Rajam's Beef Cutlets

This was something my mother learnt to make in Kerala after her wedding.  She made them so well that everyone referred to them as the bench mark for cutlets. Being a Virgo, my amma had to have everything the right shape, same size and same consistency.  I have never been able to copy her exacting standards. 

I grew up in a small town called Kollam in the sixties.  When appa went to the market to buy meat, there were no special cuts of meat like the sirloin, chuck, rump, ribs or whatever. If you were early you got a good piece of meat that was diced up for your convenience.  None of the meat was wasted – every single bit was utilised. I watched a program the other day on SBS on how the meat industry was catering to meat snobs who would only eat a certain cut and how a single animal weighing 260 to 300 kgs only yields 1.2 to 1.4 kgs of chuck tender as an example.  It was an eye opener for me since I never grew up knowing any specific cut. (Reference: Beef cuts and yield chart, http://www.moffittsfarm.com.au)

“Cutlets” – therefore, are not any special cut. It is ground up meat shaped into patties / rissoles / burgers.  So the diced meat was cooked, run through a meat mincer, mixed with potatoes, chillies and shallots, bound with eggs, crumbed and deep fried.  They were delicious served on their own or as an accompaniment with fried rice.  At home we often had them as an afternoon tea treat.

Here in Melbourne I make cutlets with the minced meat, but the texture is not the same as what I am used to.

Ingredients:

500 gm premium (heart smart) minced beef

1 tablespoon ginger paste

1 tablespoon garlic paste

2 large Spanish red onions chopped very finely

10 – 12 green chillies chopped very finely (it does have a bite, you can reduce the chillies if you want)

(Tip: wear disposable gloves while chopping chillies)

3 large Desiree potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 medium carrot, boiled and mashed

1 large egg for binding 

Salt to taste

Eggs and bread crumbs for crumbing

Oil for frying.

Method:

Mix the ginger garlic paste with the minced meat and cook on a low flame till meat is cooked and all the water evaporates.  Do this carefully stirring every once in a while so that the meat does not get burnt.

Add the mashed potatoes, carrot, chillies and onions to the meat and mix well. Add salt to taste.  Beat one egg and add it to the mix and shape the mixture into balls.

In a bowl, beat two eggs.  Take a meat ball, shape it to a tear drop shape, dip into the egg, roll in the breadcrumbs and deep fry.

You can shape cutlets and leave them in the fridge for 2-3 days before a party.  Fry them up just before serving to retain the crisp outer skin.

You can substitute beef mince for chicken mince or lamb mince.

Yield:

This recipe makes about 25 beef cutlets.