Curry Leaves Veg Cheese Paniyaram is a very popular snack from the South of India. These savory vegan fritters are often served for breakfast or as a snack.
Hot breakfasts always make me happy! I was hearing a nutritionist talk about our food habits and what we must and must not do. She made a very good point when she said that the first meal of the day should not come out of a packet. She actually encourages freshly prepared meals at all times of the day. This is something that our moms and grandmas would vouch for. I have never seen my mom buy processed/frozen food. In fact, back in those days, these things were unheard of. It was always hot breakfast until cereals entered the scenario. Nowadays, people prefer cereal and milk or a smoothie for breakfast because it is quick and easy to make in the mornings. I do that too. But ever since I saw that video, I consciously try to incorporate this practice every week. Me being an inherently lazy person is also of great help here. Let me explain. Mornings are always busy for everyone. We all are in a rush to finish off breakfast and get going with our work. This calls for meals that are instant and don't require too much prep work. Being lazy, I naturally look for recipes that are exactly that! Now you see, ho being lazy is actually a boon here! In fact, I had read that Bill Gates once said that if you have a job to be done, get a lazy person to do it because he/she will find the quickest way to do it. This kinda applies to me! Geez!
The first meal when you wake up in the morning should be one that gently welcomes your body awake, providing it with nutrients and stamina to tackle the day. Did you know that starting your day with something cold is like throwing water on your face when you are trying to sleep? It will shock your body and slow down your digestive system for the rest of the day. Plus the extra energy that the body uses to digest the cold meal means less energy for it to perform everyday tasks. Therefore, eating a warm meal for breakfast is very essential as per studies. If you don't believe me, try it out for a week or two and see the difference. Eating a warm vegetarian/vegan breakfast such as waffles, pancakes, crepes, idli, dosa, paniyaram, frittata, cheela, dhokla, sandwiches, etc, should be easy. For those of already dreading the thought of cooking early in the morning, let me give you the easiest idea - Batter! You can prepare the batter for anything the previous night and use it in the morning to prepare a hearty breakfast within minutes. Another good thing about batters is that you can make it in advance and use it all week! Smart right! Today I have a batter recipe for you. Its called Curry Leaves Veg Cheese Paniyaram or fritters that are made using leftover dosa batter.
Curry Leaves are aromatic and is widely used in Indian cuisine. Today it is easily available at all leading grocery stores. However, you can also grow a curry plant in your backyard, and that way you always have a good stock off these delicious leaves. They are also available in the dried form, but the aroma is largely inferior. Fresh leaves are anytime better. We normally add it in the initial stage of cooking, like when giving a tadka or tempering of mustard seeds, onions, asafoetida in any given recipe. Adding torn curry leaves to the dish gives it a nice aromatic flavor. Like most herbs, it has many nutritional benefits as well. It has anti-diabetic properties, is great for hair growth, and is used in herbal medicines. The main nutrients found in curry leaves are carbohydrates, energy, fiber, calcium, phosphorous, iron, magnesium, copper, and minerals. As a kid, I would always throw them away whenever it would appear in any dish. My mom would always scold me for doing this and tell me that eating curry leaves is good for me. Alas! We just don't listen to our mom, right! Now I know and always add some finely chopped curry leaves when cooking. You should remove the curry leaves from the stems, wash them, and pat them dry. Then store in the fridge and use it as needed.
Like I mentioned above, you can prepare this batter in advance and it stays good in the fridge for a week. Let me show you how to make Curry Leaves Veg Cheese Paniyaram! You need an Appe Pan
for this recipe. Cooking in an appe pan is such a time saver. You can make many fritters in one batch. The other essential ingredient here is the dosa batter. If you don't have any leftover batter, no worries. You can add semolina/rawa
, yogurt, rice flour
, and salt to make a batter. Transfer the batter onto a bowl. Grind
curry leaves
, cumin seeds
, and peppercorns
with little water to make a smooth paste. Add this ground paste to the batter. Heat oil
in a pan
and temper mustard seeds
. Once they begin to crackle, add urad dal
and saute till they turn golden. Then add chopped green chilies and onions and continue to saute till the onions turn translucent. Next, add the chopped carrots and green peas along with salt. Cook till the carrots turn soft. Pour all of this into the batter and give it a good mix. There is no need to add any soda to the batter and also do not add cilantro as it will mix with the flavor of curry leaves. The batter is ready. Heat an Appe Pan
and fill each mold with a tsp of oil
. Always keep the flame on low to medium. These fritters can burn easily.
With a spoon, fill each mold with the batter, cover with the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes. Carefully turn them around and continue to cook them till they are evenly brown. Take them out onto paper towels
to soak the excess oil. Serve them with chutney or ketchup
along with your tea/coffee.
Curry Leaves Veg Cheese Paniyaram
Ingredients
- 2 cups dosa batter
- 1/2 cup curry leaves
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp peppercorns
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp urad dal
- 2 green chillies
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 1/4 cup green peas
- salt as required
- oil for frying
Instructions
- You need an Appe Pan for this recipe. Cooking in an appe pan is such a time saver. You can make many fritters in one batch. The other essential ingredient here is dosa batter. If you don't have any leftover batter, no worries. You can add 1 cup semolina/rawa, 1 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup rice flour and salt to make a batter. Transfer the batter onto a bowl. Grind curry leaves, cumin seeds and peppercorns with little water to make a smooth paste. Add this ground paste to the batter. Heat oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds. Once they begin to crackle, add urad dal and saute till they turn golden. Then add chopped green chillies and onions and continue to saute till the onions turn translucent. Next add the chopped carrots and green peas along with salt. Cook till the carrots turn soft. Pour all of this into the batter and give it a good mix. There is no need to add any soda to the batter and also do not add cilantro as it will mix with the flavor of curry leaves. The batter is ready. Heat an Appe Pan and fill each mold with a tsp of oil. Always keep the flame on low to medium. These fritters can burn easily. With a spoon, fill each mold with the batter, cover with the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes. Carefully turn them around and continue to cook them till they are evenly brown. Take them out onto paper towels to soak the excess oil. Serve them with chutney or ketchup along with your tea/coffee.
So here's to more warm breakfasts and happy mornings! If what I said connected with you, then I am sure you would want some handy recipes to make hot snacks and here are some of my absolute favorites - Dill Flavored Lentil Fritters, Steamed Lentil Bafauri, Steamed Vegan Lentil Balls, Kobichi Vadi | Steamed Cabbage Cakes, Savory Veggie Dosa Waffles, Hummus Flavored Mashed Potato Waffles, Kale Adai | Kale & Lentil Savory Pancakes, Healthy Oats & Veggie Mini Pancakes, Cheesy Corn Rawa Pancakes, Gluten-Free Mint Flavored Potato Bajra Pancake, Healthy Green Amaranth Potato Idli | Rajgiri Potato Idli, Ragi & Kale Idli | Finger Millet & Kale Steamed Cakes, Instant Sweet Potato & Quinoa Idli/Steamed Cakes, Sweet Corn & Bulgur Wheat Mini Steamed Cakes| Idli and Steamed Quinoa Chana Dal Idli.
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