Quinoa Cutlets / Quinoa Patties

The last post on vegetable cutlets serves as a nice segue for this particular recipe. Quinoa is the current coolest ingredient in everybody's pantry. It tastes good, is healthy, and can be easily incorporated as a substitute for rice in Indian cooking. Last week, I came across this recipe for quinoa cakes and I was immediately inspired to try it at home. So, here is my adapted version of quinoa cutlets. If I didn't tell you what the main ingredient in the cutlet was, you would never guess (in a blind taste-test, of course). It tastes very much like potato-veggie cutlet!

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups cooked  quinoa (cook quinoa as you would rice with 2 cups of water per cup of quinoa)
2. 4.5 tablespoons yogurt
3. 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
4. 3 cloves of garlic, minced
5. 1 cup green peas, almost cooked
6. 1 teaspoon of salt (or depending on taste)
7. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
8. 1 teaspoon curry powder / garam masala powder
9. 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
10. 1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves / cilantro
11. 2 - 3 cups bread crumbs
12. a few tablespoons olive oil for shallow frying

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, add the cooked (and cooled) quinoa. Fluff it up slightly with a fork. Add yogurt and mix well. The yogurt acts as a binding agent and can be added as a substitute to eggs. 
2. Next, add the spices - turmeric, curry powder / garam masala powder, and salt. Mix well. 
3. Mix in the chopped onion, garlic, and peas. 
4. Gently stir in the cheese and coriander leaves
5. Finally add 1 cup of bread crumbs and stir well. The breadcrumbs also acts as a binding agent. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes and then touch it to see if it's moist. If it's moist, add some breadcrumbs until you can make patties that hold their shape. I tired a batch without adding breadcrumbs to the mixture and they didn't hold their shape while frying/serving. So, do not ignore this step.
6. Once the mixture is ready, prepare to shallow fry 
• Prepare 1/2 inch - 1 inch thick patties
• Coat the top and bottom of the patties in breadcrumbs 
• Heat 1.5 - 2 tablespoons of oil in a shallow frying pan. When hot, place 4-5 patties in the pan and fry on medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the bottom is golden brown/crisp. Gently flip the patties and crisp the other side. Remove and drain on paper towels.
• Replenish the pan with a little more oil and repeat forming and frying the patties. 

 Serve with ketchup/chutney of your choice. They are obviously best had when hot and right from the pan. And a few cutlets also serve as a filling meal.