Break your fast

Colourful, mouth-watering and nutritious, these dishes help you plan a great Iftar.

Great veggie options... Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Fasting and remaining trim and healthy need not be a challenge if we eat light and nutritious meals at sahri and Iftar. Here are some colourful and mouth watering vegetarian ideas for sahri and Iftar that also pack a nutritious punch. These dishes can be made in advance for dinners.

Banana Cutlets

Ingredients

6 green plantains

2 slices of brown bread

1 tsp hot green chutney

Salt and spices to taste

A few drops green colouring

Method: Boil or steam plantains and remove the skin. Mash the pulp along with bread, salt, spices and chutney. Add green colouring; form into heart-shaped cutlets and shallow fry in a teaspoon of oil.

Mixed Vegetable Cutlets

Ingredients

2 large potatoes boiled or steamed

A small cauliflower boiled

1/2 cup green peas boiled

4 green plantains boiled and peeled

4 carrots boiled

2 slices brown bread

1 tsp butter

Salt to taste

A generous sprinkling of black pepper powder

2 tbsps freshly grated cheese (optional)

2 cups freshly crushed Monaco biscuit crumbs

Method: Mash all ingredients together and shape into oblong cutlets. Roll on both sides and press into biscuit crumbs. Shallow fry till crisp and brown on both sides.

Shahla's Soyabean Shammi Kebabs

Ingredients

2 cups soya bean nuggets

1 medium sized onion peeled and halved

1 inch piece ginger peeled and sliced

1 small pod garlic peeled

2 dry red chillies

1/4 cup channa dal

3 pieces each whole black pepper, white cardamom, cloves

1 black cardamom

1 small stick cinnamon

1 onion,

2 green chillies

1 bunch of coriander chopped finely.

2 tsp oil for frying

Method: Cook all ingredients in a pressure cooker. Grind to a paste. Mix onion, chillies and coriander in the paste along with salt. Shape into kebabs and shallow fry till well browned on both sides.

Jackfruit and Paneer Cutlets

Ingredients

100 gm jackfruit peeled

1/4 cup channa dal

100 gm paneer

Spices as given for soya bean shammi kebab

1/2 teaspoon chaat masala

Chutney: 1 cup kakrondas and four green chillies ground to a paste

Method: Cook jackfruit, channa dal, salt and spices in a pressure cooker. Grind to a paste, mix paneer and knead thoroughly. Shape into cutlets and shallow fry. When the cutlets are well browned, add chutney and allow to cook till chutney is absorbed.

The writer is a Reader, Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.