Chicken Cutlet and Womans Day

Today I made Chicken cutlet for the first time in my life..... I know, I know, most of my blogging friends seem to be such versatile cooks, me I am well versed in vegetarian snacks like bajji etc.. but in non veg I have only a few family favorites in my mind.

Blogging has given me the encouragement to try out new recipes by myself instead of inviting myself to friends houses :-) . I must say it came out very well, my DD & my hubby loved it. I thought making cutlet is a very time consuming process and involving a lot of vessels getting dirty... easy to give two dh and eat at the cafeterias. Well my friends you see me eating the Humble pie (or could I say Chicken Cutlet)... Yes there is pile of dishes in my sink but not so much as I thought. Only a pressure cooker for the potatoes, a pan for the chicken, a smaller saucepan for the onions, one plate for the bread crumbs, one bowl for the beaten egg. one plate for the crumbed cutlets, one plate for the fried ones....well you catch the drift. I think I will try out more items if I have somebody to clean the kitchen or atleast wash the vessels for me. Dear Dear India where I can get a housemaid to do such things without the jhanjat of visa etc...Once again I say pesaama Urmila maadhiri irundhirukkalaam...

Note to myself: use disposable dishes for the bread crumbs and beaten egg. OK so who wants to know how I accomplished this? I know my sister will read this and say yes she wants to know. so here goes... next time I will take step by step pictures for my discerning audience and upload it. For now there is only the photo of the end result.

Yummy Crisp on the outside soft on the inside Cutlets.mmm....

Ingredients:

Cubed Boneless Chicken Breast - 1 cup (I had kept aside the breasts of a 1 Kg Chicken aside)
Potatoes - 3 nos Fist sized
Onion - 1 small chopped finely
Green Chillies - 2 Nos Chopped finely
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp or more if you like it
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper Jeera Powder 1/2 tsp
1 tsp salt
Juice of one lemon.
Chopped Corriander Leaves - 2-3 tbsp.
Oil as reqd.
Egg 1 Nos beated lightly.
Large Bread slices 4 nos - process to crumbs.

Procedure:

Cook potatoes till soft. drain well. Mash to paste. Meanwhile cook chicken pieces with turmeric, salt, ginger garlic paste and water to cover. Let the water evaporate. When cool enough to handle, crumble with your fingers. You can use a fork, but I found this easier and more uniform.

Sautee the chopped onions and green chillies in a tsp of oil till onion is soft. Add to chicken. Add all the other spices. Add the mashed potato, corriander leaves and mix till well combined. Check for salt and spice level. Add 1/2 cup of bread crumbs if the mixture seems too wet for you to make into balls.

While it is warm itself, shape into flat circles or ovals as per your wish. Dip in beaten eggs then coat with bread crumbs pressing lightly to cover well with the crumbs.

Heat oil in a kadai. Deep fry two or three at a time to a golden brown color.

I was able to make 15 nos of cutlets around three & four inches round and 3/4 inch thick. I think it is a very good value for money. Two are sufficient for a person. My daughter had four :-) she liked it so much.



The Bread Crumbs were just enough for coating the cutlets. There were about 2 tsps of beaten egg left over. I mixed the bread crumbs which fell away from the cutlets , made into a ball and fried it. My daughter told it was tasty. So no Waste at all. Are'nt I Clever!!!

I have frozen the rest after crumbing them.

As my daughter said, this was a perfect way to commemorate Womans Day.

I am sending this to Any one can cook series 43 by Umm Mymoonah and Let,s part every month - snacks by Surabhi Nayak

I am also sending this to Ramadaan Friendly recipes event

Chicken Jeera Fry (Reverse Braised)

Now this is a chicken fry but not a fry. I was wondering how to classify  this dish. In braising the item is first seared in high heat and then water is added and cooked slowly. Here the chicken pieces are cooked with water first and then browned in the oil. Thats why I called it reverse braised. This method is useful when you have no time to marinate the chicken but need a fry item. In my house it is referred to as chicken periamma style because I adapted it from a Mutton recipe prepared by my Periamma (Mothers Elder Sister). My husband requests this dish often.

As I told you this is a emergency recipe for me. A non stick pan is preferable as you will see in the last few steps.

You will need:

Chicken cut into medium sized pieces - 7-8 pieces. ( I have used whole thighs Bone in and a leg piece)
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper Jeera Powder - 3/4 tsp
salt to taste
Cumin seeds 2 to 3 Tbsp (Crush coarsely)
Oil - 2 -3 Tbsp

Mix all ingredients in a nonstick pan, add around one inch water, bring to boil and then simmer covered till chicken is cooked, flipping in between once or twice, cooking time will vary as per the size of the pieces, around 1/2 hour will do. By the time the chicken is cooked the water also would have evaporated (Check that it dosent burn). The oil will be left behind, turn up the flame and brown the chicken in the same oil. A few drops of coconut oil or a knob of butter improves the flavour greatly. Remove the chicken pieces to the plate, Scrape the browned masala (Really yummy crispy crunchy Jeera seeds now) Leave the oil behind in the pan by tilting the pan while scraping. Sprinkle the masala on top of the chicken pieces.

Chicken with all the other ingredients before mixing

Simmering away filling the house with aroma of cumin

Some people I know (no names) add rice to the pan and mix it in the oil and eat. It will be delish but even if I didnt care that I am overweight, My face will show it if I do the same. So I will resign myself to pangs of envy.
Why I call it an emergency recipe is that I can put the rice in the rice cooker and this on the stove, then go on to a rasam or sambhar and a vegetable poriyal. By the time the rice is cooked everything is finished. You dont have to stand next to it. turning and adjusting the flame as when frying. all pieces are done at the same time. And ofcourse it is a good combo with Lemon Rice.

Chicken topped with the Crunchy Jeera Masala.

I am sending this recipe as an entry to Any One Can Cook: Series 38 by Ayesha Riaz at Taste of Pearl City.