Piping hot, freshly fried, spicy cutlets are a favorite tea time snack. Make these delicious chicken cutlets or croquettes which are crisp outside, juicy and delicious inside.
You will need:
For the filling,
Potato – 2, medium-sized
Oil – 2 tbsp
Minced or ground chicken – ½ lb, around 250gm
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Onion – 1, finely chopped
Ginger and garlic paste – 2 tsp
Green chili – 1, finely chopped (optional, omit if serving to kids)
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – ½ - 1 tsp (as per taste)
Coriander powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Black pepper powder – ¼ tsp (or to taste)
Salt – to taste
Amchur powder – ½ tsp (or juice of half a lime)
Cilantro leaves – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
For the cutlets,
Chicken and potato filling – above quantity, cooled slightly
Cornstarch - 2-3 tbsp (optional)
Egg – 1, large
Breadcrumbs – 1 cup
Oil – for frying
How to:
Chicken-potato filling: Boil and peel the potatoes. Keep aside.
In a large pan or deep skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil. Tip in the chicken, season with salt and some cracked black pepper. Cook till chicken is done, stirring frequently. Minced chicken has a tendency to clump together when cooked. If this happens, I simply put them in my food processor and pulse it a few times. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
Heat the rest of the oil in the pan. Add cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
Add onions and saute till lightly golden. Now add the ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chili and saute well till the raw smell is gone.
Add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder and saute for a few seconds.
To this, add the cooked chicken and potatoes and mix well, mashing the potatoes while doing so.
Add salt, black pepper powder and amchur powder (or lime juice) and cook for a few minutes to combine everything together well, stirring frequently. Taste and adjust seasoning by adding more salt, black pepper or lime juice. Finish by sprinkling some chopped cilantro leaves. Remove from heat and cool well before forming the cutlets/croquettes.
Forming and frying the cutlets/croquettes: Set up your dipping and dredging station. Take cornstarch, the lightly beaten egg and breadcrumbs in different shallow bowls. Keep on hand a lightly greased large plate or tray to hold the formed patties.
Form small balls of the filling with your hands and flatten it slightly to a smooth disk shape. Alternately, you can make oval or cylindrical shapes as well.
Dust lightly with cornstarch, tapping off excess. Then dip lightly into the beaten egg, shake off excess and roll in the breadcrumbs to cover the patty on all sides. Place on the plate/tray. Repeat till all the filling is used up. At this point, you can either freeze the patties for future use or fry them right away. Allow the coating to firm up slightly before frying them. You can refrigerate them for a while to speed up things.
Heat oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, drop in 2-3 patties, reduce heat to medium-high and fry till golden brown on all sides. Remove on to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil. Increase the heat again before frying the next batch. Repeat till all cutlets/croquettes are done.
Serve them hot along with some ketchup (or sriracha) and a hot cup of tea or coffee for a delicious snack. Cutlets can also be served along with a main meal. It goes well with almost all kinds of rice dishes and can also be eaten as a slider sandwiched between lightly toasted buns.
Notes:
1. You can use finely shredded chicken meat (like from a breast) if you do not have minced chicken. 2. If you find yourself without breadcrumbs, try coating them in semolina (sooji or rava), making sure to shake off excess or you will end up with smoky black bits when you fry them. 3. You can shallow fry the cutlets in a pan or even bake them for a healthier version (at 400 deg.F for 10-15 minutes or till coating is browned). 4. The oil must neither be too hot or too cold. If it is too hot, the cutlets will burn and if it is not hot enough, it has a tendency to absorb oil and turn soggy. Start with a hot pan of oil, then reduce the heat to medium and fry cutlets till evenly browned on both sides. Bring oil temperature up before dropping in the next batch of patties. 5.Formed patties can be frozen for a couple of weeks. Flash-freeze the patties on a tray or baking sheet. Then place them in Ziploc bags or airtight freezer containers and store in the freezer till needed. To make cutlets, remove as many patties as required, thaw them slightly and fry/bake as usual.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2016/03/14/chicken-cutlets-indian-chicken-croquettes/