Receta Baked Spinach Balls – An Appetizing Starter and a Scrumptious Healthy Snack
“The other bunch is free with the one you bought” said the vendor after watching the amused looks on my face. “No one buys these greens here, and I want to empty my cart madam” he continued. Yes Spinach is not a very common sight in many kitchens of South India…good for me, I got my bounty But then after coming home I was perplexed about how should I make use of these huge piles of lovely greens strewed all over my dinning table! Palak paneer was surely not in my list, neither was the spinach chapattis which my family is now bored of eating.
The whole of last week went on a spinach bonanza…baking, curries and smoothies..have tried more and enough with these greens in my kitchen. These starters is one such experiment, and if you are a spinach lover then this is a must try for you too. These no-oil Spinach ball starters, soft from inside and crisp on the outside is so simple to make, never new Spinach could give me a winner recipe
High iron, antioxidant, Vitamin C and calcium this humble green comes as one of the World’s Healthiest vegetables! You can read more about Spinach from the link at the bottom of this post.
Ingredients to go in..
Ingredients;
(makes about 12 medium balls)
- 1 cup of Spinach (blanched and squeezed)
- 1/2 cup of fresh bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp grated cheese
- 2 tbsp Potato flakes/mashed potato
- 1 tsp. of Black pepper
- Salt as desired
- 1 tsp of oil
- Potato flakes
I had potato flakes which I often keep in case of emergency cooking These come handy for a quick chutney, spread, potato curry and milk shakes too! Use boiled potato if you don’t have the flakes.
Ready for a makeover..
Method; Pick the spinach leaves and remove the thick stalk (use the stalk for making vegetable stocks for gravies) Wash the spinach and steam it for a few seconds. Take out from the steamer and squeeze the excess water. (I did not remove the water, but do it if you are making it for the first time). The water released from the spinach helps in binding the dough. But sometimes makes the dough too soft to make them into balls.
Take 3-4 bread pieces (brown bread if possible) and crumble it into fine powder using your hands. Grate the cheese. Boil a potato if you don’t have potato flakes.
Take a large vessel and add the spinach, bread crumbs, potato flakes, cheese, pepper and salt. Mix all the ingredients using hand and roll it into a large ball. Pinch small marble size balls from it and roll it into small balls.
Hot from the oven!
The scrumptious spinach balls, hot from the oven ..are ready to go with hot tea.
Grease a baking cookie sheet and place all the balls on it. Sprinkle a little of oil over the balls. Bake them at 200°C for a0-25 minutes or till they turn golden brown in color.
Spinach beauties!
My kids enjoyed making balls for me, while my son relished these and gave high ranking to these starters my daughter didn’t even bother to taste them May be my next Spinach adventure will win her over
Have a bite with the tomato sauce smeared delights!
Note;
You can even deep fry the balls for a heavenly treat if you are not concerned with using oil in your diet.
Avoid potato and try these starter for a different taste.
These Spinach balls make a healthy lunch box treat for the kids.
A perfect picnic and travel food, as these stay good for 2 days.
Rock your party with these scrumptious Spinach ball starters. Serve these with any tangy spread or sauces with a toothpick attached to each ball.
More info about Spinach below;
whfoods
Come back for more of my Spinach treats that I made last week in the coming posts, have a great week ahead!
You may like some of these healthy bakes at Lite Bite;
Eggless Barley Raisin & Honey scones recipe.
Healthy Vegetable Eggless Quiche
Eggless Cinnamon rolls with honey and walnuts