Table of Contents
Introduction – About this Recipe
Hara = Green; Bhara = Stuffing
As the name suggests, this is a great entrée/starter with loads of greens and loaded with tonnes of flavor. Each bite will make you want some more and the deliciousness will just keep growing onto you. This dish is a great party starter and can also be enjoyed as an evening snack. Unlike the traditional recipe, this one is with a twist….. Yesss that’s cheese. I must say tho, I have struggled with this recipe for quite some time but eventually found a great hack that makes the entire process feel like a breeze. Just one bite and I am sure you will fall in love with this oozy cheesy delicacy.
Equipment’s:
- Wide Bowl for mixing
- Deep stock pot
- Colander
- Clean Cotton Cloth
Ingredients:
| Amount | Measurement | Item Name |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | Gms | Green Peas (Mutter) |
| 65 | Gms | French beans |
| 100 | Gms | Coriander with Stem |
| 6 | Pcs | Green Onion (Only Leaves) |
| 200 | Gms | Spinach (Palak) |
| 100 | Gms | Fresh Green Chick Peas (Hara Chana) |
| 10 | Pcs | Bread slices |
| 1/2 | Tsp | Salt |
| 1/2 | Tbsp | All-Purpose Flour (Maida) |
| 2 | Tbsp | Water |
| 3 | Pcs | Cheese Slices |
| 1 | Tbsp | Green chilli-Ginger Paste |
| 1 | Tbsp | Garlic Paste |
| 1/2 | Tsp | Cumin Powder (Jeera Powder) |
| 1/4 | Tbsp | Oil |
| Oil for Frying |
Pre Prep Procedure:
- Remove the stems of spinach and use only leaves. Wash them thoroughly. Take a deep stockpot and boil some water. Once bubbling starts add spinach leaves to it. Let it cook for 2 mins and then strain them in a strainer/colander. Squeeze the blanched and strained spinach between your palms and remove the excess water. Once all the water has drained take a clean cotton cloth and spread the blanched spinach in it and roll it in the cloth. This will remove any excess moisture in the spinach. After 10mins remove the spinach from the cotton cloth and give it a rough chop.
- In your food processor blend Green peas(mutter), Fresh Green Chick Peas, French Beans, Coriander Leaves, and Green Onion Leaves together.
- Separately put all the bread slices in the food processor and ground them into fine crumbs.
- In a wide bowl, make a slurry for coating the kebab by mixing 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour(maida) and 2 tbsp of water. The consistency of the slurry should be like that of milk.
Step By Step Procedure:
- In a wok/saucepan (kadhai), heat oil, add the blended mixture of Green peas(mutter), Fresh Green Chick Peas, French Beans, Coriander leaves and Green Onion leaves that we made earlier. Mix it well and let it cook for 10 mins on medium heat. After 10 mins switch off the flame and let it cool down.
- In a wide bowl, transfer the cooked mixture and chopped spinach. Add salt, cumin powder, and half of the bread crumbs. Mix everything properly.
- Take a cheese slice and cut it into 4 equal squares. Each square will be used in a kebab as stuffing.
- Now roll the mixture into round balls. Flatten the balls and in the center use your thumb to make a small depression. In this depression place the square of cheese slice we cut earlier.
- Keeping the cheese in the center, gently roll the sides towards the center, thereby making a perfect stuffing. Now that the cheese is stuffed well, you can reshape the mixture into a nice oval shape as shown in the image.
- It’s time to make a 2 step breading station. Step (1) – Dip kebabs in the batter. Step(2) – Take the dipped kebab and gently transfer it to your breading mixture. Lightly roll the kebab on the mixture to get an even coating. Remove any excess breadcrumbs and keep them aside.
- At this stage if you want then you can freeze the kebabs for later use. That’s the beauty of this recipe, you can do all the preparation beforehand, and when guests arrive all you have to do is get them out of the freezer, deep fry or shallow fry and serve.
- Now for the frying part. You can either deep fry or shallow fry these kebabs. Due to the oval shape, shallow frying will become a bit tricky but it’s not impossible. Make sure you are frying them on a medium flame for about 3-5 mins. When you see the outer coating has turned nice golden brown in color, they should be ready.
- Place the kebabs on a wire rack or kitchen towel(tissue) to drain the excess oil. There you go it is ready! Enjoy!
Serving & Plating:
Cheese Stuffed Hara Bhara Kebab is served hot with a little sprinkle of chaat masala and with a few dipping sauces of your choice.
Accompaniments:
These kebabs are frequently served with green chutney, mayonnaise, schezwan chutney, or some good old tomato ketchup. Can’t go wrong with ketchup, Can we?
Key Pointers:
- Rolling the spinach in the cloth helps remove the excess moisture. If it is not drained out properly then the mixture will become too soggy. In case yours have become too soggy then add some more breadcrumbs to it.
- If you do not have a food processor then you can use a mixture grinder and coarsely grind everything in it.
- If the cheese is not stuffed properly, then during the frying process cheese will ooze out of the kebab and will cause the oil to splatter.
- While frying the flame should be medium, if it is high then the kebabs will burn easily and if the flame is too low then the stuffed cheese will melt early and lead to breakage of the kebab.
- If you want to make it in quantity, you can multiply the ingredients and make it. Here I have posted quantity for 10 pcs, you can accordingly multiply the number of ingredients and make more.
Storing:
I usually store 40-50 pieces of unfried kebabs and keep them in an airtight container and store it in the freezer. We have stored it for up to 3 months in the freezer without any issues. If stored in the fridge then it must be used within 2 days. Leftover fried kebabs should be consumed the same day.
Reheating:
Thaw for 10-15 mins or till it comes to room temperature. If you do not get have time for thawing then remove them from the freezer and microwave them for 30 secs. Once thawed, fry them in hot oil and serve hot.
Excellent for evening snacks
Taste is really mouth watering
Worth repeating many times