Healthy Vegetable Lollipop

                 

Vegetable Lollipop is a delicious crispy deep-fried ball made with mixed vegetables. It is a bite-size snack that serves as a great party appetizer. Here, instead of deep frying, i have used paniyaram pan and shallow fried these vegetable lollipops in very little oil which makes it a healthy and guilt-free snack for all ages. The recipe is vegan and does not call for use of cornflour either. It is one of the flavorful ways to add the healthy goodness of vegetables to your diet. Serve vegetable lollipops with ketchup or any dip of your choice and enjoy a delectable treat with your loved ones ! 

                 

What is Vegetable Lollipop ?

Vegetable lollipop is a vegetarian version of the popular Chicken Lollipop. It is a bite-size crispy deep-fried snack that is made with mashed mixed vegetables. Bread crumbs are added to the spiced mixed vegetables to form a dough. Small balls made of it are rolled in a slurry of cornflour and then coated again with bread crumbs and then deep fried until crispy. A toothpick is inserted in the center of each ball and served giving it a candy on stick appearance (lollipop), hence the name. Vegetable Lollipops is a loved snack and party appetizer especially among kids. 

                  

What is a Paniyaram Pan ?

Paniyaram pan is also called Appe pan or Aebleskiver pan. It is a cast-iron pan with circular cavities. It is used to make South Indian breakfast dishes like Kuzi Paniyaram.  Few drops of oil are added to each cavity before pouring the batter. The pan is covered with a lid for the paniyaram to cook. Once it turns crisp and golden brown from beneath, the paniyaram is flipped and the other side is being cooked, now without being covered with the lid. Paniyaram pan not only allows one to enjoy the deep-fried snack and finger food with just a few drops of oil but also makes the dish look appealing because of the shape it lends to the snack. Nowadays non-stick paniyaram pans with glass lids are easily available in Indian marts and online as well.

What goes into my version of Vegetable Lollipop? The Ingredients:

My version of vegetable lollipops are healthy as they are shallow fried in very little oil and made in paniyaram pan unlike the deep-fried veg lollipops. Also this recipe is cornflour-free as well. Let us have a look at the various ingredients used in making these healthy delicious snack treat.

• Vegetables: I have used a lots of fresh vegetables here like potatoes, green peas, sweet corn, carrots, bell peppers, red onion and coriander. I have boiled the potatoes, green peas and sweet corn and used the grated carrots, bell peppers and red onion to retain their crunch. You may use any vegetables that are available in your pantry.
• Bread Crumbs : I have used little quantity of homemade bread crumbs that not only serves as a binding agent to the vegetables but also absorbs the extra moisture from the vegetables making the vegetable lollipops firm and crisp on cooking. You may skip its use for a gluten free version and use roasted gram flour (besan) or rice flour instead. 
• Spices: Basic spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala ,chaat masala and salt are used to make the snack flavorful.
• Ginger-Garlic-Green Chili paste: To spice up the snack , i have used a crush of green chilies, ginger and garlic. You may skip green chilies if making for kids. 
• Oil: Few drops of oil are added to each cavity of paniyaram pan while cooking the veg lollipops. You may use any neutral cooking oil. I have used sun flower oil. 
• Semolina: I have coated the veggie balls with fine semolina/suji before adding them to the paniyaram pan, just to give a crispy texture. This step is purely optional. 
  

                            

Related Event: 

Paniyaram Pan Magic was the theme for 285th week on Foodie Monday Blog Hop, our Facebook gourmet group, where a bunch of passionate food bloggers share their culinary delights every Monday, depending upon a predetermined theme. Priya Vijay Krishnan was our hostess for the week and she suggested that we share the different dishes that can be made using a paniyaram pan which is traditionally used to make the appe or paniyaram. She proposed that we share various ways in which one can use appe pan. Healthy vegetable lollipops is my humble contribution towards the theme. meanwhile, do check our Priya's space for some authentic South Indian dishes and other delicious dishes from the International Cuisine. I have bookmarked her  Vegetable Molagootal, a vegan vegetable curry from the Palakkad Cuisine.

Dietary Notes:

• Vegan Appetizer
• Party Food
• Kid-friendly
• Healthy 
• Finger-food
• Vegetarian snack

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2 dozen vegetable lollipops

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sized potatoes, boiled
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup sweet corn fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper , grated
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 2 green chilies, optional
• Small bunch of fresh coriander
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garma masala
• 1/4 teaspoon chaat masala
• 2-3 tablespoon fine semolina for coating
• Oil for shallow frying

Preparation:

1. To begin making vegetable lollipops, we will prepare the veggies first. Boil the sweet corns and green peas until tender if using fresh. No need to boil if using frozen veggies. Wash peel and grate the carrots. Wash, de-seed the bell pepper and grate them as well. Peel and finely chop the onion. Wash and finely chop the coriander. I would suggest boiling the potatoes a day prior to making the vegetable lollipops and refrigerate them until use for best results. If boiling the potatoes the same day, at least boil them couple of hours ago and allow them to cool down completely before using them in the dish. Grate the boiled potatoes. Keep the spices and bread crumbs ready. Make a coarse paste of green chili, ginger and garlic.

Method:

1. Take grated boiled potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add finely chopped onion, grated carrots, grated bell pepper, green peas and sweet corn to it. 

                           

2. Add bread crumbs, finely chopped coriander, spice powders, salt and ginger-garlic-green chili paste and mix everything very well. If the mixture appears sticky, add more bread crumbs and try to make a non sticky dough with it. Taste and add more seasonings if required.

                           

3. Make small balls using the vegetable dough and arrange on a plate. Refrigerate the balls for 10-15 minutes or more, if time permits, so that the balls become firm.

                               

4. When ready to make the vegetable lollipops, heat the paniyaram pan on medium heat. Add a drop or two of oil into each cavity of the paniyaram pan. Add a pinch of salt to the fine semolina on a plate. Roll each vegetable ball over the semolina and place it in the oil coated cavity of paniyaram pan. Cook them on low to medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes before flipping the balls. Turn the balls using a spoon and cook from all sides until crisp and golden brown. Add few drops of oil into each cavity after turning the balls. 

                             

5. Shallow fry all the vegetable lollipops similarly and serve hot with ketchup or dip of your choice. 

     

                       

Recipe Notes:

• You may use any vegetables of your choice or that is available in your kitchen pantry to make vegetable lollipops. 
• Grated Cottage Cheese (paneer), Tofu or boiled lentils or beans may also be added along with vegetables for variation and to make it a filling and nutritious snack.
• Bread crumbs may be replaced with roasted gram flour (Besan), Rice flour , powdered oats or flattened rice. 

Would love to hear from you !

I hope you would love trying out this healthy and delicious vegetable lollipops using Paniyaram pan. 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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