#588 Making Chaat even more healthy

 Making Chaat even more healthy

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla

A few days ago, I published a recipe for Chaat that I prepared for my guests at home.

In this article, I am going to present some alternative healthy substitutes that I experimented with for the above dish, without compromising the taste of the Chaat.

I replaced Kidney beans with chickpeas and potatoes with sweet potatoes. So, I prepared a dough made up of mashed overnight-soaked and boiled chickpeas, boiled sweet potatoes, rice flour, cumin powder, and gave them the shape of Tikkis.

To prepare Tikkis from the above dough, scoop some balls from the dough and flatten them a bit. You can, then, put them in a refrigerator for 15 minutes to stabilize their shape.

Tikkis: The image has been taken by the Author from her kitchen

Traditionally, Tikkis are made from potatoes, and I added chickpeas to provide protein intake to the body.

I replaced the potato with sweet potato because

• Sweet potato has a significant amount of fiber that slows down the absorption of sugar in the bloodstream.
• It has a low glycemic index that causes a low spike in blood sugar

Then put these Tikkis on a pan with ghee, shallow fry them until they turn a bit golden. Then flatten them a bit more and fry them with some more ghee on until they become crispy.

The picture of Tikkis after being removed from the pan; picture taken by the Author from her kitchen

After Tikkis are removed from the pan, it’s time to assemble condiments to enhance their taste. You can serve them with Chhole curry, green chutney(coriander, chilly, and mint), peanuts, sweet chutney(tamarind and jaggery/brown sugar), chopped onion, and coriander.

The image has been taken by the Author from her kitchen

I never miss the chance to experiment with the healthy version of traditional dishes. It not only connects me to my roots and tradition but also makes me guilt-free while consuming them.

© All Rights Reserved!
 Swati Sarangi,
 18.06.2025  
You can support my work through Buy Me a Coffee.

P.s: This post is a part of #BlogchatterFoodFest hosted by blogchatter.

 

#583 A healthy twist to Chaat

 A healthy twist to Chaat

The picture has been taken by the Author from her kitchen

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla

Recently, I had guests at my place and I wanted them to taste this delicious Chaat.

Chaat is an Indian appetizer or can be treated as a snack. This is usually taken before the main course to stimulate hunger.

As someone who spent her childhood in UP, Tikkis made out of boiled potatoes were the most sought-after Chaat served there. One would very easily find a lot of vendors in their carts selling Alu-Tikki Chaat during the evening.

The burst of variety of flavours like sweet, tangy, spicy, or savoury comes from the Chutneys, which are prepared either from tamarind, jaggery, mint, or coriander paste. Not to forget, spiced curd for extra tanginess, onion, peanuts, or seu for the extra crunch.

Generally, Tikkis are prepared from boiled potatoes mixed with spices, but I prepared the Tikkis from boiled and mashed kidney beans, potatoes, and some rice flour.

I soaked some fistfuls of kidney beans overnight, pressure-cooked them with potatoes for about 3–4 whistles. I added some boiled potatoes with rice flour and chopped coriander leaves with boiled kidney beans. I added some salt, cumin powder, and chilli powder before creating some Tikkis out of this mixture.

 

The picture has been clicked by the Author from her kitchen

I put these Tikkis on a flat pan with Ghee greased on both sides of them and let them cook on a slow flame for about 6–7 minutes on each side. I put a lid on the pan to make them cook a bit faster.

After they’re cooked properly, I flattened them a bit more and fried them on a high flame on the same pan until they turned crispy on both sides.

After they’re done, I served them with spiced curd mixture, sweet, sour, and spicy chutneys, chopped coriander, and onion.

Compliments from my guests validated my efforts, and surprisingly, these guests consisted mainly of kids under age five! So, this proved that the dish is kid-friendly.

Try it at your home and let me know in the comment section how it turned out!

All Rights Reserved
Swati Sarangi
09.06.2025

P.s: This post is a part of #BlogchatterFoodFest hosted by blogchatter.

#573 AI taking VIVA-VOCE

 AI taking VIVA -VOCE

Source: BlogChatter

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.

Viva Voce refers to any examination performed orally, not in written form. I will not count the number of viva-voce that I’ve appeared so far in my life, which I think is uncountable. This topic will give me another chance to walk down memory lane, which I will never miss. That’s something that I should feel grateful for.

The first official viva voce that I faced in my life was the test taken by the class teacher in my nursery. My mother and aunt prepared me for a mock test. I lived in a joint family and was fortunate to receive love, care, and affection from my uncle, aunt, and grandparents.

I call that viva voce an official one because I don’t consider those taken by relatives or guests when they visit us. As class ascended, those viva voces got converted into the written form, and as an introvert, I became more comfortable with written tests. Later, I remember giving one viva voce during the 12th class for Physical Education as the external examiner asked us many questions about the sports of our choice.

During my graduation days, some marks were awarded for practical exams based on the viva voce of that test. Sometimes, the viva voce was done one-on-one, and other times, it was done with a small group of students.

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

Initial rounds were based on aptitude, logical reasoning, or English language comprehension tests during my campus placements, but final rounds were based on one-on-one interviews and HR rounds. During my preparation phase for government examinations, I realized that almost all exams had a round of viva voce at the end when one cleared the initial written tests.

I appeared in some of those after clearing the preliminary rounds, and my stress during the initial days was converted into excitement and hope of clearing them. Those tests checked the presence of mind, personality, confidence, and subject knowledge.

While job hunting in India and abroad, I had many opportunities to appear for such a viva voce. With increased experience, I realized how important it is to express oneself and present the qualities the interviewer seeks.

My latest viva voce was taken by an AI bot that asked me questions based on my resume, and it was one of the most unique interview experiences for me. This shows how quickly technology is revolutionizing our lives.

Photo by Anastasiia Malai on Unsplash

Each viva voce I appeared in, whether I passed that or not, gave me a perspective of the interviewer that I was unaware of. At the same time, I was exposed to my shortcomings as well as that side of my personality that I was unaware of.

When was the last time you appeared in an interview? I would love to hear your story in the comments section.

Source: BlogChatter

© All Rights Reserved!
Swati Sarangi

 29.11.2024  

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