Potato and Sooji Snack | Healthy Indian Teatime Snacks
These crispy potato and semolina bites are the evening snack perfect for the teatime. I make when people are hungry at 5pm and dinner is still an hour away. Soft and savory inside, golden and crisp outside, and pan fried rather than deep fried. The base is semolina (sold as sooji at Indian grocers) cooked down with vegetables, then bound with mashed potato and cheese, chilled, cut into squares, and crisped in a shallow pan.
Made with Indian semolina/sooji, lots of veggies with Potatoes and cheese these Semolina Potatoes and veggies cutlets are perfect teatime snack or breakfast.
Quick Answer: The Fastest Evening Snack Here
Saute chopped vegetables, roast semolina with them, add water and cook until thick, then stir in mashed potato, cheese, and herbs off the heat. Chill the mixture for 30 minutes, cut it into squares, and pan fry 2 to 3 minutes per side. Hands on prep is about 5 minutes if the potatoes are already boiled, and the shaped squares keep in the freezer for a month, so the snack itself is ready whenever you are.
Potato Sooji Snack Recipe Video
When I talk about Nashta, If you love teatime snacks as much as I do this is a must follow recipe series on the blog. Super easy to make these crispy Indian snacks are delicious too. Follow the simple step-by-step process to make this crispy Potato sooji veggie squares.
Also, As I am talking about semolina, other crispy semolina/sooji snack you can make is savoury Semolina pancakes, Sooji aur chawal le Pakore. If You want another cheesy Potato snack recipe these Potato Triangles and Potato Pancakes are totally a potato snack you must try.
The base of these veggie squares is vegetable Upma. I make them with different spices though. I have added the veggies that were in my fridge. You can pick your favourite vegetables and add them. Only suggestion here is do not opt for vegetables that release a lot of water after cooking and remain soggy. I avoid cabbage bell pepper etc. You can even add paneer or tofu for protein as well.
And we haven’t talked about the best thing yet 🙂 These delicious veggie snack squares are crispy but these are not deep fried. I have pan fried them. You can shallow fry or air fry as per your liking.
These delicious semolina and potato snacks are a perfect snack for parties or even festivals. You can make them in advance and keep in the freezer. Shallow fry them only when you are ready to serve them. You can cut them in any shape of your preference.
Aloo Paratha Recipe For me, these delicious and crispy snacks with potato are perfect for tea-time or breakfast. BTW these Soft Aloo Paratha is another potato recipe for breakfast that you must totally try.
Ingredients for Potato and Sooji Square
- Semolina/sooji
- Vegetables: Onion Chopped, Fresh Peas, green Beans Chopped, Carrot Chopped, Mushroom Chopped
- Potatoes boiled and mashed
- Flavors: Green Chillies Chopped, Mint Leaves Chopped, Cilantro Chopped
- Seasoning: Salt, Mixed Herbs
- Cheese Grated
Where to Find Sooji in the US and Canada
Sooji is sold as “semolina” at most mainstream US and Canadian grocery stores. Look in the flour or baking aisle. You can find it at Whole Foods, Walmart, and most Indian grocery stores. Bob’s Red Mill sells semolina flour online and in many supermarkets. Amazon also carries it if you prefer delivery
How to Make Sooji Squares
- Heat some oil in a pan and sweat chopped onions, then add veggies like peas, green beans, chopped carrot, mushrooms and saute the veggies for a few minutes,
- Then make some space in the pan to add semolina, now roast the semolina for a few minutes, then combine with the rest of the veggies and roast on slow heat.
- Then add water, salt to taste and season with mixed herbs. Mix well with everything and squeeze lemon juice in too.
- After the semolina and veggie mixture have become thicker, add boiled potatoes, green chillies, mint, cilantro, grated cheese and mix everything.
- Let the mixture cool and flatten it on butter paper by pressing gently and refrigerate for 30 minutes, then cut this into 1 & 1/2 inch squares.
- Now heat some oil in pan and pan fry the semolina potato squares. Flip to cook & brown both the sides evenly.
- Once done, drain the excess oil & serve!
Potato and Semolina Cutlets – Recipe Notes
- To make perfect shaped veggie squares one has to saute all the veggies first to dry out any moisture from veggies and cook them.
- Roast the sooji/semolina along with the veggies to remove the raw flavour.
- When the sooji is cooked switch off the heat and then add boiled mashed potatoes, coriander leaves, cheese and other ingredients.
- Since I refrigerated the semolina and veggie mixture prior to frying I used butter paper to spread the mixture evenly.
- You can always use a flat surface or a plain plate brushed with oil to spread the mixture evenly.
Apply oil on your hands before flattening the mixture.
Meal Prep and Storage
These sooji squares are excellent for meal prep. Make the full batch, shape and refrigerate the unfried mixture for up to 2 days before pan-frying. Once fried, store cooled squares in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat, place in an air fryer at 375°F (190°C) for 4–5 minutes to restore crispness microwaving makes them soft. For longer storage, freeze unfried shaped squares on a lined tray for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Fry directly from frozen, adding 3–4 extra minutes to the cook time.
Evening Snack FAQs
What Are Some Easy Snacks To Make In 5 Minutes?
The fastest snacks are the ones where the work happened earlier. These semolina potato bites are shaped and chilled in advance, so the evening step is 5 minutes in a pan. The same is true of a yogurt dip whisked while vegetables are cut, or rice paper chips that puff in an air fryer in about 6 minutes.
What Is A Healthy Evening Snack?
