Cauliflower Wings - 3 Ways

We love chicken wings and I love to make them at home. But I also wanted to try an alternative to chicken wings that was vegetarian. Cauliflower is a perfect substitute and people who hate cauliflower must have never tasted the amazing Cauliflower 65 or the delicious Indo-Chinese dishes such as Cauliflower Manchurian or Chili Gobi. 

Since the Cauliflower is not as meaty, the best thing to do is coat it in a thin batter to bring that firm texture to the vegetable.

I used 3 different Sauces:

Buffalo Sauce

BBQ Sauce

Asian Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce

You can fry the Cauliflower or bake them. I baked them, since I am not big on frying stuff. Left to me, I would bake every single thing. I think it's obvious looking at the number of baked recipes on my blog.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - 2 small

Batter:

All Purpose Flower - 1/4 Cup

Corn Flour - 1/4 Cup

Rice Flower - 1/2 Cup

Salt - To Taste

Pepper Powder - 1 tsp

Mix all the ingredients for the batter with water. It shouldn't be too thin. Wash and cut the Cauliflower into florets. Heat the over to 400F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Dip the florets into the batter and place on a single layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 15 to 20 min until slightly firm and crisp.

Meanwhile, have 3 bowls for the sauces. Remove the florets from the oven, dip into the sauce until well coated and place them back onto the baking sheet. Place it back in the oven and bake for an additional 10 min or so, until the wings are cooked through and the sauces are well coated and start to dry up.

Remove and serve with a ranch dip.

Sauces:

BBQ Sauce: 

Phil's BBQ Sauce

I used store bought BBQ sauce. Phil's Devil's spit. Fair warning, this is an extremely spicy BBQ sauce, but they have milder varieties as well.

Buffalo Sauce:

Frank's Red Hot

I used 4 tbsp of Frank's Red hot, mixed with 1 tbsp melted butter.

Asian Sauce:

Hoisin Sauce - 2 tbsp

Chili Garlic Sauce - 1 tbsp

Honey - 1 tbsp

Soy Sauce - 1 tsp

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp

Mix all the ingredients, taste and adjust seasoning.

Onion Pakoras

A very basic recipe for some fried Pakoras. I gravitate to baking these but an occasionally it's good to have the original fried version too.

Ingredients:
Onions - 2 big
Green Chilis - 2
Peanuts - a Handful
cilantro - a handful
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Gram Flour/Besan - 1/2 cup

Oil to Deep Fry
Slice the Onion into long thin strips and chop the chilis and cilantro. Mix all the ingredients except Gram Flour. The onions will start releasing some water. Add the Gram Flour little by little. There should be barely enough to coat and the onions should be the star. There should not be clumps of Flour. This will ensure that the Pakoras are crispy and not soggy after they cool a bit.

Heat a frying pan with oil on medium high. Once the oil is hot enough, use your hand or spoon to slowly distribute the mixture into the oil. Do not add in clumps but just randomly distribute into the oil. Fry until golden and remove onto a paper towel to absorb any extra oil.

Serve hot with sauce of your choice.

Rice crackers/Chekkalu

Rice Flour - 1 1/2 cups
AP Flour/Maida - 1/2 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Green Chilis - 5
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Chana daal - 1/4 cup
Curry leaves(torn) - few
Peanuts - handful
Butter - 2 tbsp
Oil - for frying

Grind the ginger and green chilis with some water. Soak the chana daal in some water for 1/2 hr. Break the peanuts into smaller pieces. Mix all the ingredients well except the oil. This should form a soft dough.
Spray some non-stick spray or add a few drops of oil on a plastic sheet or a large ziploc bag. Form gooseberry sized balls for the dough and place on one side of the plastic bag, fold over the other end and press to form flat discs. Alternately use your hands to do this. Heat a heavy bottom pan with oil and fry them until golden brown. Drain, cool and store in an air-tight container.

If you mix the dough to the right consistency and fry at the right temperature, they do not absorb more than a few tbsps of oil.

