No one will believe that these Veg Hariyali Kebabs are not deep fried. Crunchy from outside and soft from inside , these Indian vegetarian kebabs make a great appetizer for any occasion. Today I am going to show you how easy it is to make these Veg Hariyali Kebabs with step by step instructions.
Kebabs are one of the popular appetizers on an Indian menu . Fried or not who cares, they are absolutely tempting and we all relish them to the core . There are so many ways vegetarian kebabs can be made ingredient and method wise. I love the ones which have crunchy exterior and moist and mouth melting interior with clean flavor and balanced spices . Today I am happy to share a delicious way of making kebabs – no fry veg hariyali kebabs (healthier version) which are moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside just like you find in a restaurant but the difference is that these are not deep fried – so less guilty.
There are couple of ways you can make kebabs which results into varied exterior texture of the kebabs . You can bake them , pan fry , deep fry , shallow fry or use a appe pan like I did for this particular recipe. I love my appe pan , it’s one of the genius inventions in cooking world. There is so much you can do with it. I have successfully reduced frying a lot of stuff , instead I use this pan . So no more curbing any cravings , eat delicious food guilt free. One important thing you need while using appe pan – patience , patience and lot of patience, as they cook slowly compared to the fried ones. 
If you do not have this pan , you can flatten the kebabs and make them like tikkis too . You can even bake or fry them ,choice is yours. Either ways they taste great.
Lets talk about what these kebabs are made of and why the exterior is so crunchy ?
Simple ingredients and clean flavors sum up these Hariyali kebabs .
3 p’s – I have used boiled grated potatoes , boiled peas and paneer .
It has refreshing notes of added fresh mint and spiced up with green chilies and some dry spices.
It has 3 different coating to get the perfect crunch .
3 different bowls with cornflour , flaxseed meal slurry , bread crumbs respectively.
You can by all means skip this step but an extra 10 minutes is totally worth it .
So why this extra step ?
reason 1 – It gives a nice firm crunch on the outside.
reason 2 – 1 st coat – rolling the kebabs with cornflour – it won’ let oil penetrate the filling keeping the inside from getting oily and greasy even if you intend to deep fry.
2 nd coat – flaxseed meal slurry – in classic recipes egg mixture or cornflour and all-purpose flour slurry is used for dipping . I use flax for a long time now, its healthy and works like a charm . See notes for substitution.
3 rd coat – rolling it in dry bread crumbs or panko crumbs for ultimate crunchy experience.
Set up your dipping station like pictorial below.
In the picture above you can see , the two kebabs on the very top aren’t coated , hence they do not have a crunchy exterior . They are ideal to dunk in a curry / gravy as koftas but as appetizer I prefer the coated ones.
Highlights
No deep fry – Guilt free
nutritious
perfect party appetizer
kid friendly
jain – no potato, onion , garlic options given
make ahead of time
Below is step by step pictorial of making of these kebabs followed by the recipe.
no fry veg hariyali kebabs (healthier version)
Ingredients
- 1 cup boiled peas
- 1 cup grated boiled potatoes
- ½ cup grated paneer
- 1 teaspoon veg oil
- ½ teaspoon dry mango powder / amchoor *
- 2 teaspoon fennel seeds/ sauf
- Fistful of mint leaves/ pudhina finely chopped *
- ½ teaspoon green chilly paste
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon crushed kasoori methi optional
- Salt to taste
- Dash of black pepper
- For coating
- ¼ cup or more corn flour for rolling
- 2 tablespoon flaxseed meal plus
- 9 tablespoon warm water
- 3-4 slices of breads grounded .
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs*
Instructions
- Roughly pat dry the boiled peas and pulse / mash or grind them. Heat oil in a non stick pan on medium heat, add in the fennel seeds, cook for 15 seconds. Add in the ginger chilly paste , cook it for 5 seconds. Add in the peas mixture , cook for 1 minute. Stirring it well . Add in dry mango powder, salt , pepper , grated potato, grated paneer and give a quick mix so that the mixture comes together and is evenly coated with spices. Taste test and adjust the spices. Switch off the flame. Add in the chopped mint , kasoori methi and mix it well . Let the mixture cool down before making lime size balls.
- Prepare the kebabs for cooking.
- Set up the dipping station as pictorial given above.
- Place corn flour , flax seed meal slurry ( mix warm water plus flax meal and let it stand for a minute) flax slurry is ready to use and bread and panko crumbs in 3 separate bowls .
- Now take one kebab , roll it in flour , then dip it in the slurry and well coat and then dunk it in the bread crumbs and roll it well. Repeat this with all the kebabs .
- Heat up the appe pan on low medium heat, brush every cavity lightly with oil. Once warm , add the kebabs and brush them with oil , cook them until golden brown overall. Rotate and flip them in intervals with a help of a small spoon or wooden skewer as needed to evenly cook . The appe pan method is quiet slow but results are worth it. Alternatively you can bake or fry them. Serve warm with a side of your favorite dip , ketchup or chutney.
