Beef Croquettes (Cutlets)

Hey everyone!! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter and Vishu (in Kerala)! Things have been very very hectic for me back home at MN. We came back from California on Friday and have been taking care of several overdue stuff all through this week. I was busy putting together a humble Easter meal on Saturday and decided to stick to some basic dishes (mixed cuisine) including these beef croquettes/cutlets and onion salad as an appetizer, naan, fried rice, pork vindaloo, raita, pappad and pickle for the main course and caramel custard pudding to finish off the meal. I would like to share the recipe for these croquettes today!! I also have a small movie with a few of the floral pictures that I took in CA, along with a song I sung and recorded at home (WARNING : neither perfect nor professional!!). The song is from the new Malayalam movie Sagar alias Jacky. Drop me a word if you like it! ;-). More pictures of the trip will be uploaded soon on "Through the looking glass".

Croquettes are small fried food roll containing mashed potatoes and minced meat or fish as main ingredients and often encased in bread crumbs. This is one of the common appetizers made in Christian homes in Kerala, India for special occasions like Christmas and Easter, even as sides or snacks. I am sure I wouldnt be able to think of any celebration we had without sampling one version or the other of these cutlets!! We usually love the cutlets with a splash of tomato ketchup on the side when served as an appetizer or snack and is a great accompaniment to tea or coffee. It can be dressed up as a more adult-kind of snack with a side salad of onions, green chillies and vinegar rubbed together. It can also be served as a side to fried rice/pulao/plain rice. It is generally deep fried, but I usually shallow fry the cutlets in a skillet and brown them on either sides.

We really enjoyed the cutlets and I am sure you would too. Please do try out the recipe and let me know if you enjoyed it! The cutlets should be fine if made with other minced meat including chicken, pork or turkey (though I havent tried them), or can be subsituted with carrots, beetroots, mashed potatoes and peas for a vegetarian version of the croquettes. Enjoy!!

Recipe (Makes 20-30 cutlets) :

Ground beef - 3 lb chuck
Onions - 1 1/2 medium, diced small
Ginger - 1" by 1" piece, minced
Green chilly (Serrano) - 1, minced
Garlic - 2 large cloves, minced
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Kashmiri Chilli powder - 3 tsp
Coriander powder - 3 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Golden Klondike Potatoes - 1 1/2 lb
Eggs - 3, beaten lightly
Breadcrumbs - as needed (~2 cups)

Method:

Cook the potatoes until very tender (in a pressure cooker, saucepan or microwave).

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed skillet.

Saute onions on medium hight heat for about 2 minutes.

Add the ginger, garlic and green chillies.

Saute until the onions are tender (for about 2 more minutes).

Lower the flame and toss in all the spice powders.

Allow the spice powders to cook by adding a tbsp or two of water, on low flame.

Cook the spices until oil separates.

Add the ground beef and separate into smaller chunks using a wooden spoon.

Close the skillet with a lid and cook the beef over medium flame for about 15 minutes, or until no longer pink and is cooked well.

Remove the lid and allow the beef keema to dry.

Allow the beef to brown lightly.

Switch off the flame and allow to cool.

Once cooled, mash the potatoes coarsely and mix in.

Mix the beef-potato mixture until everything comes together.

Shape into round or oval patties or cylinders.

Dip each beef patty in the egg, shake of excess.

Coat the patties well with bread crumbs, one at a time.

If the patties are very soft, set aside until easier to handle (it will harden a bit).

Fry the patties, a couple at a time, and serve hot.

Tips:

1. The cutlets can be deep or shallow fried. I usually shallow fry them with a bit of oil in a skillet. Deep frying gives a uniform brown color to the croquettes. The pictured ones were deep fried. The last picture shows cutlets which were shallow fried.
2. The cutlets can also be frozen (before frying) wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in an airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator or in the microwave and use as needed.
3. The cutlets/croquettes can be served hot as an appetizer with tomato ketchup on the side, or with a salad of onions and green chillies in vinegar.

Here's a floral treat from California with a home-recording (by JZ @ Tasty treats) as background score!!

Hope you all enjoyed the movie. Have a great day!!