Snack Time

 

Snacks are an all-time favourite with everyone. We all feel these hunger pangs in between meals. Of course nowadays the trend is to snack healthy and we are advised to eat nuts, fruits, and energy bars in lieu of farsans, fried snacks, and sweets. But truthfully, who does not like biting into a hot crisp samosa which has been dunked into a spicy mint chutney or a tangy tomato chilli sauce? Or even a simple fried potato tikki which is so crispy on the outside and soft on the inside? I must confess, I cannot resist fried snacks. I would rather eat a fried tikki once in a way rather than a pan fried one ever so often.

But with all due respect, not all snacks are fried, and many non-fried snacks taste equally delicious. Gujarat, for instance, has given us many steamed wonders such as the different varieties of dhoklas, my personal favourite, the melt-in-your-mouth khandvis, the methi muthiyas, etc. Heading south, you get a mixed variety, the steamed idiyappams, idlis, or the crisp medhu wadas.

Maharashtra is the state where I was born, and what should I say about our Maharashtrian snacks, I could go on and on. Sabudana wadas, kothimbir vadis, bhakarwadi, and who has not heard of the famous vada pav? Crispy besan-coated spicy potato balls, deep fried and served between a slit pav with generous lashings of garlic and chilli chutney. This street food is one of the most popular snack items sold on the streets. Its price suits all pockets, from the poor man to college students and to the rich who arrive in their Mercedes to buy it. It is also called the poor man’s burger.

As young children, snacking was sometimes as simple as a slice of bread with jam on it or even some butter and bread, and then we were off running to meet our friends to play hopscotch or hide and seek. Those were the carefree days of childhood. One memory that stands out is coming home from school to the pungent smell of green chutney being ground on the stone slab by our old helper Girgabai. The fragrance of mint, coriander leaves, and spicy green chillies literally filled the house once a week because Baba loved his chutney to be made in the old-fashioned way. He really enjoyed eating his chutney dabroti, bread as it is called in Sindhi.

Today I would like to share with you a snack which I learnt in my cooking group, the Fun and Food Ladies Group, of which I am privileged to be a member. For almost 25 years, this wonderful group has been active in Jakarta for almost 40 years and has members of all age groups. We gather monthly at different members’ homes and we share recipes and host lunches. Today I can truly say that over the years I have learnt a lot of cooking and many other things from the ladies in this group, all of whom are now dear friends.

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The Sandwich Ball

Ingredients

• 4 slices white bread, crusts removed
• 2 tbsps green chutney
• 2 tbsps chilli tomato sauce
• 3 tbsps grated cheese
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 750 gms boiled, skinned, and mashed potatoes
• 2 slices grated white bread
• 1 tbsp shah jeera
• 1 tbsp red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup flour, made into a medium-thick smooth batter with water
• Dry breadcrumbs

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Method

• Apply green chutney to one slice of bread and top with another slice.
• Apply yellow mustard and sprinkle cheese on this second slice. Top with a third slice of bread and apply chilli tomato sauce on it. Finally add the fourth slice of bread. Your three-layered sandwich is ready. Cut it into 4 equal pieces and keep aside.
• Take the mashed potatoes and add
  • salt,
  • shah jeera, and
  • red chilli powder. Mix well and add the grated bread slices. Mix well with your hands and divide into 4 parts.
• Take one part of the potato mix and flatten it on the palm of your hand. It should be as big as your palm. Put one piece of the sandwich in the centre and bring the potato mix over it to cover the sandwich completely. Work it into a tight round ball, pressing gently as you go. Make the remaining balls the same way.
• Dip the sandwich balls into the prepared batter and roll them in breadcrumbs, patting gently.
• Deep fry the balls one by one in hot oil until golden brown.
• Cut each ball into 2 halves, and cut each half into 3 pieces, so you get 6 wedges out of each sandwich ball. Cut using a sawing method.
• Serve these wedges prettily plated with any sauce of your preference.