Veggie Tots Skewers

                              

These baked Veggie Tots made with the goodness of vegetables and oats serve a healthy and delicious alternative to the deep-fried calorie loaded Tater Tots. Here nutritionally dense vegetables like cauliflower, sweet potato, carrots and green peas replace the potatoes. The added cheese and herbs make it a delectable treat for all ages, especially the kids ! You can thread the baked tater tots onto skewers along with roasted bell peppers, the way i have done or simply serve the tots as it is. These veggie tots skewers are egg-free and gluten-free and oh so easy to make ! Involve your kids to shape the tots and thread them for the added fun. You can pair the tots with ketchup, sour cream or any dip of your choice. They make an excellent starter for kids' parties and get-together. What's more? You can make them ahead of the time and store in zip-lock bags in freezer, just thaw and bake before serving.

                             

What are Tater Tots?

As per Wikipedia, Tater Tots are grated potatoes formed into small cylinders and deep fried, often served as side dish. The name "Tater Tot" is a registered trademark of the American frozen food company, Ore-lda, but often used as generic term. In United States, tater tots are common at School-lunch counters, cafeterias and fast-food restaurants. They are also sold in the frozen food section of grocery stores.

What goes into my version of tots? The ingredients:

There is no doubt, that these Veggie tots are far more better than the store bought Tater tots in terms of health and nutrition. The reason is that, 

• These tots are loaded with healthy goodness of fresh vegetables.
• They are flour-free. Yes, you hear me right. These tots do not use all purpose flour/ maida. These are gluten free as we do not use bread crumbs either.
• Whole some oatmeal is used as a binder.
• The tots are filling and delicious as they have cheese apart from mixed vegetables and oatmeal.
• These tots are baked, so make a low-calorie snacking option when compared to the deep fried potato tots.
• As these tots are home-made, they are artificial flavor and preservative free.

Let's have a look at the ingredients one by one.

• Mixed Vegetables: I have used fresh cauliflower, green peas, sweet potato, carrot, sweet corn and onion. You may use any fresh or frozen vegetable of your choice like zucchini, Broccoli etc. The vegetables are steamed and mashed to make these tots.
• Oatmeal: I have simply powdered the oats in a grinder jar and used it as a binding agent. You may use any variety of oats.
• Cheese: You can use Cheddar and Parmesan cheese in equal proportion in the grated form. For a vegan version and for the calorie-conscious people, use of cheese can be optional. But i would recommend its use, especially if you are planning to make these tots for kids.
• Herbs and Spices: I have used garlic, ginger, green chili crush, powdered black pepper, fresh coriander and salt to flavor the tots. You may skip onion and garlic for a Jain version.
• Oil: These tots can be made oil-free as i have used oil only to grease the baking tray and to lightly brush the tots before baking them, so that they do not dry out.                          

Can these veggie tots be made without Oven? 

Off course yes ! you can simply shallow fry or roast the tots on a greased and heated pan on gas-top until they become golden brown from all sides.

You can alternatively, thread the shaped tots onto skewers and grill them until crisp.

You can also make these veggie tots in an air-fryer and enjoy a guilt-free treat !

Serving Suggestions:

You can serve the tots with tomato ketchup, sour cream or any creamy or spicy dip as per your preference. Onto the skewers they pair great with roasted bell peppers.You may click on any of the following dips for the recipe. Spicy Momo's Chutney, Coriander Chutney, Schezwan Sauce.

Dietary Notes:

• Gluten-free
• Egg-free
• Guilt-free vegetarian snack
• Side-dish
• Healthy appetizer
• Kid friendly

Related Event:

Kids' Treats @FoodieMondayBlogHop

Kid's treat is the 276th theme on our Facebook gourmet group, Foodie Monday Blog Hop where a bunch of passionate food bloggers, share their culinary skills every Monday, depending upon a pre-determined theme. Swaty who blogs at Foodtrails25.com was our hostess for the week and she proposed that we share some healthy snacking option for kids, parties. Swaty , a mom of 2 kids herself, is a versatile baker and her blog is full of healthy delicious food recipes from around the globe, I have bookmarked her, Healthy Sattu Cookies (roasted gram and oats cookies) and Nutritious flatbread bites to try out soon. This healthy and delicious veggie Tots Skewer is my contribution towards the theme.

                                           

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 2 dozen tots

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cauliflower florets (1 small head)
• 1 medium size sweet potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
•  1/2 cup sweet corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup shelled green peas, fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 green chilies
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 small bunch of fresh coriander leaves

Preparation:

• Wash the veggies. Pat them dry. Peel the sweet potato and cut into chunks. Cut cauliflower head into florets. Shell the green peas if using fresh. Thaw the sweet corn kernels and green peas if using frozen. Peel and grate the carrots. Peel and finely chop the onion. Finely chop the coriander leaves. 
• Peel the garlic and ginger. Make a coarse paste of garlic, ginger and green chili in a grinder jar or using a mortar and pestle. 
• Powder the oats and keep ready.
• Crush the black pepper corns.
• Grate the cheese and keep ready

Method:

1. Steam the cauliflower florets, sweet potato chunks, sweet corn and green peas either in a steamer or [pressure cooker until tender. Allow the veggies to cool down and then coarsely grind them in a food processor or mash them using potato masher. 

                                     

2. Transfer the veggies to a mixing bowl. Add finely chopped onion, grated carrots, grated cheese and garlic, ginger green chili crush. Season with salt and pepper. 

                                     

3.  Add finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and oatmeal and mix well to incorporate all the ingredients.

                                     

4. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. While our oven is getting preheated, we will shape the Tots. Pinch small portion from the our prepared veggie dough and using greased hands, shape them into small cylinders. Place each tot onto a greased or lined baking tray. Prepare all the tots with the dough and arrange them on baking tray. I could make 25 tots.

                                            

                                            

5. Transfer the baking tray into a preheated oven and bake for around 20 minutes making sure your flip the tots mid way. On baking the tots should be crisp and golden brown in color.

6.  Serve the tots as it is or thread them onto a skewer and serve with dip of your choice !

Recipe Notes:

• You may use any fresh or frozen vegetable of your choice to make these Veggie Tots.
• Left over rice can be used as a binding agent along with steamed veggies to make this tots.
• You may try using cooked quinoa combination with veggies to make the tots as a variation. I have tried it and it tastes great. 
• You can use chickpea flour for binding instead of oatmeal.
• You can roast or shallow fry the tots on a greased tawa over stove-top or grill the tots skewers or make the tots in air-fryer if you do not have a oven or you do not wish to use it for any reasons.
• You may skip adding cheese in this recipe for a vegan, low calorie snacking option, however if making for kids, i would strongly recommend adding  little cheese as it makes the tots delectable.
• You can shape the tots ahead of time and store them in a zip lock bag in freezer. Just thaw the tots and bake or fry them before serving.
• I have thread the veggie tots with roasted bell peppers. Wash and cut the colored bell peppers. Discard the seeds and dice the bell peppers. Season the bell peppers with olive oil, salt and black pepper and roast in an oven or on stove top until you see golden brown spots on the skin.

Would love to hear from you !

I hope you would love trying out this healthy and delicious Veggie Tots Skewers using fresh Winter bounty. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with use in the form of likes and comments in the section below this post.

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See you soon with yet another healthy and delicious creation from my Kitchen. Until then stay safe and eat right !

Happy Cooking !

Happy Eating !

Regards

Poonam Bachhav

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