Monday, June 18, 2012

Veggie Puffs...

Don't you think that our demands and cravings change with age? When we were kids, we would ask for toys and dolls. As we grow up, they change to books and CD's. Later, they become more pocket money, requests to go out on overnight picnics, walkmans, the list goes on and on. If you grow up to be fond of cooking, take up blogging, and land in the US, you will definitely crave for food items that you don't find here. I tried finding these veg puffs in all nearby Indian shops to no avail.

Of all the things that I missed and craved for after coming to the US, Bakery made Pattices topped the list...

Whenever I think about these veg puffs, I turn nostalgic and think of the days we were in pune...every saturday my husband used to get these hot pattice from the famous hindustan bakery near our home and we would be waiting for it to enjoy it for breakfast..They were never ever prepared at home..But now that we got the puff pastry sheets over here it is an easy process to prepare these wonderful puffs filled with our favorite veggies easily at home..They serve as a perfect evening snack and we enjoy it many times for potlucks,get togethers and so on...They serve as a perfect appetizer in any party..These easy,transportable recipe  is perfect for neighborhood gatherings, family picnics, and outdoor barbecues.It is summer favorites as you can enjoy it as warm-weather eatable...Hence sending this to one of the fabulous event ...Lets cook for Barbecues and Picnics. Good Event dear...Really appreciated!




Also kids enjoy it lot! Iam also fond of it since childhood: zippy,tasty and comforting. Use a good quality pastry sheets, and nobody will even know it's in there, but along with all the veggies, it'll tip this old standby towards wholesomeness.This wholesome, summery dish balances everything perfectly -- and it makes the perfect take-along and most classic for picnics,barbecues.Its flavourful taste enhances pure potluck nostalgia.

Vegetable Puffs are a wonderful snack option for the days that you want something substantial and you can’t wait very long for it to be made!! These College-Canteen favorites are wonderful and they will take you back to those nostalgic ‘college days’. Relieve the memories, at least the good parts with this easy recipe!

When I brought for the first time these packet of puff pastry sheets...initially I was not getting only how about to start with?...

The first thing I did was to look online for help on how to start using it. The packet had no instructions except to say "thaw for 30 mins to an hour before use". That was well and good but how exactly do I use this?

I searched online for different things - how to use puff pastry sheets? how to roll out puff pastry? how to divide puff pastry and all synonyms of words in here. I checked some blogs that I remembered had used these but they seemed to know how to since they had lovely pics of puffs - their final products!

I even checked Youtube but nothing useful came up. Then I just guessed my way through it and turned up with pretty awesome vegetable puffs and hence deceided to share with you all...I was really amazed with end product!

Iam happy to submit this recipe and would like to dedicate it to my husband.I never thought that I would make puffs at home and will dedicate it to my husband and share with you all. I am really happy. That’s amazing!!! Here you go....

How to Thaw and Use Puff Pastry Sheets:

2012-06-17 16.41.17.jpg

1. Take out the packet about 1 hour before you want to use it. so that it becomes soft
2. Place it on a tray and open the rolled sheets you will find rectangular sheets.Cut or separate each rectangle
3. Cut long rectangles each in halves for puffs or other shapes depending on your use.

When you make vegetable puffs, the filling is very flexible too. You can pretty much make and add anything. Here's what I did.

VEGGIE PUFFS

Before Baking

2012-06-17 16.39.32.jpg

After Baking

2012-06-18 09.32.06.jpg



Ingredients:
2 boiled and mashed potatoes.
1 cup boiled peas.
1 medium sized onion finely chopped.
1 tbsp of italian seasoning mix.(I used this but you can go with any kind of masala of your choice...simple garam masala made at home or pav bhaji masala or kitchen king etc)
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp oil
1 tsp of ajwain seeds or carom seeds or lovage seeds.

Method:
1.Heat Oil in a pan
2,To it add carom seeds.
3.Add finely chopped onion.Fry till golden brown.
4.Now add peas and salt.
5.Add italian seasoning.
6 Lastly add mashed potatoes.
7.Mix it thoroughly and allow it to cool.

To Assemble Puffs Before Baking:
1.Take a rectangular strip of rolled out puff pasty sheet and spoon in some filling on one end, leaving enough space on all sides to 'seal' the puff...Fill your puff with maximum amount of vegetable.No need to fear it wont come out for sure...maximum amount of veggies tastes super good! so I have practice to add it more always..
2 Bring in the other end and seal off the sides. The puff pastry is usually sticky so you wouldn't need anything else to seal it up.or else you can use little bit of water to seal the edges.

Baking:
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 mins until the top is golden brown.

Tips:
1. Use any vegetable  or any combination of your choice and spice for the Puffs preparation.
2. It is very important to allow them to cool for 5 minutes after baking– this will make the puffs nice and flaky AND it won’t burn your mouth.
3 You can add finely chopped green chilies and cilantro also.
4. Use up left-overs subzis this makes your dish innovative!
5.Enjoy it with tomato ketch up or any sauce or tamarind sweet and sour chutney or pundina coriander chutney etc

No comments:

Post a Comment