Gavvalu

AP Flour/Maida - 2 cups
Salt - a pinch
Butter/Ghee - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Water - 3/4 cup + water to knead the dough
Oil - for frying

Mix the maida with salt and melted butter. Knead with water, to form a soft dough. Make chickpea sized balls of the dough and press on the end of a fork. Roll out the dough, to form the shape of the gavva. Alternately, if you have the wooden block to make these, use the block. The fork method work great here. I could not take pictures during this step. Heat a deep bottomed pan with oil and fry them. Make these gavvas ahead and cover with a damp cloth. I tried making some while the rest were frying, but it was a stretch. Fry them and set aside. In another pan, heat the sugar with 3/4 cup water and mix till the sugar dissolves. Cook till the mixture thickens and reaches a 1 string consistency. When you touch the solution with your fingers, a sting should form. Else, add a few drops of this solution to a bowl filled with water, and it should hold its shape.
Pour this solution on the fried gavvas and mix well. When the coating starts to harden and turn white, mix again. Stir once every 5 mins, till they are completely cooled down. This will ensure that they do not lump together. Store in an air tight container when they are completely cool.

Simple homemade Cappuccino and Popcorn

Cappuccino is a coffee that's made with espresso, hot milk and topped with milk foam. This is a simple way to make something similar at home, without the fancy cappuccino maker.

Instant Coffee - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 1/2 tbsp
Hot water - Few drops
Milk - 1 cup

In a cup, add the instant coffee and the sugar. Add a few drops of hot water and mix. The mix should be like wet sand. With a whisk or a fork, start whisking the mixture. Eventually, this will start getting frothy and light in color. When the mixture becomes frothy and thick, add a cup of hot milk and mix well. Sprinkle some cocoa/coffee powder on top and enjoy hot.

Popcorn:

Dry corn - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Garlic powder - 1 tsp

In a pan, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the salt, chili and garlic powder. Add the corn, mix well and close the lid. The corn will start popping in about half a minute, and when the popping starts to subside, turn off the heat. Open after a few seconds, when the popping subsides. 

Baked Pakode

I always look for alternatives to deep frying. Some work and some don't. This is one dish that tastes just as good when baked. I add in a handful of chopped spinach and a grated carrot to make this a complete meal. The gram flour provide the protein.

Gram Flour/Besan - 1 cup

Semolina/Rava - 2 tbsp

Chopped Green Chilis - 2

Sliced Onion - 1

Grated carrot - 1

Chopped Spinach - 1 cup

Bread slice - 1

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

In a bowl, add the all the above ingredients, sprinkle some water and mix well. The mixture should be thick. 

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray an aluminium foil or a baking dish with non stick spray, and spoon the mixture onto it. Bake for 10 min on one side, turn over and cook till done. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

Sev and Ribbon Pakode

Crunchy, spicy, melt in your mouth. I don't have a sweet tooth, and love my savory stuff. I tried to make this healthier too...baking them instead of frying them. Trust me, somethings are best left to the deep fryer :) The same batter can be used for both. Also, you could make any shape in the press with the same. My mom would make these with double the besan to rice flour. I noticed that this is not the usual ratio. I like hers, so using the same ratio.

Besan - 2 cups

Rice Flour - 1 cup

Hing - 1 tsp

Carom seeds (Ajwain/Omam/Vamu) - 2 tbsp

Salt - To taste

Butter or Ghee - 2 tbsp (Melted)

Red chili powder - 2 tbsp

Oil - To fry

Water - To mix the dough

Muruku press

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except the ajwain and  oil in a bowl. Add water and mix till it forms a dough. This will be soft, yet firm.

Heat the oil. Use the sev attachment in the press, and fill it with the dough. Press into the hot oil, making a large round.

Wait till the bubbles subside and turn once. Fry till golden brown and remove onto an absorbant paper.

For the Ribbon pakoda, add the carom seeds to the rest of the batter and mix. 

Change the attachment in the muruku press and make the pakodas similar to the sev.

Cool and store in an air tight container.