A snack that holds you to dinner usually pairs protein or fiber with something satisfying to eat. These bites carry vegetables and cheese in a semolina base and are pan fried in a thin film of oil rather than deep fried. If you want more protein, fold in paneer or tofu with the potato.
Can I Make These Snack Squares Ahead Of Time?
Yes, and this is the best way to use the recipe. Shape the mixture and refrigerate it unfried for up to 2 days, or freeze the cut squares on a lined tray for an hour and bag them for up to a month. Fry straight from frozen and add 3 to 4 minutes.
What Is Sooji And Where Do I Buy It?
Sooji is semolina, the coarse wheat flour sold as semolina in most US and Canadian supermarkets. Look in the flour or baking aisle. Bob’s Red Mill sells it widely, and any Indian grocer will have it labeled sooji or rava.
Can I Air Fry These Instead Of Pan Frying?
Yes. Brush the squares lightly with oil and air fry at 375F (190C) for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once. They come out slightly drier than pan fried but hold their shape well, and it is the easier option for a large batch.
Why Did My Potato and Cheese Squares Fall Apart?
Almost always moisture. Vegetables that release water as they cook, such as cabbage or bell pepper, keep the mixture loose. Saute the vegetables until dry before adding semolina, and give the shaped mixture the full 30 minutes in the fridge before cutting.
Easy Evening Snacks To Make At Home
If you want a rotation rather than a single recipe, these are the evening snacks I come back to most. All of them are vegetarian, all of them work as an after-school or pre dinner bite, and most can be prepped ahead.
- Crispy Potato Triangles: the same make-ahead logic as these bites, cut into a different shape.
- Air Fryer Rice Paper Pop Chips: about 6 minutes, no oil bath, good for a crunchy craving.
- Chili Crisp Greek Yogurt Dip: high protein, takes 5 minutes, turns raw vegetables into an actual snack.
- High Protein Cottage Cheese Wraps: for evenings when the snack needs to hold you until a late dinner.
- Crispy Roasted Potatoes: hands-off in the oven while you get on with something else.
More Teatime Crispy Snack Recipes Recipes
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Sooji Veggie Squares
Ingredients
- ½ cup semolina sooji
- ¼ cup Onion Chopped
- ¼ cup Fresh Peas
- ¼ cup green Beans Chopped
- ¼ cup Carrot Chopped
- ¼ cup Mushroom Chopped
- 2-3 cup Water
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1-2 teaspoon Mixed Herbs
- 1 cup Potatoes boiled and mashed
- 2 Green Chillies Chopped
- 2 tablespoon Mint Leaves Chopped
- 2 tablespoon Cilantro Chopped
- 2 tablespoon Cheese Grated
Instructions
- Heat some oil in a pan and sweat chopped onions, then add veggies like peas, green beans, chopped carrot, mushrooms and saute the veggies for a few minutes,
- Then make some space in the pan to add semolina, now roast the semolina for a few minutes, then combine with the rest of the veggies and roast on slow heat.
- Then add water, salt to taste and season with mixed herbs. Mix well with everything and squeeze lemon juice in too.
- After the semolina and veggie mixture have become thicker, add boiled potatoes, green chillies, mint, coriander, grated cheese and mix everything.
- Let the mixture cool and flatten it on butter paper by pressing gently and refrigerate for 30 minutes, then cut this into 1 & 1/2 inch squares.
- Now heat some oil in pan and pan fry the semolina potato squares. Flip to cook & brown both the sides evenly.
- Once done, drain the excess oil & serve!
Video
Notes
- To make perfect shaped veggie squares one has to saute all the veggies first to dry out any moisture from veggies and cook them.
- Roast the sooji/semolina along with the veggies to remove the raw flavour.
- When the sooji is cooked switch off the heat and then add boiled mashed potatoes, coriander leaves, cheese and other ingredients.
- Since I refrigerated the semolina and veggie mixture prior to frying I used butter paper to spread the mixture evenly.
- You can always use a flat surface or a plain plate brushed with oil to spread the mixture evenly.
Apply oil on your hands before flattening the mixture.
Niceand healthy recipe i wl try surely
Hi How much in cups do we use for the mashed potatoes please thank you
Can we air fry this
Awesome
Hi. Looks like a nice recipe surely want to try it. Could the squares be roasted instead of frying 🙏🙂
Thank you Aditi, it really tastes good. I would suggest air frying over roasting. You can even bake them but taste and texture will alter to some extent.
Wonderful & unique recipe.
Awsome dish thanku so much i m loving it….
Tasty and delicious
I liked the recipe for it’s simplicity
This was really easy. Thank you so much!
My children love it. Really tasty and healthy. Thanks
This recipe is super cool. Read more about tea and snack combination.
Turned out to be super yumm!!
The recipe looks delicious. The recipe also has good nutrition value. Its complete recipe for snack time. The recipe takes few minutes to get prepared. I really like this recipe and thanks for sharing it. Keep sharing more recipes. You can try some spicy taste for your recipes with our variety of spices at https://annapurnaspices.com.
Light tea time snacks full of vegs.
I’m not that much of an internet reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the road vegetarian indian starters
It looks good & healthy will definitely try
Loved the recipe. Will definitely give it a try. How much oil should I add? And which oil?
Very nice recipe. Thank Rekha mam🥰
Made these squares .. taste wise they were delicious but didn’t turn out crispy. Tried all methods .. frying. Shallow frying and even tikki type. Where am I going wrong ?