my experiences: Today in the kitchen - mixed vegetable cutlet.

The idea of cutlets, an anytime snack, was not today's. I have been thinking of it for quite sometime. This could be made in multiple ways..some nutritious and tasty and some other more tasty and compromising a bit on by adding oily fats. I decided on the former.

This is also an all time savory. From breakfast to lunch to tea time to dinner time or anytime in berween. Cutlets are an almost no no during lunch and dinner in the north but in Western India especially in Gujarat and Maharashtra a "proper lunch" is incomplete without some savoury or other.. almost like how any meal must have a sweet dish across the country or anywhere for that matter as with desserts.

I must thank Madhura's recipe from YouTube that I followed.

So let's fet going with the making of cutlets.

Proportions I took would make about six cutlets. Depending on your appetite and liking you (one person) could 2 or 3 cutlets in one go, so you adjust proportions depending on number of people and their taste and hunger level.

Ingredients:

Potato - 3 medium size (300 gms)

Capsicum - 1 medium size (50 gms)

Onion - 1 medium size (75 gms)

Green chili -2

Coriander leaves - 20 gms

Chat masala - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chili powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to raste (1 tsp would be good)

White sandwich bread -4 slices

Maida - 1/2 cup (75 gms)

Corn flour - 1/4 cup (40 gms)

Preparation:

To make bread crumbs.

Take four slices of fresh bread and allow them to dry after taking out from the packing. We do not need very soft bread slices. Crush slices to small pieces and run it in a mixture grinder for about 10 seconds. Empty contents in a baking pan and bake in an oven for 2 minutes at 170°C (give heat from both sides). Take out, shake it (remember your container is hot) and put it again for another 2 minutes. It should be good to go but if you want even more crisp (I do) put it back in oven for 2 more minutes. Your crumbs are ready to go in cutlets.

For the cutlets:

Boil the potatoes in cooker with just 1 whistle, we need little hard potato. After you peel them mash them in small pieces (not fine) and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes).

Take a pan and add 2 tbsp oil. After oil gets heated add finely chopped onion and after 2 minutes add finely chopped capcium. Run the mixture on low flame for about 4 minutes, and SWITCH OFF THE FLAME. Now add mashed potatoes and all the spices (garam masala, chat masla, cumin powder, Red chilli powder, salt), finely cut green chillies and coriander leaves and about 4 tbsp baked bread crumbs. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and allow the mixture to cool.

Now press the mixture with hand/s and make a ball of it, slowly press the ball and give it a shape of cutlet. Don't worry the crumbs will give it a good binding and it will not split.

Now take a bowl and pour 1/2 cup maida and a quarter cup corn flour. You can skip corn flour and increase maida quantity if you don't have corn flour. I used maize flour (makke ka aata) instead. Add 1/2 tsp salt, mix well, add small quantities of water to make the mixture for coating cutlet, it should neither flow not should it be like a paste/gel.

Now dip the raw cutlet tikki in the mixture from all sides so that the liquid is uniformly spread over it, now place the cutlet over the crumbs so that it gets covered with crumbs from all sides.

You are now ready for the final steps. You could either deep fry these balls in oil or shallow fry or even bake them in an oven. I chose the middle path and shallow fried them. Take two or three tbsp oil in the same pan in which you made the mixture and when oil heats up (keep flame to low all the time) put cutlet balls in the pan. Fry both sides alternatively for 3 minutes each and a bit more if you think they are not crispy. Also pick up the cooked ball with a tong/ and roll the sides in the pan smoothly so that the sides also get cooked. (I have not seen any recipe that explains this step) check my video on Facebook post as Blog doesn't allow videos.