Croquette is a small fried food roll, containing usually as main ingredients – mashed potatoes and/or minced meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, onion, spices and herbs, shaped into a roll or cylinder or disk and then shallow or deep fried.
Croquettes, Cutlets or Tikkies, call them what you like, but one thing for sure is that they are easy to make and lovely to serve as a starter or appetizer. Have posted this recipe before and on demand of a few of my friends, am posting it again on ‘Bring On The Chef In You’; with new updated pictures.
Do make them and let us know how they turned out.
Ingredients :-
1 packet lamb mince – (minced twice)
4 onions finely minced
Half pod garlic
2” ginger
2 green chillies
Big bundle of coriander leaves
Lemon juice
2 eggs
2” piece of Cinnamon
4-5 cloves
Pepper powder
Pinch of turmeric powder
1 tsp (stew powder, chillie powder or your favourite masala)
3-4 Potatoes –boiled and mashed
2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup (optional)
Bread crumbs as required
Wash and dry the mince. In a small vessel, heat a tablespoon of oil, add cinnamon and cloves and onions and saute the onions till they are transparent. Add the finely chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies and stir fry for a minute or two. Remove and keep aside.
In the same oil add the mince and fry for sometime. Add spices and just a little water and cook till the mince is done…. Cool and keep aside.
In another big bowl, put in the boiled potatoes and mash them till no lumps remain. Add the cooled mince, {discard the cinnamon and cloves at this point}, the fried onion mixture, sauces, coriander leaves, lemon, stew powder and salt. Mix and adjust seasoning as desired….if you want it spicy add more chillie or more stew powder.
Form equal round ball and flatten them on a cutting board with a butter knife. Shape the croquettes into rectangular or round shapes. {If you don’t want to use all the Croquettes for the same day, you can opt to freeze the Croquettes at this point, lined neatly in a tupper-ware box, each layer lined with wax/foil, for easy removal. When you need to use them, defrost for sometime, coat with egg and bread crumbs and shallow fry}
Beat up two eggs with 2-3 tablespoons of water (not till frothy – just till the yolk dissolves). Dip the shaped Croquette into egg wash and then coat with bread crumbs. Assemble all of them like this and keep on a flat platter and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
In a shallow non stick pan – add a little oil and shallow fry the Croquette on both sides till golden brown. Use a fork to turn over (I feel this is easier than using a flat spatula). Drain on tissue paper and serve hot.
All shaped and ready for a dip in eggwash/breadcrumbs !
1 Kg. Beef, soya sauce 3 tablespoons, vinegar 2 tablespoons, maida 2 teaspoons, sugar 1 teaspoon, sugar 1 teaspooon, conflour 2 teaspoons, black pepper 1 tablespoon, Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons, 2 large capcicums, 7/8 green chillies, salt. Cut the beef into longish strips. Put all the ingredients in a bowl, except the green chillies and marinate for 2-3 hours. Take little olive oil or corn oil in a pan and when hot add the beef and stir it now and then. 
Keep frying till it is completely dry. Test to see if it done, if not, add a little water and simmer till boiled and a very thick gravy is formed. Add the slit green chillies and capsicums cut into strips. Fry the beef and the chillies and capcicums till the capsicums are tender. This is a very dry dish and can be served as an Appetizer or Starter as well.
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