Rice Cutlet - Mommy's secret recipe!

The word 'Cutlet' creates mixed feelings to our taste buds. We know that it is tasty but at the same time, we worry about the oil and calories that go in with it. Cutlets are mostly made with root vegetables like potato and a mix of flours. But, my mom  hacked a secret recipe to make healthy cutlets without potatoes in them. And trust me, this cutlet needed much lesser oil to get cooked. It is a quick fix that kids will love and eat!

One day, when we were getting back from school, we sniffed a yummy odor wafting from our kitchen. When we went inside, we saw nice golden looking cutlets, getting tossed in the Tawa by mom. When we asked her what it was, she said "Rice cutlet, kids!". As children, the thought of rice in snack items can be revolting, so me and my sister showed our face to mom and grunted. But after munching through a few of them, we felt like it was the best cutlet we have ever tasted.

Rice cutlets are healthy, easy to make and has more nutritional value than potato cutlets. Take a sneak peek into my mom's rice cutlet recipe, which she taught me later.

 

INGREDIENTS :

• Left over rice from morning - 2 cups
• 2 finely chopped onions
• 2 finely chopped green chillies
• 1 carrot shredded
• 2 tbsp Besan/ Chick Pea flour (for binding the cutlet)
• 2 tbsp Rice flour (for crispiness)
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• 1/4 tbsp Garam masala powder
• Salt as per taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup water (to mix the dough)
• 4 breads, finely powdered for outer layer cutlet coating
• Finely chopped coriander leaves

PREPARATION :

• Take a big bowl. Add all the ingredients from the list mentioned above, except for the powdered bread.
• Add water slowly and kneed the ingredients into a thick dough.
• Check for the spice and salt levels and if needed added more.
• Now take small quantities in hand and flatten them round like nuggets.
• Dip these nuggets into the powdered bread, so that they form a thick coat on the outside.
• Heat a flat iron Tawa or a frying skillet. Drizzle it with little oil.
• Place 4 to 5 cutlets on the Tawa and cook them for ten minutes on medium flame.
• Serve hot with sauce once the cutlets turn golden and crispy.

      

           It is the best tea time snack that has a good amount of veggies in it. One can also modify this cutlet recipe, by adding tomatoes, boiled potatoes, peas or any other vegetable of your choice. Left over rice has much more nutrition and it cooks really fast with less oil.

 

Hope this recipe enlightens your taste buds!