My friends tell me that the highlight of kitty parties organised at my place is the food. So, while there is the obvious “kitty” to look forward to, there are also some great homemade snacks that my girls can delight in. I like to prepare some exquisite starters and a light main course and dessert, but I do shift my focus on the main course, too, sometimes.
Starters being my favourite, I’m going to share recipes of some mouth-watering starters that work as great kitty party snack recipes.
5 Delicious kitty party snacks
Try these recipes at home, make changes as you like, and once you’ve mastered it, serve them at the next kitty party at your place.
1. Paneer Tikka
Compared to the other recipes, Paneer Tikka takes the most time since the paneer and vegetables need to be marinated and refrigerated for about 1 to 4 hours. So, you may have to prepare well in advance to make this. However, I can assure you that it’s totally worth the wait!
Ingredients:
- 250 grams of paneer
- 1-2 tomatoes
- 1-2 onions
- 1-2 bell peppers
- 2.25 cups of yoghurt
- ¾ tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 4 tablespoons gram flour
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mango powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon carom seeds
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2-3 tablespoons oil
- Salt to taste
Method of preparation:
- Whisk the yoghurt in a bowl.
- Add all the spices and herbs to the yoghurt and whisk well. Add salt if required.
- Add the paneer slices and vegetables to the yoghurt.
- Mix well so that all the paneer slices and vegetables are well marinated.
- Refrigerate them for a minimum of 1 hour to about 4 hours.
- After sufficient refrigeration, marinate the paneer slices and fry them on a tawa.
- Repeat this for the vegetables.
- While still hot, skewer the paneer and vegetables.
Serve the Paneer Tikka with mint chutney, a few onion slices, and lime.
2. Desi Canapes
You can give the classic French starter, Canapes, a desi twist by using some healthy ingredients and Indian spices. You can serve these bite-sized snacks in the middle of the fun games you have planned.
Ingredients:
- 20 Canapes cups
- 1 cup moong sprouts
- 1 cup black chana sprouts
- 1 small finely chopped tomato
- 1 small finely chopped onion
- 3-4 tablespoons mint chutney
- 3-4 tablespoons tamarind chutney
- 3-4 tablespoons chaat masala
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1-2 tablespoons sev
Method of preparation:
- Boil the sprouts for about 2 minutes.
- Transfer them into a dry mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix well.
- Add the mixture in the canapes cups and serve.
3. Baby Aloo Chaat
This is a recipe I have mastered after many trials and errors. If you have a microwave at home, you can try this dish that will surely steal the show at your next kitty party.
Ingredients:
- 20 Baby potatoes
- 8 dry red chillies
- ½ inch ginger
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 2 teaspoons roasted coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon fresh cream
- ¼ teaspoon roasted kasuri methi
- ½ teaspoon dry mango powder
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Salt to taste
Method of preparation:
- Wash the potatoes and line them in a glass tray. Place a bowl filled with water in the middle of the tray and place the tray in the microwave. (The water in the bowl is to prevent the skin of the potatoes from getting any wrinkles.)
- Cook for 6 minutes at power level high (900W) and micro mode.
- Grind red chillies, ginger, garlic, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds with water to make the masala paste.
- Add oil in a bowl, add the masala and cook for 2 minutes in the microwave at power level high and micro mode.
- Leave it for 2 minutes.
- Then, add salt, dry mango powder, and finally the baby potatoes.
- Add kasuri methi, full cream, and mix well.
- Cook this for 2 minutes at power level high and micro mode.
Serve the Baby Aloo Chaat with mint chutney, onions, and lime.
If you love Aloo, here are a few mouthwatering sweet potato dishes.
4. Vegetable Cutlet
You can never go wrong in serving cutlets as a snack – at a kitty party, birthday party, or an evening snack for family and friends.
Ingredients:
- 2 large potatoes
- 1 large carrot
- ½ cup beans
- ½ cup peas
- 3 tablespoons coriander leaves
- ¾ teaspoon ginger – grated or paste
- 1-2 chillies
- 6 tablespoons bread crumbs for the patty, ½ cup bread crumbs for crumb coating
- 2 tablespoon besan for crumb coating
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon salt
Method of preparation:
- Steam or cook the vegetables. Do not make them too mushy.
- Transfer the vegetables after straining any excess water and add bread crumbs, ginger, chillies, garam masala, and salt. Add bread crumbs as and when necessary to make sure the dough is non-sticky.
- Prepare besan batter for coating by blending besan and water. Add water as per the consistency you need and leave it aside in a bowl.
- Keep a bowl of bread crumbs ready for coating.
- Roll out the dough into patties and coat them first with the besan batter on both sides and then with bread crumbs.
- Add oil on a pan and fry the patties until crisp and golden.
Serve the Veg Cutlet with mint chutney or tamarind chutney.
5. Nachos, cheese and salsa
If you’re looking to make a simple snack, this recipe is the one for you! It’s quite simple and if your kid is willing to help, you can focus on the main dish while he or she prepares the Nachos and salsa (under your supervision of course!).
Ingredients:
- Tortilla chips
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon maida
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon tomato ketchup
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 tomato
- ½ onion
- ¼ capsicum
- 1 or 2 sprigs coriander leaves
- A pinch of sugar
- Half a lime
- Salt to taste
Method of preparation:
- Heat a pan and add butter and maida. Saute to form a roux.
- Add the milk and cheese. Continue stirring.
- Add the tomato ketchup and hot sauce.
- Stir well and add milk to make the sauce thick if necessary.
- For the salsa, add the tomato, onion, capsicum, coriander leaves, sugar, lime, and salt in a bowl. Mix well and refrigerate.
Serve the cheese sauce and salsa with tortilla chips. Add the cheese and salsa just before serving so that the chips don’t get soggy.
Try some of these kitty party snack recipes at your next kitty party and let me know how they turned out!
