FRIED RAVIOLI

Fried Ravioli is a super delicious and easy to make deep fried appetizer prepared using cheese and mushroom and will simply melt in your mouth.

I first had ravioli with marinara sauce at Marinos, Chicago and fell in love with it. I wanted to have this again, so I decided to try making it at home and gave a twist by frying it. The final outcome was a super hit and felt its worth sharing.

I do not have any ravioli cutter. I have shaped them by cookie cutter and sealing edges with fork. With basic ingredients I could prepare this tasty appetizer and make my loved ones happy.

If you prepare the sauce for the same, you can even serve this as main course. I will share the recipe for yummy finger licking sauce prepared using roasted garlic in my next post.

Preparation time : 1 hour
Serves : approx 20 - 24

Ingredients for Fried Ravioli

Ricotta cheese - 7 oz
Garlic cloves - 2
Mushroom - 4 oz
Black pepper powder - ½ tsp
Red pepper flakes - 1 tsp
Basil powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying + 1 tsp
All purpose flour - 1 ½ cup
Egg - 1
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Water - approx ⅔ cup

Steps to prepare Fried Ravioli

Step I

• In a large bow, add all purpose flour, egg, salt, olive oil and water and knead it to form soft pasta dough.
• Rest it for about 15 to 30 minutes.

Step II

• Finely chop garlic and mushroom.
• Heat oil in non stick pan. Add the garlic cloves and mushroom till it becomes light in color. Let this cool down.
• Now add ricotta cheese, salt, pepper flakes, pepper powder, basil powder to it and mix well. Filling is now ready.

Step III

• Heat oil for frying. See that at least 40 % of pan is covered with oil.
• Dust the working surface, Roll the dough into a thin sheet approx 2 mm thick.
• Cut them lengthwise into strips which are approx 4 inch wide using pizza cutter / knife.
• Place dollops of cheese filling few inches apart on a strip and place another strip on top of it.
• Pat around each dollops to create a seal, thereby removing any air pockets.
• Using cookie cutter or ravioli cutter, cut them into equal circles or squares.
• Seal the edges together using a fork.

Step IV

• Once the oil is hot, deep fry the raviolis on both the sides on medium to medium high flame till they becomes golden in color.
• Transfer it to paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the process for remaining raviolis.
• Fried Raviolis are now ready. Serve hot and enjoy.

Tip:

• Do not overcrowd the pan while frying.
• The oil should not be too hot or too cold. If its hot, it will turn brown and if its cold, it will absorb excess oil.
• To check if the oil is hot, add piece of dough and check if it sizzles and comes up.
• If you want to avoid frying then : In a large pot, add the water and bring it to nice boil. Add the ravioli and cook them until they float, and then drain. This would take about 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat the process for remaining dough.