Skip to main content

Latkes - My way!


(This was a recipe made last year for Hanukkah, It just never saw the light of day on the blog, just on the Facebook 'Panfusine' page)

I'll be the first to admit that Hanukkah was one of the most recent religious festivals that I came to know about, In that respect, I'm as gentile as it gets. but the connotation of a festival related to lights & the celebration of faith & devotion in the Almighty & the mere fact that it falls around Diwali was enough to raise a curiosity in wanting to learn more about the traditions surrounding Hanukkah. For those of you with a similar interest, I refer you to the wikipedia article on the festival ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah )
Even for a gentile like me, hearing the word 'Hanukkah' first brings to mind a plate of warm potato latkes served with sour cream. There are variations a plenty & my version is probably just one in hundreds. Since I do not usually incorporate eggs in my recipes, the binding agent used is chickpea flour.
One of the mandatory inclusions for a latke accompaniment is a dairy based dip. I paired mine with a raita made with greek yogurt spiced with a mustard coconut mix.

For these root latkes you need: (makes ~ 6 pieces)

Grated root vegetables. Clockwise from top: Sweet potato (orange), regular potato (white), parsnip (Cream)

1/2 cup grated parsnips
1/2 cup grated sweet potatoes
1/2 cup grated potatoes.
1-2 tsp chickpea flour. 
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
a pinch of Asafetida. (optional for a gluten free dish)
Olive oil for shallow frying




Combine the grated root veggies, spices, lemon juice, seasonings & the chickpea flour in a mixing bowl.
Heat one teaspoon of oil in a skillet and add a tablespoon of the root vegetable mixture into the skillet.

I used a biscuit cutter to get a uniform size, but its really not necessary.

press down lightly with a spatula to form a thin patty.

Disclaimer: I minimized on the oil by using a non stick skillet, but go ahead... Crisp it up with an extra spoon of oil!

Cook for about 5-7 mins on each side till golden & crisp.
Remove from skillet. Serve with Raita (recipe given below)

Cucumber raita with a mustard & coconut seasoning:



You need:
1/4 cup grated cucumber
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp Grated coconut
1 green chilli,
1/4 cup chopped cilantro loosely packed.
1/2 cup greek yogurt
salt to taste

Combine the mustard seeds, coconut, chilli, cilantro & salt with a spoonful of yogurt & grind to make a smooth paste. Add this paste to the remaining yogurt & cucumber. Combine well to finish the Raita.



Garnish with a wedge or two of lime & serve warm. The sweetness from the yams pairs well with the bite from the mustard, while the yogurt complements the heat from the spicy seasonings in the latke.

My baby girls curious li'l hands bringing an end to my pic session!!
here's wishing everyone a very happy & blessed Hanukkah!

Comments

  1. New to me..Looks really inviting & delish ;)
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love ur take on dishes and the way u write..meal luv what ur 5 yr old has to say about you.
    Sharanya

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear feedback from you, your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.

Popular posts from this blog

Sputtering back....

I seriously feel like this scene from the movie 3 idiots .. remember this one? The way I kept racking up drafts and eventually stopped doing that as well. Lulled into complacence by the quick high from Instagram posts. Recipe measurements hastily scribbled into a Moleskine notebook faithfully depending upon my moods. The truth is that I keep over thinking the backstories needed to make the post more interesting while in reality the truth is that ideas and inspirations just occur spontaneously (like little itches , sneezes or twitches) whenever the opportunity happens to strike. Some really cool ideas that scare the beejeezus out of me and yet prove to be utterly delightful and simple in the end. Others, that seem so trivial that I feel it wouldn't be worth crowing about -- even if there are enough other recipes in that genre that get so much publicity simply because the author happens to have the right marketing knack. So in the past 4 years that I've been

Unusual Ingredients - Unripe Blueberry Achar

T'was just another Summer afternoon, The kids were home for the summer holidays, getting bored, there's only so much summer reading you can force them to do, and the Indian mommy in me could no longer caution them against going out in the afternoon  (I've solemnly refused to use that horrid excuse of 'You'll get a dark tan if you stay out in the mid day sun'), and so we decided to head out to Terhune orchards for the blueberry picking. The kids never say no to outings to the orchard, they LOVE the trip there, the cute yellow dogs and the cats,  the chocolate crinkle and Snickerdoodle cookies, and they positively trip over grabbing buckets and heading joyfully towards the berry bushes... ... And there it ends, the younger one loses herself in her delightful imaginary worlds where she probably thinks she's hacking her way through virgin Amazon jungle, sighing at every branch that brushes against her legs, picks 2 or 3 berries as if they were a new as

Product Review: Ninja Mega Kitchen system and a recipe for Masala Dosa

 One of the biggest reasons for attending conferences is the priceless experience of meeting fellow bloggers and get an invaluable exposure to all things  culinary. This includes vendors with new products to savor and get inspiration from. I had no complaints about whatever appliances I had for making traditional Dosa (Traditional South Indian rice & lentil crepes) batter, a sturdy tabletop stone grinder that you could add the Urad dal, turn the timer on , and 30  minutes later, come back to a container full of fluffy, batter with the consistency of whipped egg whites. The The cons of this is the cleaning up, of the various parts, the roller, the grinding bin, the multiple trays on which the rollers need to be placed while transferring the rice & lentil batter, the invariable drips of thick batter on the counter.... you get the point, It takes quite a bit of time. I was pleasantly surprised when the appliance company, Ninja asked me if I'd like to try any of their