Corn Cheese Balls

Corn Cheese Balls are appetizers which are the combination of corn and cheese. They are super delicious snack which just melts down into the mouth. Corn Cheese balls can be amazing idea of appetizers during party which can be best served with tomato ketchup or mayo.

 INGREDIENTS

• Sweet Corn/ American Corn (Fresh or frozen) - 1 cup, boiled
• Mozzarella Cheese (grated) -1/2 cup to 3/4 cup (Cheddar cheese or processed cheese can also be used)
• Potato (boiled) - 2 nos  medium
• Red chilly flakes or red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
• Pepper powder - 3/4 tsp
• Oregano - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp (Pizza seasoning powder can also be used)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

 To Coat the Balls

•  Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup (as required)

 To Make Batter

• All purpose flour - 3 tbsp
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste 

METHOD

• Boil corn and potato. Let it cool down completely
• Grind the boiled corn to a coarse mixture.
• Mash the boiled potato and add it to the coarsely corn mixture.
• Then add in grated cheese, red chilly flakes, pepper powder, oregano, garlic powder and salt.
• Mix all the ingredients well and form a kind of dough. Do not add water while mixing the ingredients.
• Pinch small portion of dough and make small balls of it.
• Place all the balls on to the plate and keep them into the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
• Until the balls are set in refrigerator, let’s make the batter for frying.
• Into a deep bottomed bowl, add in all-purpose flour, pepper powder and salt. Mix everything well.
• Make a semi thick paste using water. Remember batter should not be too thick or too thin.
• This semi thick batter will help the breadcrumbs to coat evenly on the balls. After 20 minutes, check on the balls which were placed in the refrigerator. They must have set till now.
• This step is very important to get perfect texture for the balls.
• Spread bread crumbs into a wide plate.
• Dip each ball into the batter and roll in the breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs should evenly stick on to the balls.
• Repeat this step (dipping into the batter and rolling in the breadcrumbs) twice, so that there is a thick rust on the balls after frying.
• Repeat the same process for rest of the balls.
• Heat oil into the frying wok on the medium flame. 
• Fry all the coated balls into the hot oil till they are crispy and get a nice golden brown color on all the sides.
• Be careful during frying. Do not repeatedly turn the balls while frying, the balls might break and cheese can come out.
• Once fried, take out the balls on the tissue paper to remove any excess oil.
• And now Corn Cheese Balls are ready to serve with tomato ketchup or mayo.

 

Falafel With Creamy Hummus - Middle Easern Delicacy

  
Falafel is a  tasty middle eastern dish. It is mainly prepared with chickpeas. They are  fried balls which are soft inside and crispy outside.These fried balls are the staple food item of levantine cuisine (Levantine cuisine belongs to the levant region- mediterranean lands). Falafel always tastes good by itself but to make it as a complete appetizer it is served with hummus.
Now , What is Hummus?? It is a  super smooth and creamy dip made with chickpeas, tahini paste and some other ingredients. Making hummus at home, tastes fresh and flavourful. It is so yummy and healthy, even children love to have them which veggies. This delicacies can be best party appetizers too.

INGREDIENTS
Serves - 3 to 4 person

Ingredients to make Falafel

• Chickpea - 1/2 Cup 
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Green chilly - 2 nos
• Garlic - 3small pods (peeled)
• Lemon juice -1 Tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 Tsp 
• Coriander powder - 1/2 Tsp 
• Baking soda - 1/4 Tsp 
• Salt - as per the taste
• Cilanto- 2tbsp
• Oil For Deep frying 

METHOD
To Make Falafel

• Soak dried chickpeas for overnight or at least for 6 hours.
• Next morning, strain the chickpeas and add it into the food processor. 
  
• Also add all the remaining ingredients (chopped onion, green chilly, peeled garlic, cumin seeds, lemn juice, coriander powder, baking soda, salt and cilantro into the food processor.
• Pulse it at intervals . Do not grind it to a fine paste because consistency of the mixture will become smooth and will be difficult to shape them into the balls. We want semi dough consistency kind of mixture to shape them into the balls.
• Pulse it till you get a coarse paste of the mixture.
• Take little portion of the mixture in between your palm and start shaping the mixture into small balls
• Heat oil and drop the balls into it. Deep fry the balls till they are evenly brown in colour.
• Once done, take them out of the oil and place it on the paper towel to drain any excess oil.
• Repeat the process with leftover mixture.vDo not overcrowd the falafel while frying.
• Here we go Falafel is ready to be served. 

Note:  If at all you feel the mixture is sticky while making balls, go ahead and use about 2 to 3 tbsp of bread crumbs to bring the mixture to the right consistency.

 

Ingredients to make Hummus

For Tahini Paste
White sesame seeds - 1 tbsp (roasted)
Extra Virgin olive oil - !&1/2  tbsp

Note: I found little difficult while grinding roasted white sesame seeds and virgin olive oil into my food processor. I thought, it could be because of less quantity of ingredients used to prepare tahini paste. So I just coarsely grounded them and mixed it in other ingredients of hummus. Then I got the smooth consistency of hummus, as it should be. There was no difference in taste.It tastes exactly the way when tahini paste is added to make hummus. As I wanted to make everything in the scratch, so thought of making tahini paste at home. May be when I make bigger batch of hummus, making tahini paste would be more easier. When you are trying this recipe and if find difficult in making  tahini paste at home, you can try my tip or go ahead to use storebought tahini paste (use roasted , not raw).

Other Ingredients to make Hummus

• Chickpea - 1/2 Cup 
• Baking soda - a pinch (for cooking)
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Tahini Paste - 2 tbsp
• Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp 
• Garlic - 2 medium  pods
• Cumin Powder - 1/4 Tsp
• Hot Water - 2 to 3 Tbsp 
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp (to mix it in the  hummus at the end)
• Options to garnish - paprika or red chilly powder , cilantro , extra virgin oil  and lemon wedges.

 Method To Make Hummus

• Soak dried chickpeas for overnight or at least for 6 hours. 
• Cook them with littlle salt and  baking soda till they become very soft and mushy.
• Into a food processor, add in roasted white sesame seeds and extra virgin olive oil. Grind  it to smooth paste.
• Now add all the remaining ingredients (boiled chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, cumin powder and little salt) into the food processor.Grind it into a smooth paste.
• In between, you can stop the food processor, add hot water into the mixture. Again grind the mixture to bring it to the right consistency.
• Once the paste is smooth and perfect , mix in olive oil and  transfer it to a bowl.
• Garnish the hummus with sprinkle paprika or red chilly powder and chopped cilanto.