Bengali Style Vegetable Chop /Beetroot Chop

        
Till the time I was in college, never saw Dad purchasing radish, beetroot, Onion, Cauliflower, cabbage and carrots from the market. Even before taking his morning tea he used to go to our backyard to pick up fresh vegetables from our garden with dew drops on it.....It was a sight which till then we never considered to be GREAT !! It was only after I moved to big city where space was the constrain  understood the value of  kitchen garden.

And beetroot was Dad's favorite....He used to come for lunch and not seeing his fav beetroot on salad plate with a little bit Kala namak(rock salt) would made him upset....In winters this beetroot chop was a regular feature during evening snacks at our place.

Remember the scene from "Kahaani" where Vidya Balan going to the Police Station to lodge a complain against her lost Husband??? The plump policeman who can't pronounce her name correctly? :-) She points at the police man that her name is Vidya not 'Bidya'  "In Kolkata there is only Ba, no Va,"  he says as a fact of matter way. ...The smile comes on your face right?? In same way pronunciation I am presenting you "Begetable Chop" today which is a very famous evening snack which we enjoy with our "muri".....

Ingredients:
1 big Beetroot
2 Carrots, grated
3-4 Green chillies
1 tsp roasted Jeera powder
Fistful groundnuts /chinebadam
Fistful kishmish /Raisins
1-1/2 tsp finely chopped Ginger
2 tbsp Shredded Coconut
Pinch of black pepper powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Refind oil

Outer coating:
2-3 boiled Potatoes
1 Bread
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
1 tsp Corinader powder
1 tsp roasted Jeera powder
2 chopped Green chillies
1 tsp Garam masala powder
Salt to taste (remember you have already added salt for the stuffing)

Oil for frying

Method:
After washing beetroot and carrots properly, peel off their skin and grate both of them. Heat 1tbsp oil, fry the peanuts first and keep it aside then fry green chillies and grated ginger for just few seconds. Immediately add grated carrot and beetroot. 

Add salt to taste and stir fry on high flame to evaporate the water. This process doesn't take more than 5 minutes. Now add pepper powder, jeera powder, raisins, shredded coconut and mix thoroughly. Fry till the mixture looks soft but not mushy. Remove from heat and spread it on a plate to cool down completely.

Peel the skin of potatoes and mash them. Soak a slice of bread and squeeze out the extra water by pressing the bread slice between the palms. Evenly mix the bread with potato mixture and add all the powders (except breadcrumbs). Mix all the ingredients well until incorporated. 

Now to make the chops, take a big pinch of potato dough, grease your palm with very little oil and flatten the  dough to make round disk. Place 1 tsp of filling in the center and seal the dough into all the sides. Roll these balls on the breadcrumbs to coat evenly. 

Heat a pan on high heat and then add sufficient oil to fry the chops. When the oil is hot enough, slid 2-3 chops at a time and fry on low to medium flame.Fry the chops from both the sides until golden color. Place them on absorbent paper to soak excess oil. Serve these vegetable chops with Kasundi (mustard sauce) or with ketchup. 

Sending the recipe to Latha's "Healthy Food For Healthy Kids-Kid's Lunch Box", which was started by Nithu's Kitchen

And to my friend Lubna's Joy From Fasting To Feasting -V event....