Hello 2021 and this is my first blogpost of the year. I wish I could press- control/alt/delete and 2020 would just disappear from our memories. I am grateful that my family and I survived the year with no traumatic experiences and my simple wish for 2021 is just for all of us to be healthy and happy. I’m quite keen on immunity booster meals but it’s not so simple when it comes to pleasing kids.
I love sneaking in the so called ‘boring’ veggies into my kid’s food. Zucchini, is from the marrow family and unfortunately is not exactly a sought after veggie for anyone. But it does come with surprising bunch of health benefits, like –
· Rich in many Nutrients
· High in Antioxidants
· Contributes to healthy Digestion
· May reduce Blood Sugar levels
· May improve Heart health
· May strengthen your Vision
· May also aid Weight Loss
I love making zucchini bread, zucchini fritters, and even savory pancakes, but what really worked for my kid’s are these cute Zucchini poppers. They are a fun bite sized snack and you can include these for your kid’s party meal plans, lunchbox ideas or even a snack for them when they are busy with their homework. Pair it with lemony mayo or just plain ketchup and they are quite addictive to say the least.
The recipe is almost the same as savory pancakes, but less of a liquid consistency. To make this cute shape, you need an appe pan, I tend to use this pan for a lot of my food experiments and it’s an integral part of my kitchen. You get 24 poppers from this recipe and you can even bulk cook by doubling up the recipe. I tend to freeze a few and when required remove them from the freezer, de-frost it and pop them in the airfrier for a quick crisping and you have it ready to go!
So here goes my recipe and feel free to tag #saffronbowl in all socials with your creations.
Ingredients
2 cups grated Zucchini/ baby Marrow
1 cup gluten-free flour
2 eggs
1 cup baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup almond milk (or dairy of your choice)
1 tsp Himalayan/ kosher salt (as per your taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dry parsley (optional)
Vegetable oil for cooking
Mayo Dip
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 tbsp grated Lemon rind
Salt the 2 cups of grated Zucchini and keep it aside for 1 hour. During this process the Zucchini will release all its water. After one hour, with your hands, you need to manually squeeze out all the water from the zucchini and keep it ready for the next steps.
In a bowl sift together the dry ingredients like- the glutenfree flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, and to this add the almond milk, pepper, garlic powder, dry oregano and parsley. Now slowly add the dry mix to the wet mix and incorporate it well. The last step is to add the grated zucchini to the batter and fold it in gently, this will take a minute or two.
Heat up the appe pan and spray oil to the round indents or you can brush it with oil too. Now slowly drop in the better into the circular indents, cover this. The flame must be medium to low, as they need to cook well in the center without burning. You will see the bubbles coming up, that show it’s cooking well. After 5-6 minutes, flip the poppers and cook again for another 4 minutes or until golden brown on the outside. Serve them warm with the Mayo dip.
For the Mayo dip, mix together the grated lemon rind with the mayonnaise and that’s about it. I don’t add any salt or sugar but feel free to add it you feel it’s necessary.
Tip- you can get 2 cups of grated Zucchini from 1-2 medium sized green zucchini or about 4-5 baby marrow. Baby Marrow (called Koosa in Arabic is a common sight in the GCC supermarkets). I usually save time by buying it in bulk, grating in in my food processor and freezing up half (they freeze very well). You can also add grated cheddar to this batter or swap Zucchini with a other veggies like broccoli, carrots, cabbage or even cauliflower, trust me it will taste amazing. With this very same batter, if you add more milk, you can make it on a skillet like savory pancakes. The possibilities are endless with this basic batter mix.
