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Saturday, January 16, 2010

Sweet Potato Methi Cutlet (Baked)


OMG... this cutlet tastes so divine. I was little skeptical when I picked up the sweet potatoes from the grocery store. But I knew what I had to do with this. I thought of blending the orangish and sweetish sweet potato and the bitterish and greenish methi leaves(fenugreek leaves/vendhaya keerai) with some flavorful Indian spices and bake it in the oven to make luscious cutlets. Sounds mouth watering isn't it?
How it tasted? 
If you want to know how it tasted, the cutlets you see in the pic are the last 3 pieces that I saved it from my hubby to click pictures during daylight. They tasted super delicious and we literally licked the plate :) I would say it was a concoction of different taste: hotness from green chili, sweetness from sweet potatoes, bitterness from fenugreek leaves, tanginess from Amchur Powder, sweet and pungent taste from fennel seeds. It also smelt like parupu vadas due to the presence of fennel seeds. You can avoid using fennel seeds if you don't like to chew it in your cutlet. But I loved the flavor of baked fennel seeds. Trust me it had an awesome flavor. Also I guess baking and presence of sweet potatoes helped to reduce the bitterness of Methi leaves. The bitterness was only a background taste.
Events
   This goes all the way to Siri's blog for the JFI-Fennel Seeds event. JFI is the brainchild event of Indira of Mahanandi and it stand for Jhiva for Ingredients. This cutlets are apt for this event as I have developed Jhiva for Fennel Seeds and Sweet Potatoes.
Ingredients Trivia 
Recently I read a wonderful article on Fenugreek in DK's Chef in you blog. Check out her space to learn the basics, benefits and how to use the various forms of fenugreek in your everyday cooking.
For the uses and benefits of Sweet potatoes, check out this link.
Ingredients 
Sweet Potato - 2
Methi/Fenugreek Leaves/Vendhaya Keerai -  3/4 cup
Onion - 1/4 (medium) finely chopped or Shallots - 6-7 chopped
Green Chili - 2 finely chopped
Amchur Powder/Dry Mango Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chat Powder - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Seeds/Saunf - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - handful
Bread Crumbs - 1/4 cup (add more if needed)
Ginger - 1 tsp chopped
Asafoetida/Hing - 1/8 tsp
Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste 
Oil/Cooking Spray
Method
Boil Sweet Potatoes
 In a pressure cooker, add salt and water to cover 1/3 the length of sweet potato and cook it for 3 whistles. 2 whistles should be good if you don't want it to be very tender. Once the steam releases open the lid, drain the water and allow it to cool. Then peel the skin off.
Baking
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Take a large baking try(I have used cookie try) and drizzle some oil or cooking spray. Spread it all over.
In a large bowl, add sweet potatoes and mash it with your hands or a potato masher.
Add finely chopped onions/shallots, methi leaves, green chili, salt and mix.
Add rest of the ingredients except bread crumbs and oil. Mix it well.
Divide it in equal parts and make small lemon size balls.
Take 1 ball at a time in your hand and spread it into a circle with your thumb. If you find this difficult, take a small plastic bag or ziploc, place the ball on it and slowly spread it in to a small circle without breaking it (3-3.5 cm). Then coat both the sides with bread crumbs and also along the circumference of the cutlet and place it on the tray.
Again spread it little bit and even the sides with your finger or a knife. I have used my beautiful fingers ;-).
Don't make it too thin or too thick, around 1 cm thickness should be good.
Sprinkle 1 or 2 tbsp of the remaining bread crumbs over it and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove the tray and slowly flip the cutlets and bake it for another 5 minutes. Then broil it for 2 minutes and turn off the oven. Let it stay for a while.
Serve it with ketchup or with a dip of your choice.
[OPTIONAL] If you would like some smoky flavor and steak like presentation, place the baked cutlet on the chappati maker/grill and toast it for a minute or two. Ensure that you don't burn the cutlet.
I liked the smoky effect on the cutlet, it was absolutely delicious.

41 comments:

Rachana said...

Dear RV,
The Cutlets look delectable and they arent fried:) amazing clicks:)

Preethi Rajeev said...

Wow it looks so delicious, nice click. Haven't tried cutlets with sweet potato and it's healthy too

dreamydelights.blogspot.com

Nithu Bala said...

Wow! delicious lovely cutlets..

ruchikacooks said...

RV, the flavor combination is something new..It must have tasted crunchy given the looks of it.

Mona said...

Sweet potato cutlets sound interesting!

RV @ Food for 7 Stages said...

@Ruchika, it wasn't crunchy but it was really soft.

RV @ Food for 7 Stages said...

Thank you all.

SE said...

these are looking so delicious and very tempting..beautiful pics

Simplyfood said...

These cutlets look wonderful.so healthy as they are baked.I am definately going to try these as soon as I can get some sweet potato.Beautiful click.

