CURRY AND SPICE: KATHAL CUTLET

This was our dinner last night and we enjoyed it. As I always say, vegetarian meals have to be meticulously planned at this home. Last Saturday, when I prepared the echor chingri / prawns with raw jackfruit, I kept aside a bowlful of the boiled jackfruit to prepare these vegetarian cutlets sometime this week. Yesterday morning, I shaped & dressed the cutlets and refrigerated them to be fried at night. Refrigeration helps them not break whilst frying. Yet, I would say my cutlets taste good but look wise they do not satisfy me. Anyway, because we enjoyed having them, I consider them worthy of getting a space in the blog. Raw Jackfruit is a very common kitchen ingredient in our families; however my family never prepared cutlets with it. Our mother was not into western cooking except for jam & jelly round the year. The snacks she prepared were mainly chicken fritters, fish fry, different kind of stuffed porota o kochuri / Indian bread, fulkopir shingara. Desserts were made at home, even ice-creams rarely but cutlets & sweets, cakes were store bought. When I learnt baking basic cakes, then too cakes continued to come locally from Monginis, now Mio Amore and every two to three months from Nahoums when we used to visit New Market. Our's was a typical middle class family which gave us a happy childhood, youth. Because food was the prime in the family, because food was / is prime in my life; I have learnt a little bit of cooking, take a lot of interest in it. When I look at the culinary skills around, I feel I am not even halfway there; yet you can try my KATHAL CUTLET recipe done with raw jackfruit, potato and regular spices.

Had the government not allowed us to go for a walk outside, I would have weighed 75kg by now, in fact it is not allowing us to walk in the basement. I am never an adventurist, I usually listen. I walk, cook and eat and the weight is stagnant at 58kg with a 4'11" height. Day before yesterday, I cooked some atta kochuri, served it with an egg plant mash dish. I had four kochuris, again two yesterday morning.

Yes, Cristine became a pro luchi / poori maker, the second picture has her's. BTW, can you see what damage tube lights does to a photograph. With her at home, I needed to go to Kolkata; for the family and my home that needs some repair work, spring cleaning. When I can I do not know. People at this home do not chat with me, the senior does not allow me to talk as the living room is his work station. In this scenario, cooking is a good engagement. Weekly once, I work with my greens too. There is nothing much to do there. I so wish to change this condo and rent a bigger elsewhere. Both the showers of one toilet are licking, the kitchen is falling down, yet this guy will not listen to me. This me sits and plan vegetarian meals like this KATHAL CUTLET with shemai / vermicelli polao for their dinner. The brother would really loved those cutlets; the thing is the 70+ woman cooks a lot but hardly shall attempt at a cutlet at this age; she did a lot for us, stopped cooking a wide variety after my marriage because the brother mostly likes mughlai dishes & pizza, burger. His wife cooks but I doubt if it will attempt a cutlet. I have a Cristine who helps me immensely. Yet, sadness is a part of my being, it was so depressing to see my potato plant destroyed by the wind yesterday night. They might not have bore potatoes, at least I was trying.

What else to do but to eat one more reheated jackfruit cutlet this morning and half of a walnut bun I got yesterday back from my walk.

You must remember, reheating a cutlet softens it, so cook and eat them fresh. Here is the detailed recipe with stepwise pictures.

INGREDIENTS :

BOILED RAW JACKFRUIT : 2 COFFEE MUG [1/4 OF A STANDARD SIZED]
BOILED POTATO : 1 COFFEE MUG [OF TWO MEDIUM SIZED]
CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI :
CUMIN POWDER : 1/2TSP
CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2TSP
RED CHILLI POWDER : 1/2TSP
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2TSP
DRY MANGO POWDER : 1TSP
CHAAT MASALA : 1/2TSP
BLACK PEPPER POWDER : 1TSP
CRUSHED CUMIN SEED : 1/4TSP
CRUSHED CORIANDER SEED : 1/4TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
BREAD CRUMB : 150-200GM
CORNFLOUR : 2TBSP
REFINED FLOUR : 2TBSP
OIL : 2TBSP + 200ML

PROCEDURE :

Two days back I cooked prawns with jackfruit and reserved this amount of boiled jackfruit for these cutlets.

You remember how to clean them after peeling, cutting and discarding the hard mid section? Take out the seeds, took off the yellow cover, that we throw.

I had boiled 2 potatoes in microwave, cooled peeled and mashed both the raw jackfruit & potato using the right palm.

If you wash the potatoes, slit them, take on a plate and microwave at high for 2 minutes; they are boiled.

We will take them together, add salt, turmeric+red chilli+cumin+coriander powders and mash well with our palm.

We will wash & chop the green chillies and crush the cumin & coriander a bit.

We will heat 2tbsp oil in a wok & temper with the crushed cumin+coriander seeds & green chillies.

We will add the boiled potato+raw jackfruit spiced mixture to it and stir cook at low heat for 3-4 minutes.

We will add the black pepper+dry mango+chaat masala powders and stir cook for 2 minutes.

We will transfer the mixture to a plate and let cool. We will let prepare shapes taking portions out of it.

We will prepare a semi liquid batter with the refined flour and corn flour. We will take the bread crumb in another plate.

We will dip the cutlets in the batter and then coat with the bread crumb, we will repeat the steps as shown.