A Vegetable Cutlet is a spicy, crunchy, delicious and healthy Indian fritter made with a mish-mash of potatoes, carrots, peas, and green beans. It makes a perfect snack for kids and adults. A soy-free, nut-free and vegan recipe. Can be glutenfree.
Like samosas and vegetable pakoras, these alluring Vegetable Cutlets are stalwarts of India's street food and its wonderful railway cafeterias.
I remember these cutlets as flat patties, usually in the shape of a teardrop or a round, with specks of sooji or rava or farina. They were served up with ketchup and didn't taste of any particular vegetable. Heck, they didn't even taste particularly good. And they tasted the same no matter where you were in the country.
But they were usually available when you wanted something vegetarian and something hot, and sometimes that was good enough.
I have been on a mission to reduce the amount of sweets cooked in my kitchen and that means coming up with recipes to satisfy the snack-seeking Desi and Jay, of course. It's either that or gobs of peanut butter and jelly on toast. Since that latter option doesn't appeal to me as it does to them, I try when I can to come up with something different.
These vegetable cutlets are a great option because their lusciousness owes itself to the great spud and not fat. I've said this before and I'll repeat it-- potatoes are one of the best veggies around, and they appeal to almost anyone, child or adult. What usually gives potatoes a bad rep is the way they are prepared-- deep-fried, or topped with tons of unhealthy cheese or sour cream. But find a healthy way to cook it, and you can have your potato and eat it too.
These are also great to sandwich in a burger bun, or add to a pita bread with a salad and some tahini, like you would falafel.
I'll leave you with the recipe for these cutlets. They're easy and they taste better than any vegetable cutlet I ever ate at a railway cafeteria. They're also versatile-- you could add to these squash, green peppers...use your imagination. The best part is that you're eating veggies for a snack. How great is that?
More spicy Indian snacks
- Bread Pakora
- Masala Khakhra
- Chivda, an Indian Snack Mix
- Baked Keema Samosa
- Crispy Samosa Pastry Squares
- Aloo Tikki
- Vegetable Puffs
Vegetable Cutlet Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 medium potatoes (boiled and mashed. If using organic potatoes, you can leave the skins on)
- 1 cup green peas
- 1 cup green beans (minced)
- 1 medium carrot (grated or minced)
- 1 medium onion (minced or finely diced)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon paprika ( or cayenne or Kashmiri chili powder)
- 2 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour (use rice flour or gluten-free all purpose flour for a gluten-free version)
- Juice of 1 lemon or lime
- ¼ cup cilantro (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- Oil to spray or coat the bottom of the skillet
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon chickpea flour (mixed with ¼ cup of water in a shallow dish, for dipping the cutlets)
- ½ cup breadcrumbs (for dredging the cutlets. Use gluten-free bread for a gf version)
Instructions
- Boil the green beans and carrots until tender but not mushy. I do this by putting them in a bowl, adding about ¼ cup of water, and zapping them, covered, in a microwave, about five minutes on high. Drain all water.
- Heat oil in a skillet. Add the cumin seeds, and, once they sputter, add the onions and ginger.
- Stir-fry the onions for about a couple of minutes until they start to soften.
- Add the chilli and turmeric powders, stir into the oil, then add the peas, carrots, and green beans. Cook for another two or three minutes until they are quite tender. Stir in the coriander leaves. Place the cooked veggie mixture in a food processor and pulse three to four times for five seconds each. You don't want a paste. Some bits of the veggies should still be visible.
- Add the veggies to the mashed potatoes and stir well together. Add salt to taste, and lemon juice.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the flour.
- Heat a cast-iron or non-stick skillet.
- Spray or spread on a film of oil.
- Take a 1-inch ball of the potato-veggie mixture and flatten it into a disc.
- Dip the cutlets in the chickpea-water mixture to coat on both sides. Then dredge them in the bread crumbs crumbs so you have a fairly even coating on both sides.
- Place the cutlets one by one in the hot skillet, without overcrowding. Cook on each side until golden-brown.
- Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.
Recipe notes
Nutrition
Wynne
What option is there besides chickpea flour? None here.
Vaishali
You can use rice flour. Or try breadcrumbs.
Gia Bowens
Could you please tell me how much garlic to use.
Vaishali
Gia, it's ginger, not garlic. Thanks!
Carmen
Hi Vaishali,
The cutlets look yum! You are right about how they taste, even in Sree Mithai!!
Also since you are adding all purpose flour and bread crumbs, the gluten free tag threw me off track!
Maybe I'll try it with GF flour and GF breadcrumbs?
Have a wonderful rest of the week!
C
Vaishali
Sorry about that, it was a silly error. Corrected now! You could make these glutenfree though by using rice flour instead of APF and glutenfree breadcrumbs. I will add that in the notes.
ben moretti
that looks great, i can't wait to try it myself
Vaishali
Anonymous, Thanks for the feedback. You're right, the flour does help them bind. Glad you enjoyed the cutlets. 🙂
Anonymous
Thanks for the reply Vaishali. I made them last night without the flour as I wasn't sure what to do with it--felt it was safer to leave it out. They were yummy although a bit delicate to handle. Another batch is on the stove as I type, I'll be using the flour this time. In Sri Lanka we deep fry cutlets but since I became vegan they always fall apart in the oil without the egg that is traditionally used to bind them. Your spray-fry version is just as good, and healthier. Ammas restaurant in Vienna sells deep fried cutlets, I wonder what they use to bind them... Anyway, I digress, thanks for writing an awesome blog! I love this recipe!
Vaishali
Anon, yes, add them when you put the mixture together.
Anonymous
Hi, when do you add the 2 tbsp of flour? Is it added at the end to thicken the mixture perhaps? Thanks!
Miri
I can have cutlets in any shape or form (there is even a raw banana cutlet on my blog!)As a toddler I was christened Cutlet Mary by my Anglo Indian neighbours for my voracous appetite when it came to gobbling down cutlets...
I am going back home and making this! 🙂
Ameya
You're right, this is a great way to get in more veggies. I love cutlets!!
Divya Vikram
Love the green hue in the cutlets. Looks really pretty Vaishali.