Panasa Cutlet ( Low calorie recipe )

Cutlets are a great way of making use of any leftovers. Every time we have any leftover vegetables or even fish/chicken, I fashion them into cutlets which give them a fresh lease of taste and look. However, since cutlets seemed so mundane to me, I never thought of featuring them in my blogs. However, I have been seeing quite a few cutlet recipes floating around these days, so thought of adding my bit too.

I have seen quite a lot of folks avoiding them as they are invariably cooked/fried with a lot of oil. My sincere request to all of you to invest in a good quality non-stick tawa/frying pan and enjoy these yummies without the guilt. This is a classic odiya style recipe sans the breadcrumbs bit. If we are having it with hot rice or pakhala, I do not use breadcrumbs. But it is a must when the cutlets are to be served as a snack. One can also avoid the potatoes if one has high sugar levels. Use some soya kheema and a bit of chuda powder instead.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

• 3 cups boiled jackfruit cubes
• 1 cup boiled potato cubes
• 1 medium sized onion ( finely chopped)
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp grated/crushed garlic
• 1/2 - 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• a pinch of turmeric
• 4-5 tsp oil
• salt to taste

For the outer layer

• 2 tsp besan
• 2 tsp rice flour
• a pinch of salt
• a pinch of chili powder
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preparation - Mash the jackfruit and the potatoes. Break any lumps but do not make it too smooth.

Make a thin batter out of the rice flour, besan, salt and chilli powder.

Cooking - Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok. Add the onions and fry till translucent.

Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 2-3 mins. Now add the mashed jackfruit and potatoes. Sprinkle all the
powders except garam masala. Mix and fry for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.

Sprinkle garam masala and coriander leaves. Mix and switch off flame.

Allow to cool down to a tolerable temperature. Then pinch small balls out of the mix and fashion into round/diamond/heart shaped cutlets.

Dip into the batter and gently roll over the bread crumbs to make a uniform coating. Make similar cutlets out of the remaining mix.

Heat a non-stick tawa/frying pan. Drizzle with a little oil or use a oil spray.

Place the cutlets over it and cook on both sides for a few minutes till little brown spots appear. Remove from the tawa/frying pan.

Serve immediately with some ketchup or even as a side dish with hot rice and dal.