Veg Cutlets With Potatoes And Beetroot Veg Croquettes My Food Story

on Aug 27, 2021 1990s flashback: My family and I would go on holidays and we’d take the train of course. Lots of homemade snacks packed for the journey, but we’d always buy breakfast from the pantry – soggy beetroot veg cutlets, soft bread, butter and cheap ketchup. I wouldn’t call them tasty now, but there was something about those cutlets back then which was irresistible! This vegetable cutlet recipe is largely based on my memories of eating those railway style cutlets. Cutlets are not very different from vegetable croquettes with a potato filling inside. I’ve shared my tips on how to get that super crispy outside layer on cutlets without breadcrumbs. Trust me, every bite is crunchy. Cutlets make for a great evening snack, especially when it’s raining! You can also whip them up for road trips and even a snacky breakfast once in a while.

Veggie Loaded Potato Filling

Vegetarian cutlets are, to a large extent, a healthy snack because they’re LOADED with veggies. Cutlets are a great way to use up any leftover veggies you have at home. We’ve used boiled potatoes, beetroot, beans, carrots, and green peas. But if you have some leftover cabbage or cauliflower, go right ahead and use them too. The veggies are boiled and mixed together with spices, ginger garlic, fresh coriander and mint leaves. Potatoes, poha and cornflour act as binding agents for these cutlets. I prefer this combination to breadcrumbs sometimes.

Pressure cooking is the fastest way to cook root vegetables like beets, potatoes and carrots and makes them easy to mash laterThe green paste is a fantastic way to add flavour. When you grind together ginger, garlic, chillies, mint and coriander, magic happens!Unconventional binding agents like poha and cornflour are my preferred choice for cutlets. These keep the cutlets from drying out, while making sure they don’t fall apartDon’t mash the veggies too smooth. A little texture and chunkiness is nice to bite into

Shaping Cutlets

The potato beetroot mixture along with the binding agents makes this mixture really easy to handle while shaping cutlets.

Rub a little oil on your hands while shaping these to keep the mixture from sticking to your handsCoat: To get that crunchy outer layer, the cutlets are dipped in refined flour (maida) slurry and then coated in roasted crushed vermicelli. The flour slurry acts as a binding agent and keeps the shape of the cutlet. The roasted vermicelli is a great substitute for breadcrumbs!Freezing the cutlets for 10 minutes is another way to ‘set’ them so they don’t fall apart while frying. This step is not mandatory but helpful

Top Tips To Make Great Cutlets

If the potato and vegetable filling feels too moist, add a little more poha and cornflour. The cutlets should hold their shape when you try to form them in your handsGrease your palms with oil before rolling the cutlets so they don’t stickKeeping your shaped cutlets in the deep freezer for a few minutes helps them hold their shape better while deep frying Make sure the refined flour slurry is completely lump-free before dipping the cutlets in it. The slurry should not be very thickThese cutlets are deep-fried. Use a deep dish for deep frying and make sure the oil is hot before frying the cutletsYou can also air fry these cutlets for 8 minutes at 200 C. This is definitely a healthier option in which you don’t need to use any oilOblong-shaped cutlets should not be more than an inch thick in width. However, get creative and make round or triangle or even heart-shaped cutlets! ♥

Serve hot and crispy Vegetable Cutlets with tomato ketchup or Green Coriander Chutney!