Chicken Porcupine Balls ( That's one guilt-free snack )

One of the resolutions that I have made for 2015 is to go easy on the oily/fried stuff. And that takes me on a journey to discover and adopt as many steamed/roasted (read 'low calories') recipes as possible without compromising on my family's taste buds. So when I came across this recipe in a magazine, I just had to try it.

Though these cute looking porcupine balls were at first intended as party snacks for the kids, I added green chili instead of pepper powder to up the heat content. One can also add some finely chopped greens/cabbage/carrots/peppers to the chicken mince to get some fiber into this dish. With a little bit of tinkering, one can tailor this recipe in accordance with one's dietary plans.

Read on for my version of the recipe -

Preparation Time - 20-25 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 cup chicken mince
• 1/2 of a small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (grated)
• 1/2 inch ginger (grated)
• 1 green chili (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• few drops of light soy sauce
• one egg white
• 1/4 cup rice (preferably the thin and long variety)
• few drops oil for greasing
• salt to taste

Preparation - Wash and soak the rice for 2-3 hours.

Take the chicken mince in a mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients (except oil & rice).
Mix well and divide into 12-14 portions. Shape each portion into a ball.

Strain the rice, spread it on a plate and put under the fan for 5-10 mins so that the excess water gets evaporated. Roll each ball over the rice so that the rice grains coat it well.

Cooking - Plug in a steamer. If you do not own one, use an idli stand and spread some banana leaves over the plates. (Or you can even do it in a pressure cooker like we steam dhokla)

Place the balls and close the lid. Steam for 15-18 mins .

Remove from the steamer/idli pot and serve hot with schezuan chutney/sauce.