It’s not unusual for mothers to have to badger their kids to eat green vegetables because ‘it’s good for them’ even if it might not always be delicious. But all efforts are in vain, because vegetables or just anything that boasts a large nutritional value isn’t agreeable to the palates of young children who have been besotted with the sweetness of chocolates and everything that’s apparently ‘bad for them’.
But this in no way deters the iron willed mothers who are unrelenting in their fight of meeting the nutritional requirements for their children. When careful coaxing yields no success, it’s time to resort to the art of deceit. Here are some delightfully wonderful recipes that make peace with the mothers and their children.
Gourd kofta (or lauka kofta)
Koftas are traditionally a family of meatball and meatloaf dishes popularized in the South Asian cuisine. But they aren’t always supposed to be meaty, are we right or are we right mothers? You can put in anything you wish to since you’re the ruler in the kitchen. Here’s taking sneaking to another level with our very own bottle gourd (also lauka to our Nepali hearts) as the star.
Ingredients
1 bottle gourd
4 tablespoons of ground flour
¼ teaspoon of garam masala
1 finely chopped green chili (optional)
¼ teaspoon of red chilly powder
Salt
Oil
Directions
Rinse, peel, and grate the bottle gourd. Squeeze the excess juices off the gourd but save it for the gravy.
Add ground flour, garam masala, chili powder and salt to the grated gourd and mix well.
Roll the mixture in small sized balls and deep fry them. Fry them gently or you risk breaking them. Place the fried kofta on dry tissues to remove excess oil.
Now cook the kofta in a gravy of your making. You may add ingredients as you wish.
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Broccoli & potato croquettes
Forget kids, even adults need enlightenment in life to acknowledge the health benefits of broccoli. So how about sneaking in some broccoli with the king of vegetables, namely potatoes? You can never go wrong with potatoes – absolutely never. Here’s a recipe that will deliver the goodness of broccoli disguised by the taste of heavenly potatoes.
Ingredients
Large potatoes cut in half
Broccoli split into florets
Eggs
Cheese
Breadcrumbs
Plain flour
Sesame seeds
Oil (preferably olive)
Directions
Boil the potatoes until they are completely cooked through. Peel off the skin and mash them well. Then cook the mashed potatoes on low heat for a minute or two. Remember to stir it constantly as this will help remove extra moisture.
In the meantime, boil some broccoli until they are soft and tender. This usually takes about six to seven minutes. Drain the water and dry the broccolis well, or you’ll find yourself with wet croquettes. Finely chop the broccoli and then mix it with the mashed potatoes, egg yolk, breadcrumbs, and cheese. Divide the mixture into 12 equal sized balls and shape them to resemble short sausages. Chill them in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Put sesame seeds, beaten eggs, and flour in three different bowls. Roll the croquettes in the flour, dip them in the beaten eggs, and then roll them onto the sesame seeds.
Heat some oil in a large frying pan and fry the croquettes on a low-medium heat until they are nice and golden. Drain the excess oil on some tissue and serve them with the dip of your choice.
Veggie packed pizza roll
Very few children dislike pizza and that’s a good thing because this can be taken advantage of. A good pizza leaves for very few complaints and very less detection of the veggies. But if you wish to hide all the goodies so as not to alarm the kids, pizza rolls might be just what you are looking for.
Ingredients
¼ cup of spinach
½ medium capsicum
¼ cup of mushroom
½ medium sized onion
1 tomato
1 carrot
1 zucchini
1 cup marinara sauce (or any tomato sauce)
Directions
Chop the vegetables and sauté them in low flame until they are slightly tender. Blend them in high power and add in the marinara sauce.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
On the pizza dough, spread a cup of the mixture but leave half an inch around the circumference. Sprinkle on some cheese.
Roll the dough until you have one large roll. Slice it into eight pieces and place them in a greased muffin tin.
Bake them for 15-20 minutes until the rolls are cooked through the middle and look golden brown.
Cinnamon sweet potato smoothie
The days are getting inexorably hotter with no promises of cooling down. But we mortals must do what must be done to survive. Smoothies are always fresh breathers and fun to make because they require minimal effort and make for delicious drinks. However, sweet potatoes and smoothies seem as strangers to one another as strangers come. Just you watch, see how beautifully they can come together.
Ingredients
1 medium sized sweet potato
1 banana
2 cups of milk
¼ cup of yoghurt
1 tablespoon honey
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup of ice (optional)
Directions
Boil the sweet potato until it feels soft but firm. Boiling for 10 to 12 minutes should do the trick.
Add all the prepared ingredients into your blender and blend for a minute or until the mixture gets a thick and soft consistency.
Serve immediately but before that top it off with the nuts of your choice.
