Veggie Pakoda (Balls/ Fritters)

Vegan Mofo Day 19:

I sometimes worry about raising a vegetarian kid in this not-so-vegetarian world. As of now, he eats whatever I give him in day-care/ school and even his teachers in school know about his dietary preference and don't give him anything that has meat. But when I think of him going to a real school, I'm not sure how he's going to fare. How do I tell him that it's not OK to eat meat, but at the same time I want him to respect his friend's eating choices, I don't want him to say something that will hurt other kids. How do you guys teach your kids to say "no" to meat? Any comments and advise will be highly appreciated..

Coming to the recipe on hand. I made these veggie balls when my son's daycare had an International dish day. I was told that the kids really enjoyed them. I made them very mild and instead of deep frying used my Appam pan. So they are quite healthy and yummy too.

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 1cup, very finely chopped

Carrot - 1 small, grated

Green onion - 2, finely chopped

Green pepper - 1/2 cup, very finely chopped (may be half of a medium sized pepper)

Chickpea flour (Besan) - 1/4 cup (or more)

Rice flour - 2tbsp

Ginger + garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Red chili powder - 1/4tsp

Salt - to taste

Garam masala - 1/4 tsp

Method:

• Microwave all the veggies except the scallions with little water until completely cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.
• When cool enough to handle, add the chickpea flour, rice flour, salt, chili powder, garam masala, ginger+garlic paste and mix into a thick batter. Add more chickpea flour if the mixture is too wet. Add little water if the mixture is too dry (the veggies should be wet enough and no additional water is usually necessary).
• Heat an appam pan, add about 1/2 tsp oil in each hole. When the oil starts to sizzle, add about 1tbsp of batter in each hole and cook on medium-low flame until golden brown on all sides. These cook pretty fast, so constant attention is required. Adjust the heat so that all the balls cook evenly.

Serve hot with ketchup. They make excellent appetizers, just stick a fancy toothpick in each of them and serve with a dip.