Vegetable Cutlet

I sometimes wonder where the time went by when I see/hear Jordan. He is growing up fast and I wish I could just stop time from flying away. I hardly have any time for myself after having taken him to the park or library or other activities and the household chores. So I had been missing from the blogging world for a while now, untill last week and I loved the break. I hope to update it frequently everytime I return from a break, but I fail. Lazy me, I say. Anyways, this time I hope to update frequently.

Myself and Big J used to speak in english, when we wanted to talk something that we didn't want Lil J to hear. Now the stage has come that Lil J has started to pick up on english(overhearing our conversation and grasping it). So if you come visit us, you will see both of us spelling the words out so that Jordan can't get it. I don't see those days far when he will pick the spellings as well.

Cutlet is one of his favorites. If I happen to utter that word infront of him, he would keep asking for it untill I make it. Now what if I don't have the ingredients available then. So Cutlet is one among the many words that we spell out these days :).

This cutlet serves as a great appetizer option for a party. And its super easy to put together unlike the beef cutlets which includes more cook time. Try it out when you have family and friends over. These are amazing.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of grated carrot
2. 1 cup of grated beetroot
3. 1 cup of grated/ finely chopped green beans
4. ½ cup of grated cabbage
5. 1 cup of boiled and mashed potatoes
6. 1 cup of chopped red onion
7. 1 tbsp of grated ginger
8. 1 sprig of curry leaves, finely chopped
9. ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
10. ½ tsp of garam masala
11. Salt to taste
12. 2 tbsp of oil

For frying

1. 3 tbsp of all purpose flour
2. 2 cups of bread crumbs
3. Oil for frying

Method

• Heat a pan with 2 tbsp of oil. Once hot, add the chopped red onion, ginger, curry leaves and salt. Saute it until the ginger and onion loose their rawness and start spreading a nice aroma.
• Add the turmeric powder and mix it well.
• Add the carrots, beans, beetroot, green beans and cabbage. Mix it well and cook it for about 3-4 minutes.
• Add the garam masala and stir it into the mixture. Add the mashed potatoes and mix it thoroughly for all the ingredients to spread evenly. Adjust salt and cook it for couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool down.
• Make an inch size balls out of the mixture and press it between your palms to attain the shape of the cutlets. Secure the sides of the cutlets to close down any cracks.
• When you are done shaping the cutlets, and they have cooled down, place them in the fridge for about half an hour before frying.
• Prepare the oil for frying in a pan.
• Add about 5-6 tbsp of water to the all purpose flour to make a watery battery out of it.
• Dip each cutlet in the batter, roll it in the bread crumbs to coat it and then fry it in the oil under medium heat until they turn golden brown on all sides. Remove it into a plate lined with tissue paper to drain away excess oil.
• Serve it warm with some onion salad or tomato sauce/ketchup.

Tips

1. Keep the bread crumb in a bowl and not in a plate. This would help prevent wastage of bread crumbs and at the same time help the bread crumbs spread evenly over the cutlet.
2. Make sure you don’t have cracks on the cutlets while shaping them. Else there are chances that they might break up while frying.
3. Since the cutlet mixture is already cooked, its just the bread crumb coating that needs to be cooked. Hence, fry it just untill the cutlet surface turns dark brown in colour.
4. Fry the cutlets on medium heat. High heat would burn them and low heat would make them drink too much of oil.