Good food doesn’t always have to have meat in it. If you are considering giving your chicken loving family a small break from meats,then illusion food is the right way to get them to fall in love with their veggies. I was toying with the idea of creating an illusion dish which would not only trick, but also appeal to the eyes and the palate. And when you are taking on a universal favorite like Chicken drumsticks, the look alike has to be really good. It had to not only look but taste delicious. That is how the idea of chicken less drumsticks was conceptualized.
The first time I made this dish, I did not use any veggies. I decided to go with two types of cheeses- Cottage and Processed. The result was extremely good. The crust was crunchy and the center was soft and flavorful. And yes… they did look like Chicken drumsticks. The second time around I substituted a part of cottage cheese with mashed potato and that turned out delicious as well. And if you are wondering what the bone substitute is…Well!! I used cumin flavored bread sticks. Of course you can try some other flavor like sesame,mint or oregano bread sticks. You can prepare them in advance if you are planning a party and just fry them before serving. If you want to try this tasty appetizer,make a note of the recipe.
Chili Cheese Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 200 g Paneer (Cottage Cheese)crumbled
- 2 Cheese cubes grated
- Salt to taste
- White pepper powder to taste
- 1 tsp. dried Oregano
- 1 green Chili chopped
- 2 tsp. Cilantro/Coriander leaves chopped fine
- 5 Bread sticks(slim ones) broken into two each
Step One
- Mix all the above ingredients except the bread sticks.
- Divide into 10 equal sized portions.
- Take one half of a bread stick and wrap the cheese mixture on one end shaping it gently within your palm so that it looks like a drumstick.
Ingredients for the breading station
- 1-2 cups fresh bread crumbs
- Flour for dusting
- Water in a cup
Step Two
- Dust the drumsticks with dry flour.
- Dip them one at a time in water. It shouldn’t take more than a second.
- Immediately roll in bread crumbs.
- Deep fry two or three at a time.
- Serve hot.
