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Crispy Veggie Balls with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
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Crispy Veggie Balls with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

Crispy Veggie Balls with Cilantro Dipping Sauce is a delicious appetizer to entertain guests throughout the years. It has been highly appreciated by all my guests who have tried it. Whenever I invite people for dinner, they ask if I will be serving crispy veggie balls! Hope this recipe pleases your crowd as well!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 29 minutes
Servings 30 balls

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Nutrela Soya Chunks (soak in 2 cups warm water for 10 min, then squeeze out the water and chop roughly)
  • 2 cups Panko bread crumbs (Japanese style bread crumbs)
  • 1 cup fresh coconut grated
  • 1 cup cilantro, un-stemmed and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup French green beans, cut into 1/4 inch long sections 1 large potato, cooked in microwave (approx 6 or 7 minutes), peeled, and mashed
  • 1/2 of a large onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 large jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (substitute: 1 tsp red chili pepper - can adjust to taste)
  • 2 tbsp powdered corn starch
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 4 cups canola oil (or oil of your choice, for frying)

Dipping Sauce (optional):

  • 1/3 cup tomato ketchup
  • 1/4 cup honey mustard
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, un-stemmed and finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (or more, according to taste)

Instructions

Method

  • In a 10” stir fry pan, heat 2 tbs cooking oil over medium high heat. Add coconut and cook until slightly brown. Next add garlic, onion, jalapeno (or chili pepper), curry powder. Cook for 2 minutes and then reduce to medium heat.
  • Add Nutrela (which you prepared as above), carrots, beans, and salt. Combine thoroughly and let cook with lid on top. Let cook for approx 3 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through.
  • Uncover the pan and increase the heat a bit. Cook until the water that was released by vegetables dries out. Then turn off heat.
  • Add garam masala, cashews, raisins, and cilantro. Combine thoroughly for approx 2 minutes. Then set aside for a few minutes to allow mixture to cool down.
  • Add mashed potato (as prepared above) to cooked vegetables and combine thoroughly. Potato will serve as a binder. Use a candy or melon scooper to make approx 30 (1” diameter) balls. Set these aside on a large dinner platter.
  • In a 1 or 2 qt sauce pan, bring 1/3 cup of water to boil over high heat. Add corn starch and boil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes (stirring frequently) to make liquid starch. Set aside for a few minutes to allow it to cool before working with it.
  • Place 2 cups of Panko on a medium platter. Place liquid starch in a bowl. Dip one ball at a time in the starch and roll over the Panko. Place on a clean dinner platter. (Starch will act like glue to help Panko stick to balls). After you have breaded all the balls, repeat the process by re-dipping balls in starch and rolling in Panko again. Let the balls rest for approx 5 minutes at room temperature - this will allow Panko to settle on the veggie balls.
  • Over medium high heat in 10” stir fry pan, place rest of cooking oil and wait until it has heated up. Fry 4-5 balls at a time until golden brown all over. Adjust the heat as necessary during frying.
  • Serve immediately with cilantro dipping sauce (you can substitute with any store-bought cilantro chutney or tomato ketchup)