- Please go through important notes for substitutions.
Notes and possible substitutions-
substitute white potatoes with sweet potatoes, raw cooked bananas or yams.
substitute flaxseed meal with equal proportions of all purpose flour and cornflour thin slurry.
add in desired spices.
Can be deep fried or baked.
substitute panko bread crumbs with lightly toasted , dried and cooled bread crumbs .
you will find panko crumbs in any departmental stores in asian / japanese food aisle
substitute fresh mint with 1 teaspoon dried mint .
Hope you like this recipe and do give it a try. I would love to hear from you. If you have tried any of my recipes do drop in a feedback in the comment section or on my Facebook pagecarveyourcraving in messages section and follow me on Pinterest .
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Please suggest a substitute for bread crumbs for the coating. I want to keep them gluten-free as well as lower carb intake. Thank you in advance.
Hello Meena, you can use gluten-free bread crumbs. This recipe isn’t low carb. It will be a completely changed recipe if you are trying to make it low carb. However, you can check my high-protein paneer quinoa patties recipe for the same.
Wow! Thank you for the mouth-watering kebab recipe. You told every part in so detail. I just loved it. It would be so easy to prepare them. Keep going.
Yes add it with all liquid ingredients.
My mother doesn’t eat paneer. Can I use mashed chick peas instead?
Thanks
Kalpana
Hello Kalpana, chickpeas will dry the koftas. I suggest grated tofu or even fistful of soaked poha.
Thanks! I might use buckwheat flour then.
Sounds good Div.
Can I use something other than corn flour? I will use a similar pan as yours to make.
You may use potato or tapioca starch or even wheat flour. it’s just for dry rolling.
How soon can ahead can we make this and how to store them till we serve?
Hello Priya, you may make the mixture up to 3 days ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. You may roll the kebabs and coat with slurry plus breadcrumbs and place in tray, cling wrap it and store for 2 days in the fridge. Cooking the kebabs should be done the same day to keep them crunchy.
Hello Priya, you may make the mixture up to 3 days ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. You may roll the kebabs and coat with slurry plus breadcrumbs and place in tray, cling wrap it and store for 2 days in the fridge. Cooking the kebabs should be done the same day to keep them crunchy.
Excellent Recepie !!!
Hi Khushboo! Lovely recipe. You have mentioned 3-4 pieces of bread grounded in the ingredients list, but it’s not mentioned if you used it in the method. Please clarify. Thanks!
It is mentioned in the method. The fresh bread crumbs plus panko mixture for coating:) after dipping in the prepared slurry. Hope it helps.
Thanks a ton for this awesome ,tasty, oil less version of an interesting starter… a must make recipe with clear soups
I just had one doubt
Can you please explain the flaxseed slurry ???means what’s does flaxseed meal mean and how to make for this recipe
Do we need to use hot water To make this slurry ??
Hello Amandeep . Flaxseed meal means grounded flaxseeds (alsi in hindi). It activates with warm water. Instructions are provided in the post already. Hope you try it soon!
hi.. can’t this be done without flax seeds?? or is there any substitute for it??
Oshin you may use cornflour mixed with water slurry.
Can i do them in air fryier ?
Absolutely yes Iki you can . Just need patience as they go in small batches in the air fryer 🙂
Thank you for a no fry version, this is a genius recipe. My mil and husband both were surprised and we all loved the way it turned out. Thanks
Welcome Mamta , glad you all enjoyed it.
Hi Khushboo, they are amazing. Could you please suggest how to reheat the kebabs?
Thank you. May I know if the question is for frozen , fridge or room temperature Kebabs? You may reheat in the oven . But timings differ depending on the state of kebabs . So do let me know
Hi Khusboo – I make these kebabs quiet regularly and always a hit ! But now I intend to make them for a bigger gathering and need to make them in advance .. How do I reheat them so as to maintain the crunchiness ? Asking you as you have a solution for everything ?
Thank you. I hope the solution mentioned worked:)
Hey Khushboo ,
For how much minutes to Bake them
Komal , if you intend to bake them then the best way is lightly grease your cupcake pan and place one kebab in every cavity. or you can line a baking tray with parchment or foil , lightly grease it and place the kebabs. bake on middle rack at 400 deg f/ 200 deg c for 15-20 minutes until light brown turning midway .
What an excellent recipe . Made it for potluck and no one could believe it isn’t fried . A keeper . Thanks a lot .
Yay Asma , isn’t it cool, non fried and yum , happy to know you enjoyed them 🙂
Hey khusboo thanks for the lovely recepie.. Will try it!!
I need to buy this appe pan can you tell me which brand to buy and from where?? I live in US so want a flat bottom one..
Welcome Namrata , I bought mine on amazon , it’s this one -http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Danish-Ebleskiver-Pan/dp/B00004RFPL/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1454971194&sr=8-4&keywords=abelskiver+pan
Beautiful pictures and recipe. I have made them deep fried, would like to give this version a try…
Thanks Ratna , sure do , healthier versions are always better 🙂