Beetroot Cutlet - Snack Time

Beetroot Cutlet makes me quite nostalgic.

My earliest memory of this dish is when I made it in Class 9 for a proficiency badge in Guides movement. For those of you who are not familiar with the Scouts and Guides association, it is a movement to develop the young boys and girls as responsible citizens which may not be achieved through civic education alone. You need to cross various stages and tests to be eligible for the Rashtrapati Award. Each of the stages consists of a set of badges that need to be achieved and one among that was a proficiency in cooking for which we were to take to school a dish prepared by us. It was my mother’s suggestion that I try this recipe which she had noted down in her diary sometime back. The examiner being a vegetarian and a foodie loved it and I landed the proficiency badge.

The second story dates to my PG days in Bangalore. My room mates had gone home for the weekend and I was left alone in the PG with nothing better to do. I thought of trying this recipe, not quite sure of the quantity this would make. In the end, I ended up making exactly 63 cutlets which fed four of us for over a week.

The last time I made this in Bangalore was along with a colleague for Potluck in office where each of us had to get a dish from home. We did have a target of 40 cutlets, well overshot it and made 50  and the mix left over for another 20 – 25. Too tired to make any more we just refrigerated the mix and had it a day later along with chapatti just like that!!(Not bad I must say)

Last of all not to forget a dear friend, who hates beetroot, yet we succeeded in getting him to have this for potluck. Every time I see or hear “ BEETROOT”, I remember him :)

Here goes a quick snack which surprisingly to me goes well with finely chopped onions and coriander leaf garnish. It is the onset of monsoon in India, so why not try this over a weekend while I sit and eat the cutlets here in UAE dreaming of the monsoons.

Ingredients

Beetroot - 3 grated

Potato - 2 Boiled and mashed coarsely

Green Chilly - 2 finely chopped

Ginger - 2 tsp finely chopped

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Chilly powder - 2 tsp

Maida/ self rising flour - 3 tbsp

Corn Flour - 3 tbsp

Bread Crumbs

Oil

Salt

Method

Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a skillet and toss in the cumin seeds. Saute for a minute and add chopped ginger.Keep sauteing and add the onions. Cook till translucent and add chopped green chilly.

Add the coriander powder and chilly powder. Saute till the masala is cooked and add the required salt. Toss in the grated beetroot and mix it well. Saute for about 4 - 5 minutes till the water that has oozed from the beetroot dries up. 

Switch off the blame and fold in the mashed potato with a fork. While still warm, roll it up into shapes you desire. Stack it up in an air tight container and freeze it for about an hour. The patties would now be a little firm.

Mix maida and Corn Flour along with water to create a paste in which the patties can be dipped and then roll it in bread crumbs.  Non - vegetarians can use beaten egg for the dip instead of maida and corn flour.

Shallow fry the cutlets in oil for around 4 minutes on either of the sides on medium flame. Serve it hot with finely chopped onion and coriander garnish and with tomato sauce dip.

You may also note - 

1. You can freeze the remaining patties for later use. However, ensure that you remove it from the freezer at least half an hour before you fry.
2. Do not mash the potatoes finely. Leave a few chunks, adds more taste to the cutlets.
3. In case you mixture is not holding itself together and you are unable to roll it - add bread crumbs into the mixture and this will hold better.
4. Use only the required amount of oil. Excess oil may result in your mixture being oily and it will not hold together.
5. You can also deep fry it. I tend to shallow fry to reduce oil consumption.