Veggie Dog
When I was young I always thought hot dog was a vegetarian delicacy, ohhh how wrong I was! It looked delicious, and could top it with onions, relish, mustard or ketchup! Sign me up! I was always jealous of those living in the States because they could, it wasn’t until I grew older I realized it was pig and cow. My heart broke, it wasn’t because my parents didn’t allow me to eat it. After witnessing a goat being killed I didn’t have the guts to try it. I have seen the veggie sausages for long, but they don’t look very appetizing once they are cooked. I didn’t want to spend $8 bucks on something I was going to put in trash. My friend told me how she makes veggie hot dogs and since then I have been inclined to make them. I wanted to include some sort of protein too, so the first time I made I made them entirely with soy chucks or meal maker. They weren’t nice. At least no one commented.
A visit to Ikea introduced me to veggie dogs. They were wonderful! I think it had quinoa in it, which I obviously didn’t add. They gave fried onions, and sauerkraut (or I think pickled onions) as a side. The veggie dog there was thinner than the ones I made at home, and probably fried. If you have an air fryer these will come out great I’m in, but I shallow fried them and they turned out pretty okay. You can grill them (using a foil if possible) or bake them as well. I found shallow frying the easiest and hence did that. I had to adapt the recipe a couple of times and kept it pretty simple. You can add garlic seasoning, onion seasoning, some oregano, some chili flakes and also some cilantro or parsley. You can add any vegetable that you choose that isn’t too overpowering in taste, you can add grated zucchini, beans, kale, collard greens, grated beets. Frankly the options and the combinations are limitless. I will keep updating this recipe as I try different veggies.
Ingredients
Chickpeas – 1 cup (canned)
Carrots – 1 grated
Cabbage – 1 cup chopped thinly
Corn – 1/2 cup
Spinach – 1 cup
Salt – 1 spoon (as needed)
Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
Coriander powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Semolina – 1/4 cup (optional, can use corn flour instead or corn meal)
Paprika – 1/2 teaspoon
Onions – 1/2 cup thinly chopped
Chickpea Flour or All Purpose Flour – 1/2 cup
Oat crumbs or Bread crumbs – 1 cup
Oil – 1/2 cup
Hot Dog Buns – 8
How To Make
Step 1: I used fried chickpeas, so I soaked them overnight, cooked them (with salt) in the instant pot for 18 minutes, drained them of water (pressure cooker for 8 whistles).
Step 2: Keep the chickpeas in a colander, until all the water drains off.
Step 3: Add the grated carrot, chopped cabbage, corn and spinach to a cheesecloth or a dishcloth. Tie it up tight so that the water drains out of them.
Step 4: Add the chickpeas into a bowl, add salt, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, semolina and paprika and mash it until there are no chunks of chickpeas.
Step 5: Add onions, and the vegetables from the cheesecloth, mix them well.
Step 6: Add some chickpea flour or all purpose flour, and mix it well.
Step 7: Shape them into hot dog shapes (cylindrical) and roll them in oat crumbs (slightly pulsed oats) or bread crumbs and chill them for 10 minutes (optional).
Step 8: in a pan, once hot add oil, as the oil gets hot, shallow fry the “dogs”, and serve them with a hot dog bun and ketchup.
Tips:
1. Use veggies as many as you like, make sure to drain the water out of them.
2. I shaped them into patties, let them cook, chilled them and then Froze them for future use.
3. Make them in an air fryer for the “fried” taste, wish I had one (not promoting Air Fryer).
♥️ Mahi
PS: This recipe got a gold award on Reddit and has made me incredibly proud that I continue doing this. Thank you KingofRage. You’ve officially made my day and possibly year.
