air Fryer Salmon Fish Fry