Vegetable Cutlet | Indian Veggie Cakes | Video

Vegetable cutlet. Crispy, soft, nutritious, loaded with veggies – these spiced Indian style veggie cakes or patties are a must try. They are so delicious as appetizers, especially when served with onion salad and tomato sauce (ketchup). Best of all, the totally customizable feature makes this recipe impressive. 

If you love vegetarian/vegan appetizers, there are so many options out there. After all, the key to making delicious veggie packed food lies in the flavor. Veggies, on their own, may taste very bland, but spices and herbs certainly make them irresistibly scrumptious. Luckily, whether you’re after a flavorful starter idea, or just want to include more veggies in your diet, here’s an easy recipe to add to your repertoire.

These vegetable cutlets or patties (or veggie cakes) is the vegetarian version of chicken cutlets. Simple veg patties get beautiful brown crispy coating making them totally irresistible. Although deep frying is the perfect way to get the crisp exterior, baking or air frying are obviously healthier options. 

Vegetable Cutlet Recipe 

Simply put, these are spiced deep fried veggie patties. While mashed potato acts as a binder to keep all the veggies together, play around with your favorites to create the ultimate cutlets. The best part? You can prep large batches of these patties and freeze until ready to cook. And if you want to add more flavors, serve with an easy onion salad ( traditionally called challas or sarlas) and ketchup (tomato sauce), mint chutney or even tamarind chutney. 

Prep the patties: The basic version is a simple combination of boiled, mashed potatoes and your favorite seasonal veggies. I have opted for bell peppers (capsicum), corn, green beans, onions, carrots and cauliflower. Make sure you chop them as fine as possible.

To amp up the flavor, you will also need minced garlic, minced ginger, green chilies, coriander (cilantro) leaves and lemon juice. The fragrant spices include ground turmeric, ground cumin, red chili powder, garam masala and chat masala. Apart from potatoes, we’ll also add some breadcrumbs to keep all the ingredients together. Now, all you need is shape small patties out of the mixture.

Cook veggie patties/cutlets: To keep these vegetable cutlets 100% vegetarian, I decided to dip them in cornflour slurry instead of egg wash. And then roll them in breadcrumbs before deep frying. With the cooking part, you have more options like baking or air frying. However, deep frying gives you the best texture and taste.

Add a side of crunchy red onions and ketchup (tomato sauce). 

More Veg Appetizer/Snack Recipes:

• Vegetable Samosa 
• Vegetable Spring Rolls 
• Masala Pappadums 
• Veg Puffs 

Yield: 11 cutlets

Vegetable Cutlet | Indian Veggie Cakes | Video

Print

Crispy, spiced vegetable cakes loaded with nutritious veggies. Serve with onion salad.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup corn flour (cornstarch)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 large potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed
• 2 cups finely chopped vegetables (I used carrots, bell peppers or capsicum, onion, cauliflower, boiled corn, green beans)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (garlic paste)
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (ginger paste)
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric (turmeric powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (cumin powder)
• 1 teaspoon chat masala
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• Salt to taste
• Oil, to deep fry cutlets
• Onion salad, to serve
• Tomato sauce (ketchup) or green chutney, to serve

Instructions

Make corn flour (cornstarch) slurry:

1. To make the corn flour (cornstarch) slurry, combine together corn flour (cornstarch) and water. Set aside.

Make vegetable patties:

1. Place mashed potatoes, vegetables, garlic, ginger, green chilies, coriander (cilantro) leaves, lemon juice, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, ground turmeric, ground cumin, chat masala and garam masala in a large bowl. Season with salt.
2. Stir to combine.
3. To make the patties, make a small lemon sized ball out of the mixture and flatten slightly.
4. Repeat until all the mixture is used up. I made around 11 vegetable cutlets.

Fry cutlets:

1. Place 3-4 cup breadcrumbs in a bowl.
2. Dip each cutlet first in slurry and then in breadcrumbs.
3. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. Heat oil for deep frying in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
5. When the oil is hot enough, deep fry the cutlets until golden and crispy.
6. Drain on an absorbent towel. 

Notes

• Adjust the amount of green chilies and red chili powder to increase or decrease the heat level 
• Chat masala, a spice mix commonly used in Indian street foods, is available from Indian grocery stores 
• While corn flour slurry makes this recipe veg, you can also use egg wash
• If the cutlets don’t hold their shape while frying, add a few teaspoons of breadcrumbs to the mixture 
• Regular breadcrumbs can be substituted with panko breadcrumbs if you like. Use gluten free breadcrumbs for gluten free option. 
• You can add chopped nuts to the veggie mixture if you like
• To freeze the cutlets, arrange breadcrumb-coated cutlets on a baking tray, freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Then, transfer to resealable freezer bags with sheets of baking paper between cutlets. Cook from frozen. You can freeze uncooked cutlets for about a month. 
• Even though I deep fried the cutlets, these also taste great when baked or air fried.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 626Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 37mgSodium 683mgCarbohydrates 108gFiber 14gSugar 10gProtein 22g

The nutritional data is for information purposes only

Like this vegetable cutlet recipe? Then join Nish Kitchen on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Watch exclusive recipe videos on YouTube.