Sweet potato and spinach balls

Sweet potato is a root vegetable that is widely grown in the South Pacific.In Fiji sweet potato is a staple food in all Fijian household.Fijians normally use sweet potato as a side dish by just boiling it in salted water.Sweet potato is very nutritious with high fiber content,calcium,vitamin  A and it has got car-atone more than anything else.In addition spinach is an excellent source of nutrition without high calories.Sweet potato and spinach balls is very healthy and nutritious for your family and it is very simple and easy to cook.I just took a traditional root crop and mixed it my Indian spices and made a complete new dish.

Recipe
1 sweet potato
1/2 cup defrosted spinach squeezed out all the water
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon besan
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
salt to taste
oil for frying

Method

1.Peel and cut the  sweet potato in 1/2 inch cubes, boil it until fork tender.
2.Drain sweet potato and mash it .Add in spinach and mix it.
3.Add chilli powder,garlic,cumin,besan,and salt , mix everything together.
4.Heat oil in a saucepan
5.Make balls with the sweet potato and spinach mixture and fry it on medium low heat until golden brown .
6.Drain it on kitchen paper and serve it as a side dish with roasted chicken or just with ketchup.
Enjoy NI SA MOCE

Stuffed Bittermelon (Karela) (Diabetic recipe)

Bittermelon is mostly used in Indian cooking.Indians stuff bittermelon with spices and then shallow fry it in oil.Bittermelon has many health benefits such such it is really good for diabetes,cancer,measles and chickenpox.For diabetes bittermelon is the number one herbal remedy, that can be taken as a tea or just stuff it as I am going to do it today.Bittermelon is available in most of the grocery store in the vegetable section.For stuffing ,buy the small one because it is easy to fill the spices in and it cooks a little bit faster.

Recipe
3 bittermelon (kalera)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1teaspoon tumeric
1 tablespoon corriander
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1 tablespoon chilli powder or to taste
salt to taste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon oil
 oil for frying
Method 
1. Scrape the bittermelon and cut it lengthwise from the center and take out the seeds and keep the pulp.Then rub the bittermelon with salt and set it aside for 30 minutes.After 30 minutes squeeze out all water and wash and dry it .
2. In a bowl mix cumin, tumeric, corriander,fennel,chilli, lemon juice,salt and the pulp with 1tablespoon of oil.Mix it well.Add little water if the mixture is too dry
3. Now divide the mixture equally  and then stuff the bittermelon.
4.Heat oil in a pan and fry it on low heat untill it cooks and turns brown on all sides.
(Note keep turning the bittermelon to make it brown all sides)

Bhajia - Perfect Snack

While growing up my mom used to make this healthy snack for my sister and myself as a snack when we came home from school. Now I cook this for my daughter who really enjoys it with her friends.Bhajia can be made with any vegetables which is in season.
One time I brought this for my potluck to my work and my friends  really liked it.One of my co -worker cooked this for her family who came to visit her from Hawaii and they really enjoyed it as an appetizer.

Bhajia


Ingredients
1 cup besan (chick pea flour)
1/2 cup  self -rising flour
1 small potato grated
1 small carrot grated
5 oz frozen spinach (deforested and squeeze out all the liquid)
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 green peppers
salt to taste
1/4 cup water
oil for frying

Method
1. Mix besan, flour,potato,carrot spinach  in a bowl.
2. Add peppers.garlic and salt.Mix it well.
3. Add water and mix everything together.
4. Heat oil in dutch oven or a big skillet. Take a little bit of the mixture into your hand and make it into balls or use and ice-cream scope to drop it into the oil on a medium low heat.
5. cook until golden brown.Drain it on a paper towel.Serve this with ketchup or any dipping sauce.

Other vegetables such as cabbage,mushrooms,and bell peppers can also be used .I hope you will try this out and please leave me comment