Vegetable Cutlets / Vegetable Patties

This week’s resolution is to try and write up some of the many pending backlogs of dishes prepared more than a year ago. The TBW folder is growing tired of my additions, and I’m afraid I’ll forget the recipe or even what the pictures represent. For instance, I glanced by one of the below pictures and briefly wondered what it was.

Anyway, here is my take on a very common and popular appetizer - vegetable cutlets. Boiled, mashed potatoes form the main ingredient here. It is spiced and mixed with other cooked vegetables, made into patties, coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried! How can it not taste good. Since everyone is paranoid of deep-frying these days, I tried shallow frying the cutlets on a wide and shallow frying pan. It consumes far less oil and tastes almost as good as deep frying.

Ingredients (serves 4 hungry people):

1. 4 medium-sized boiled potatoes, peeled and mashed
2. 1 - 1.5 cups worth mixed vegetables - finely chopped carrots, beans, bell-pepper, corn, and green peas
3. 1 onion, finely chopped
4. 1 teaspoon grated ginger
5. 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
6. ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
7. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
8. 1 teaspoon coriander powder
9. ½ teaspoon chilli powder
10. 1.5 teaspoons pav bhaji masala / garam masala
11. 1.25 teaspoons salt or as needed
12. ¼ cup coriander leaves / cilantro
13. juice of half a lemon
14. 2 cups (or more) bread crumbs
15. 3 tablespoons yogurt
16. A few tablespoons of vegetable oil (for shallow frying)

Preparation:

1. Boil the potatoes, peel them and mash them as best as you can (no need for a fancy gadget) and set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add fennel seeds and cumin seeds and wait for them to sizzle. When they do, add the onions and saute till they turn translucent. Next, add the grated ginger and fry for a few seconds.
3. Next add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and pav bhaji / garam masala and fry for a few seconds. Be careful not to let the spices burn.
4. Add the chopped vegetables and salt saute on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then, with the lid closed, continue to cook the vegetables until they are tender and almost cooked.
5. Add the cooked and spiced vegetables to the mashed potatoes and using your hand (or a good spatula) mix  everything together.  Taste and adjust for seasonings. Finally, add some chopped cilantro and some lemon juice and give it another gentle mix.
6. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a shallow and wide frying pan. As the oil heats, assemble the following:
1. Dilute the yogurt in ⅓  cup of water and whisk well. Pour it into a wide cup
2. Spread the bread crumbs onto a plate
3. Start making 1/2 - 1 inch thick patties (discs) of the prepared vegetable mixture. Wet your hand with a little water or oil if the patties stick.
7. Test if the oil is hot by dropping a small amount of the vegetable mixture. If it begins frying, it’s ready. Maintain the temperature at medium-low to medium.
8. Start shallow frying the patties:
1. This step is optional. If your patty is already moist because of the potatoes, just roll them in the bread crumbs. Else, gently dip the front and back of the patty in the diluted yogurt. Do not dunk it, gently coat the sides with the yogurt to wet the patty so that the bread crumbs stick to it.  The patty should not be dripping wet and sloppy, it should just be made moist.
2. Roll the patty in the bread crumbs and dust off the excess crumbs, if any.
3. Place the patty on the hot oil and fry each side for about 5-7 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pan, fry no more than 4 patties at a time. Gently flip them to evenly fry both sides. If needed, add a teaspoon of oil to each batch so that the patties don’t burn.
4. Drain the fried patties/cutlets on paper towels and serve hot.

If you are not a fan of even shallow frying the cutlets, then you can alternatively bake them. I have tried baking them a few times, but I have to say that they (obviously) don’t taste as good as frying. For one, they  somehow seem longer to prepare and the bread crumbs (along the circumference of the cutlets) remain raw. But if you would like to bake, here’s what you need to do:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 425 F. Wrap a sheet tray with aluminum foil. Place the prepared patties (coated in some diluted yogurt and bread crumbs only on the front and back) on the sheet tray.
2. If you want, you can drop ¼  teaspoon of oil on top of each patty so they crisp well. Else, just place them in the center of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until one of the sides is browned. Then gently flip all the patties, add a bit of oil on each patty (optional), and bake for another 10-20 minutes until the other side is also browned.

As you can tell from the pictures, I used very little oil to pan fry the cutlets, so the crumbs are not evenly and completely golden brown. But they still taste good.

These cutlets go well with tomato ketchup and any spicy, tangy dip.