Khaugiri said...

GR8 idea!!! bookmarked for next weekend:)

Sudeshna said...

Radhika,
This is such a good one. Loved the idea of less oil and baking the cutlet. will try it in the MW, hope it comes out this yummy :)

Shobana said...

seriously beautiful.. and divinely healthy.. guilt-free eats!

Hayley said...

Hey Radhika

cutlets looks wonderful and nice pics too..something new for me to try...

cheers

http://joyofcooking247.blogspot.com

cookeaze said...

Delicious and yummy breakfast….I am ready…

Sakshi said...

I am sure it would have tasted divine; what with my fave ingredient Meethi in it :). I have some sweet potatoes and will see if I can make this as I will have to use dried methi. It's snowing 12 inches and what better way to spend the day in the snow and come back and have this divine cutlet as my evening snack :)

Tasty Trix said...

Those sound absolutely amazing!!

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

these look fabulous cant wait to try them!

Spice said...

Looks yummy & crunchy.....

Soma Pradhan said...

The cutlets look yummy. I am soon going to try it out

RV @ Food for 7 Stages said...

@SE, @SPICE, @Pegasuslegend, @Trix, @Cookeaze, @Shobana Thank you!

@Soma, @Sakshi, @Jagruti, @Sudeeshna,@Khaugiri, @Simply Food, Thanks, Do let me know how it comes out.

Unknown said...

Wow....absolutely delicious cutlets...some of my favorite ingredients combined in a dish!Baked version sounds great & healthy..:)

Dolly Sharma said...

Beautiful Clicks. They look divine and I'm sure tasted divine as well. LOve that you have baked your Sweet potato and methi Cutlets -healthy and delicious. Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm thinking what took me so long to be here. NOw that I'm here will be following your awesome space with all these wonderful recipes.

Namitha said...

baked cutlets..that sounds healthy ...Lovely clicks too

Mythreyi Dilip said...

Sweet potato cutlets sounds very innovative dear. Your pictures are really excellent Radhika, got good hold of new camera:)

Unknown said...

Baked cutlets sounds healthy...sure want to try this!

Kalai said...

wow RV..Cutlets are my all time fav! This looks really a unique recipe with all the exact ingredinets! Can't wait to hit the groceries for sweet potato!

And good info about methi leaves, thanx for sharing and I absolutely enjoyed reading ur post writings..it was intresting!

Hope you enjoyed ur last three cutlets:)

PJ said...

a very interesting combo indeed to use sweet potatoes and methi.. the cutlets look so delicious! I wish I had some to munch on right now. My first time stumbling over this blog, you have a great space here with delicious recipes and some great clicks!

Cham said...

Quiet interesting combo and like the smoky flavor u gave at the end! tasty clicks :)

Priya Srinivasan - I Camp in My Kitchen said...

hi RV, yummy cutlets, feel like grabbing one from the pic!!!

Shwetha said...

RV,
Te pictures are gorgeous. You've captured the crusty and golden color so well. I've bookmarked this recipe for sure.

Aruna Manikandan said...

Hi dear!!!
Cutlet is looking perfect
Using sweet potato definitely it should taste have a different taste.
Wonderful click!!!

Doing a wonderful job with ur new camera

Unknown said...

The cutlets look super delicious, very beautiful clicks.

Red Chillies said...

Beautiful pictures and unique combination. Liked the idea of baking the cutlets.

RV @ Food for 7 Stages said...

Thanks you all for your wonderful comments.

RV @ Food for 7 Stages said...

@Cham, the smoky flavor added a nice twist to the cutlets..

Rohini said...

Awwww.. Gorgoeus cutlets dear.. Loved the idea of bringing in all the flavors!!

Siri said...

perfect looking cutlets RV.. and a definite entry for JFI.. this is the first time ever, that I recieved an entry within 10 mins of event announcement. You indeed made my day. Please send the details with subject 'JFI'..so that I have a record of your entry!

Cheers,
siri

Siri said...

perfect looking cutlets RV.. and a definite entry for JFI.. this is the first time ever, that I recieved an entry within 10 mins of event announcement. You indeed made my day. Please send the details with subject 'JFI'..so that I have a record of your entry!

Cheers,
siriperfect looking cutlets RV.. and a definite entry for JFI.. this is the first time ever, that I recieved an entry within 10 mins of event announcement. You indeed made my day. Please send the details with subject 'JFI'..so that I have a record of your entry!

Cheers,
Siri

Raks said...

They looks sinful,gorgeous pictures,I always look for recipes using sweet potato,thank you :)

Priya Swaminathan said...

Very appetizing. Great pics. Cant wait to try it.Innovative combination.

Unknown said...

I love sweet potatoes. Bookmarked this recipe! BTW have added you in my blogrolll..

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