Vegetarian cutlets
Description
The recipe won't take much time. Tip for staunch opponents of vegetarian food: this dish can serve as a side dish for meat, fish, or poultry. However, vegetarian cutlets can also be served as a standalone dish. Serve hot.
Instructions
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Step 1
I really love beans, so I try every bean dish I come across. This time, a friend brought me a recipe for vegetarian cutlets from India, and to my great delight, I discovered that beans are one of the ingredients. Let's take a look together at how to prepare vegetarian cutlets. For this, we'll need 1 cup of beans, soaked overnight in cold water. Remember, the approximate soaking time for beans is 12 hours.
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Step 2
The next day, drain the beans in a colander, let them sit for 5–7 minutes to allow excess liquid to drain off, then transfer them to a deep non-stick pot and add filtered water, making sure the water level is 10–12 centimeters above the beans.
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Step 3
Now take the potatoes, rinse them well under cold water, place them in a clean non-stick saucepan, pour water over the tubers (5–7 centimeters above them), and proceed to the next step. Turn on two burners to medium heat and place a saucepan on each—one with potatoes and one with beans. These ingredients require different cooking times. The potatoes will be ready first, in about 20–25 minutes. When the tubers become soft and a fork easily pierces them without resistance, transfer the potatoes to a deep plate and let them cool to room temperature.
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Step 4
Beans are a different matter—they take quite a long time to cook, depending on the variety, but generally require one to two hours. Once cooked, drain the beans into a fine-mesh colander, leave them in it for 5–7 minutes to let any excess cooking liquid drain off, then transfer them to a deep bowl and cool to room temperature.
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Step 5
After the cooked ingredients have cooled down, proceed to prepare the vegetable mixture. Using an immersion blender, blend the beans into a puree. Then add to it the peeled boiled potato tubers, grated on a fine grater. To prevent the patties from being bland, add ground shambala, garam masala, ground asafoetida, coriander, black pepper, salt (adjust the amount to taste), and sifted wheat flour—for better binding. Mix everything until smooth, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed by adding more spices.
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Step 6
Now place a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of ghee on medium heat. While it heats up, take a tablespoon of the potato-bean mixture, place it in your palm, shape it into a round or oval patty, transfer it onto a plate or dry cutting board, and form the rest in the same way.
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Step 7
After about 2–3 minutes, place the first batch of cutlets into the heated oil and fry them on both sides until golden brown, almost dark brown crust forms. This process will take no more than 3 minutes. Once the cutlets are ready, transfer them with a spatula into a small pot, add a little more oil to the skillet, and place the next batch of vegetarian cutlets into it. Continue this process until all the vegetable mixture is used up. Then cover the pot with a lid to keep the cutlets warm, and set it aside for now.
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Step 8
It's impossible to imagine an Indian dish without a spicy and aromatic sauce. We'll prepare a sauce for our patties as well. For this, take a small heat-resistant saucepan and pour in a couple of tablespoons of "Ghee" oil. After a few minutes, when the oil is heated, add ground coriander, asafoetida, turmeric, and a bit of curry. Sauté the spices for one minute, stirring with a spatula. During this time, they will release their pleasant aroma but won't have fully given it up yet. Next, add water, tomato paste, salt, and sugar to the saucepan. Mix everything thoroughly, bring to a boil, simmer for a couple of minutes, then turn off the stove—the sauce is ready!
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Step 9
Our cutlets are ready; they should be served hot with tomato chutney.