Greek zucchini n beetroot fritters for Brown bag challenge n kick-start to my Breakfast-Brunch series

Some of you are already aware of Food Network’s Summer fest but this month they have challenged food bloggers to take their ‘Brown Bag challenge ‘ – a month-long initiative to eat consciously and save money by packing a lunch each weekday instead of eating out. It is challenging, think about it. Things can get tricky, because every day is not the same, right? I just got to know about this event and thought to give it a try. I already missed one week but better late than never…right? So here is the deal, I am a homemaker (Unemployed now and work from home sometimes), but I pack lunch for V every day. And I am really proud of myself by doing this because I am not only taking care of his health but it is also helping us financially. Why to eat all junky, cheesy, yukkky fast food outside when you can make it home with just bit of an effort and some proper planning. Yes, planning is the key.

So you might be wondering that why she is taking this challenge? Let me be honest and explain why I want to do this. Lately I have been very  very ignorant about my routine. I sleep around 2 am and I get up around 9 ish. I eat my breakfast for the sake of it and that too just a glass full of coffee (all milk based) along with a slice of bread. That’s all. For lunch, I either eat oatmeal or cereal or some leftover. I do not care to cook for myself.  I find it boring and I have to have someone to share my meal with. But can’t help, V can’t come home for lunch otherwise he will be staying in his research lab till late night and I do not want that. So still getting used to it. Then I will have some evening snack along with tea and V. And then at night I will eat one healthy home cooked heavy meal. I know I know very bad habit. And do I need to even mention that I am gaining weight because of this stupid routine of mine, grrr…So many negative things. Although I push myself to exercise 3 times a week, I eat healthy, organic vegetarian food but still I do not feel energized.

So basically, these are the reasons why I want to take this challenge. I want to do this for myself. I want to get back into my nice regular routine. I want to feel good about myself. I want to feel energized. But it won’t happen if I do not have a deadline. For this Brown bag challenge I will get to post only once a week so again I have to have something that will keep me going. To solve that problem, I am kick-starting my “Breakfast-Brunch” series on my blog. So basically besides my regular recipes, I will be sharing more of breakfast-brunch recipes every alternate day till one month. So be ready to get bombarded with some healthy n easy Breakfast/Brunch recipes.

Here I have made Greek Zucchini fritters for my first Brown bag challenge. It is very very easy to make and you can prepare this a day ahead so all you need to do in the morning is to shallow fry it and enjoy it as your breakfast or brunch. The choice is yours.

Greek Zucchini Fritters

Slightly adapted from a recipe I learned from one of my good friend Priya. She makes these fritters Indian style using beets, potatoes with some veggies and some Indian spices. But here is my modified version of Fritters in Greek style. I hope you will enjoy it!

Total time: 30 minutes

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 huge large zucchini, trimmed and grated on the wide holes of a grater or food processor (About 2 ½ cups)
• 2 beetroot, peeled and grated (About 1 ½ cups)
• 2 big potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed and most importantly it has to be at room temperature (About 2 cups)
• 2/3 – 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 Tbsp of chopped jalapeno or any other hot chillies
• 1/4 cup of chopped onions
• ½ – ¼ tsp Freshly ground black pepper (Depends on how much fresh chillies you use)
• 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (If needed)
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup superfine semolina/sooji for covering the fritters or else you can use fine breadcrumbs
• EVOO for frying

To serve:

• Yogurt sauce (Recipe follows)
• Organic tomato Ketchup

Method:

• Mix grated zucchini and beetroot in a colander and add some salt to it. Let it sit aside for 5-10 minutes. Take up handfuls of mixture, and squeeze out all the moisture. And put it in a mixing bowl.
• Now add boiled potatoes to zucchini mixture. Add chopped onions, chopped chillies, chopped parsley, 2/3 cup of feta cheese along with some salt and pepper. Be careful with the amount of salt because feta cheese is salty.

• Mix everything together. Now take up to a small handful of mixture about tennis ball size and make a small patty out of it. If the mixture is too wet, you can add breadcrumbs. Now make patties out of this mixture and cover them nicely with semolina flour.
• Once covered, you can store them in to refrigerator for later use or you can carry on with the procedure.
• Drizzle some Extra virgin olive oil (About a Tbsp) in a large frying pan, and shallow fry your patties on medium heat till you see light golden brown color. If you are using breadcrumbs and not semolina, the cooking time will be vary.  It will get burnt fast if you are not keeping your eye on it so cook them on low-medium heat for about 6 minutes on each side if you are using breadcrumbs to coat your patties.
• Make sure to cook it on both the sides. It should not take more than 5 minutes on each side.
• Serve hot with yogurt sauce and organic tomato ketchup if desired. Also sprinkle some feta cheese 🙂

Yogurt sauce:

• 1 cup of low-fat Yogurt
• ½ cucumber chopped about ½ cup
• 1 scallion chopped
• ½ tsp Italian seasoning
• Salt  and black pepper as per taste
• ¼ tsp of red pepper flakes

Whip all the things together in a mixing bowl and serve on the top of fritters. Enjoy.

So here is my question to you: What do you eat for breakfast/brunch? I will appreciate if you leave a comment below.

And you know what even you can take this challenge, you do not have to be a food blogger. You can even share your recipes/tips here.

Do not forget to check out what other bloggers are making for their Brown Bag Challenge:

The Undercover Cook: Grilled Shrimp Tacos With Chipotle Cream

I Brown Bag: Healthy Eating Starts at Home

Reve Noir: Brown-Bag Challenge Days 5 and 6

Not Your Church Cookbook: The 10 Commandments of Leftovers

Diary of a Fat Kid: Week 3, Day 1

Coach’s Oats: Beneficial Brown-Bag Challenge

Adventures in Everyday: Brown-Bag Challenge

Love,