Vegetable Chop - Odiya Style

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Its fall already…. colors everywhere… everyone’s gearing up for festivities.. both eastern and western… this year Diwali & Halloween are just a day part… how exciting !!!

Back home, we did not really care much about weather & season changes etc. Everything pretty much happened by the school events or cultural festivities.. like Durga Puja.. followed by Diwali etc etc…

Now in Cuttack, food is (always has been) the center of attraction no matter what the event is… especially snacks during evenings… and extensive lunches and all…

Speaking of snacks… we have all grown up eating Singada (Samosa), Bara (Wada), Piyaajee (Onion lentil fritters) and Vegetable Chop… The vegetable chop is this colorful mash up of veggies coated with semolina (Suji) and deep fried (Yummy) !! So here’s my version of the vegetable chop (beware its not the healthy of options)… made it with veggies that I had on hand, but I didn’t add any chillies because of my son… feel free to make variations & see what works out best for your family !! Enjoy !!


What I used
  • 1 cup of grated cabbage
  • 1 cup of grated carrots
  • 1 cup of grated beets
  • 10-12 beans - chopped very fine
  • 1/2 cup of green peas (Thawed)
  • 3 medium red potatoes - Boiled
  • Mustard oil - Around 2 tablespoons
  • Radhuni garam masala (Or use any garam masala of your choice) - About 1 tablespoon
  • Roasted cumin powder - About 2 or 3 tea spoons
  • Kashmiri Mirch Powder (Totally optional.. this did not do anything to the dish) - About 2 tea spoons
  • Corn starch - About 1 tablespoon
  • A thin spread of Semolina on a plate - I think it was around 1/3 cup or may be a little more.. Just eye ball it
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for deep frying







How



  • Heat mustard oil in a non-stick wok/pan/kadhai
  • When oil’s hot, add all the veggies except for the potatoes to it. 
  • Add salt & cover & cook until you think the veggies are tender. This took about 10 mins or so or medium heat. 
  • Next mash in the boiled potatoes, add the dry masala powders & mix really well with the spatula. 
  • The mixture will be a bright dark pink-red type color all because of the beets. 
  • Shut off heat & let the mixture rest on a different plate or bowl - out of the pan (I mean)
  • Let the mixture cool down completely & then add a table spoon of corn starch and use your hands to mix it up nice & smooth. 
  • Now its time to roll them in logs (small logs not redwood style.. he he)
  • On a plate, spread the semolina. Keep enough space to roll small logs. 
  • Pinch a small amount of the veggie mixture & roll it in semolina taking care that they don’t break off in the middle. They should look like small dark pink logs coated with white semolina. 
  • Now its time to fry… I fried 4 logs at a time… oil has to be hot (not medium hot.. not smoking hot)… Don’t over populate the wok while deep frying because too many logs will reduce the oil’s temperature & then they’ll start breaking off and bigger disaster awaits.. (I have been there.. trust me)..
  • Once fried, you may put them directly onto audience’s plates or drain out excess oil on a kitchen tissue lined plate first.. completely your choice !!
  • Enjoy with ketchup or hot/sweet sauce !!

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