Home-garden Zucchini Three Ways

After the round of Zucchini breads and soups and curries and grated fritters/hash and what-not, we had one last home-garden Zucchini left from this season's harvest.

Not quite the fan of fried foods (and not because I don't like the taste or anything), I was trying to resist the urge to make a snack feast much like the pakora/bajji my mom used to make on rainy days... it seemed like a perfect overcast day with a hint of Autumn in the air.

Rather than deep frying, I went with shallow frying. And that's how these hot delicacies came into being in my kitchen and disappeared in a short time. I used just one half the large foot-long 4½ inches diameter home-garden zucchini for this and it was plenty.

Technically, they are not cooked up in three different ways, but, three different batters make for an interesting spread. Kids liked the Shredded Wheat one the best as it was the crunchiest for them.

Simply cut into preferred shape about 2 or 3 millimeters thick, dust with flour, keep handy. Prepare the batters and keep handy as well. Shallow fry in batches. Serve with favorite dip/sauce or chutneys. I went with a quick and easy favorite: Combine equal parts of ketchup and Sambal Oelek for a Hot+Sweet Chili Sauce. Kids preferred just the ketchup, of course.

The quick picture I took doesn't justify the taste and the satisfaction it gave us that day.

Zucchini 65: Very much like the Hong Kong Bitter Melon 65 recipe, the rich red light batter seemed like a good first way. So, I shallow fried a batch using much the same batter as before.

Zucchini Tempura: Much like my usual vegetable tempura batter, this is light and crispy and best enjoyed right away. Any standard recipe for tempura batter is fine - prepare the batter just before frying and use it up quickly.

Shredded Wheat Breaded Zucchini: Shredded wheat cereal has lent itself to a few other dishes as a breading ingredient, much like in breaded chicken recipe shared here. I use the unfrosted, plain old shredded wheat, of course. Combine it with some stale old cheese crackers to form a crunchy coating for any breaded-and-fried dish.

What should I do with the last half of the home-garden zucchini? I've been asking myself as I eye the half dozen on more butternut squashes that are ready to be picked in the garden which is getting ready to close down for this year.