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.
Skay
wonderful, Vaishali! I was looking for an appetizer to take to a party and here is your recipe! Thank you!
I bet these freeze well too, ya?
Anonymous
Great recipie;I did not understand how to dredge them thru bread crumbles.
Jessica
These look delicious and easy to prepare. I've been looking for an alternative to my delicious black bean burgers, just for a change, and this looks like a winner! Thanks for sharing.
jessyburke@gmail.com
T
Yum, these look awesome! I love patties and pancakes of all sort. And that bunny is adorable.
Rachana
These Cutlets look lovely and delicious 🙂 The Bunny is cute 🙂
Usha
Cutlets are always a welcome snack in my home and your version looks seriously tempting ! The bunny looks real cute...
Nupur
I never can resist cutlets, and your version looks delicious. They are a great vehicle for all sorts of leftovers 😉
Mihl
These sound really great! I love patties made with potatoes. Yours look so special!
Mints!
I love cutlets too. And I think its a good idea to make them as snack instead of something sweet 🙂
Bunny is so cute!!!!
Sanjeeta kk
An all time favorite for my kids, this version is interesting. A good change from the usual tikias, to try this weekend. Thanks for sharing.
Zengirl @ Heart and Mind
Vaishali,
I love cutlets and your pictures are so yummy. I love to cook but wish you were my neighbor so I could sneak and do taste test 🙂
I love the picture of bunny, we recently had our neighbor bunny visit our yard and eat our baby plants but we did not mind at all. Kids had fun seeing rabbit in our own home garden.
By the way, I finally revealed my name on my blog today 🙂 FYI.
Carrie
Sounds delicious! I've never had these before but I would love to give them a try.
Priya
Bunny looks cute...cutlets looks super delicious..
Sanyukta Gour(Bayes)
love to hv cutlets specially veg on rainy romatic evening with a cups of coffee...looks delcious
KALVA
nice cutlets recipes. would love to have them when raining!!
BangaloreBaker
Bunny picture is so cute. I have a bunny visitor too and he/she isn't letting a single zucchini get big. I am not really happy about it, but can't help. Cool cutlets.
Nithya
Great looking cutlets 🙂 I always like them so much.
The bunny looks sooooo cute 🙂
Happy Cook
I love vegetable cutlets it always reminds me of the afternnon spend in the Indian coffee house. This looks yumm.
Jaya Wagle
Vaishali, I was looking for a cutlet recipe, just because we buy the frozen ones at the Indian store but they are expensive. These are a good alternative when I don't want to cook just for me. I sandwich them between bread spread with some pesto and melted cheese. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Sharmila
Just too good Vaish! That cutlet is just waiting for a bite to sink into it.
And Bunny is so cute .. you are so lucky. 🙂
Hope Lucy is doing great.