CUTLETS

 Cutlets, sallas, and ketchup were my favorite for marriages and other special functions in the family. My mother-in-law tries to sneak in a lot of vegetables into the cutlets that she makes. Her cutlets are very famous. This is her recipe. She uses any vegetable she can get her hands on. She even uses വാഴ കൂമ്പു( plantain flower) and yet makes tasty cutlets. 

INGREDIENTS - makes 35-40 cutlets

1. 1/2 kg boneless chicken (I used boneless chicken thigh meat)
2. 2 large potatoes, skin peeled and roughly chopped(300 gms.)
3. 1/4 of a medium-sized onion chopped finely
4. 4 green chili, seeds removed and chopped
5. 5 curry leaves, chopped
6. 1 small piece ginger, finely chopped
7. 1 tsp pepper powder
8. 1 tsp. coriander powder
9. 3 tsp garam masala
10. 1 tsp coriander powder
11. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
12. 6 cups of finely chopped vegetable(cabbage , cauliflower, carrots, vazha pindi , spinach, beetroot)
13. salt to taste(2-1/2 tsp)
14. 1 Tbsp. oil
15. oil for frying
16. bread crumbs from 4 slices of bread(150 gms.)
17. 3 eggs, beaten 

METHOD

Make-Ahead

BREAD CRUMBS

• Put the bread slices and pulse in the mixie, into crumbs.  Transfer to a plate and keep aside.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

COOKING THE POTATOES

• Wash and clean the potatoes. I have used a pressure cooker to cook the potatoes with the skin on.
• Place the potatoes on a separator plate, with water below, in a pressure cooker. Cook on high for 1 whistle. Turn off the stove, after the pressure is gone, turn the cooker on high for 1 more whistle. Let the pressure release naturally before opening the cooker.
  

  

• Always make sure that the potatoes are cooked, by inserting a sharp pointed knife towards the center of the potato. If the knife doesn't go smoothly into the center, cook the potatoes for 1 more whistle. That should be enough. 
• Take out the potatoes, let cool, peel off the skin, and mash the potatoes. I do not add salt to the potatoes, I add sufficient salt to the chicken while cooking and to the vegetables.
• The potatoes are easy to mash when they are warm rather than cold.
  
  

COOKING THE CHICKEN

• Cut the chicken into small pieces, put it in a pan, add salt( about 1 -1/2 tsp) and 1 tsp pepper, and cook on medium-high flame. Cook for 7 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked.
• No need to dry out the stock in the pan. The stock of the cooked chicken can be used while sautéing the vegetables.
  
  
  
  

• Let the cooked chicken cool down. 
• When the chicken has cooled down, put this into a food processor and chop the chicken until nicely minced. 
  

  

  
  
  

  

PREPARING THE VEGETABLES FOR THE CUTLETS

• Raid your fridge, get all the vegetables that don't have a lot of water content. A maximum of 6 cups of chopped vegetables can be used for the said amount of chicken. I have used purple cabbage, cauliflower, and carrots here. (Use your food processor for chopping)
  

  

SAUTEING THE VEGETABLES

• Heat a sauté pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is warm, add oil, when the oil is hot, add ingredients 3-6.
  
• When the onions are slightly brown, add in ingredients 7-11. Sauté until the raw smell goes. Adjust the heat accordingly so that the masala does not burn at the bottom.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Now add in the chopped vegetables. Stir well, add in the chicken stock and salt(1 tsp), and sauté till the raw smell goes away. 
• Adding the leftover chicken stock from the cooked chicken gives a nice taste to the cutlets.
• So don't waste any of the stock or the cooked chicken scraps in the pan. It would do well to use boiling water to deglaze the pan and use the stuck up chicken scraps too.
  
  
  
  
  

•  Cook the vegetables just until done. No need to cook it like you make thoren. The vegetables will cook more while frying the cutlets too.
  

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

• Now it's time to mix the mashed potatoes, shredded chicken, and sauteed vegetables together. 
• Into the pan with the vegetables, add the shredded chicken and mashed potatoes. Using your hands, mix until well combined. Check for salt.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Shape the mixture into cutlets and keep it in the same pan. Take a small part of the mixture, make it into a ball, roll it between your palms, flatten it into a disc, and shape the edges.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

SETTING UP THE BREADING STATION

• Beat the eggs until well combined.
• Set up the breading station, by putting the rolled-out cutlets, breadcrumbs, and beaten egg in an assembly line. Also, set aside 2 storage bowls for storing the cutlets.
  

• Dip each cutlet in the beaten eggs, and place it in the breadcrumbs plate. Continue this until the breadcrumbs plate is full.
• Don't attempt to dip each cutlet in the egg and then roll out in the bread crumbs, immediately. In doing so, your palms will become coated with breadcrumbs and when you dip the next cutlet in the egg, the beaten egg also will be full of breadcrumbs. (My dad's tip)
  
  
  
  
  

• Now using your fingers, roll each cutlet in the bread crumbs until it is completely coated with crumbs. Transfer this to a storage bowl.
  
  

• Do the same with the remaining cutlets. 
• Usually, there will be a small amount of beaten egg and breadcrumbs left. Combine both and roll it out into a breadcrumb-egg cutlet.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

FRYING THE CUTLETS

• Heat a cheena chatti(wok) . When warm add sufficient oil to fry the cutlets. This here is my favorite wok and slotted spoon used for frying. 
• Line a plate with paper towels to drain the fried cutlets.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• When the oil is hot, add in 3 cutlets(mine accommodates only 3). 
  
  
  
  

• Control the temperature as you fry, between high and medium. After about 2 minutes, turn the cutlets over. Fry for about a minute and drain them into the paper-lined plate.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Fry the number of cutlets that are required. 
  
  
  
  
• The ones circled in the center are the ones made with the remaining breadcrumbs and eggs.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

NOTES

• Add salt individually to mashed potatoes, veggies, and minced chicken. Adding salt finally and mixing is very tiring.
• If the salt is less, add it while frying in the oil.
• I reuse the oil a second time for frying the cutlets.
• Don't fry in very little oil, the cutlets will not maintain their shape and will fall apart causing oil to seep in and making the fried product oily.
• The cutlets can be frozen. There is no need to thaw it before frying. You can put it directly in the oil.
• Bombaunty used to freeze the cutlets and fry it right out of the freezer but that did not work for me. The middle part of the cutlet remained frozen even after frying in hot oil. So to make ahead, fry the cutlets, bake them to reheat when entertaining.