Yam-Ridge Gourd Cutlet 5/5 (1)

Appetizers or starters are an all-time favourite and undeniable part of the à la carte on any occasion or party. These can be fried, grilled, or toasted. It can be healthy or junk, veg, or non-veg. The appeal for the appetizer never fades…

Here, I come up with a unique veg starter, an absolutely bang on recipe for your gathering and festive menus. Especially when it comes to vegetarians, the starter or appetizer will be stuck between potato or paneer…🙃🙃. But it’ll not be the same anymore, I bring you an exceptional starter with two incredible ingredients. Intrigued to know more, I shall not test your patience… 😉😉. This starter is made of two unusual vegetable combo- Yam and Ridge gourd. Sounds crazy? Trust me, you’ll not regret trying this recipe. I’m sure you’ll be spellbound by its taste and flavor. This is a blessing in disguise, especially when your children are finicky about eating veggies. They’ll merrily relish these cutlets without protest. I would suggest it’s the best way to introduce veggies to your toddlers and kids who won’t eat them in other forms of cooking. Also, it’s a vegan-friendly and lactose-free diet, if you exclude ghee while sautéing the ridge gourd. It’s a Gluten-free recipe as well. Let’s jump into the recipe….

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Clean the outer skin of yam and dice them into big chunks, add 1tsp red chilli powder and ¼ tsp turmeric powder. Using any steamer, steam the yam till it becomes soft and cooked.

Peel the outer ridges of Ridge gourd, keep the skin intact, don’t peel off completely. Chop them into roundels and sauté them in ghee in a shallow pan till it becomes soft, will take roughly 10 minutes in medium flame.

Coarsely grind the veggies and keep them aside.

Keep the spice powders, flour, and herbs ready. Heat a thick bottomed pan, add 1 ½ tbsp oil of your choice, add cumin seeds and carom seeds, chopped garlic, let them get sautéed.

Now add the coarsely ground veggies, add all the spices, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, black salt, dry mango powder salt, garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves, chopped coriander, chopped mint, and finally gram flour and Fried gram flour (pottukadalai/chutney dal),

Mix them all thoroughly, sauté in medium flame till it forms a solid lump without sticking to the base. Now switch off the flame and let it cool.

Once cooled down, smear some oil on to the cutlet mixture, also grease your hands to avoid sticking, then roll into lemon sized balls and flatten them into either round disc-shaped or heart-shaped cutlets.

Arrange them on a greased plate and store them in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.

Heat oil in a pan or kadai, once it reaches the right temperature, drop them in small batches of 3 or 4, fry them in medium flame till it reaches golden brown,  drain them in kitchen tissue.

Crispy, crunchy Yam-Ridge gourd cutlets are ready to serve with Green chutney and Sweet dates tamarind chutney.

Recipe card

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes (including steaming yam).

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Appetizer

Yields: 20

Author: Manimala

Ingredients:

Yam/ Ratalu/Karunaikizhanghu – 600 gms

Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Ridge gourd/Turai   /Peerkkankai – 300 gms

Ghee – 2 tsp

Oil – 1 ½ tbsp

Carom seeds/ Ajwain – ¼ tsp

Cumin seeds/ Shahi jeera – ½ tsp

Chopped Garlic – 1 tbsp heaped

Kashmiri red chilli powder – ½ tbsp

Coriander powder – ½ tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Garam masala – a pinch

Salt – to taste

Black salt – a pinch

Dry mango powder/ Amchoor powder – ¼ tsp

Dried Fenugreek leaves/Kasuri methi – 1 tbsp

Chopped Mint leaves – 1 tbsp

Chopped Coriander leaves –a handful

Gram flour + Fried gram flour – ¼ cup

Instructions:

1. Clean the outer skin of yam and dice them into big chunks, add 1tsp red chilli powder and ¼ tsp turmeric powder. Using any steamer, steam the yam till it becomes soft and cooked.
2. Peel the outer ridges of Ridge gourd, keep the skin intact, don’t peel off completely. Chop them into roundels and sauté them in ghee in a shallow pan till it becomes soft, will take roughly 10 minutes in medium flame.
3. Coarsely grind the veggies and keep them aside.
4. Keep the spice powders, flour, and herbs ready.
5. Heat a thick bottomed pan, add 1 ½ tbsp oil of your choice, add cumin seeds and carom seeds, chopped garlic, let them get sautéed.
6. Now add the coarsely ground veggies, add all the spices, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, black salt, dry mango powder salt, garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves, chopped coriander, chopped mint, and finally gram flour and Fried gram flour (pottukadalai/chutney dal), mix them all thoroughly, sauté in medium flame till it forms a solid lump without sticking to the base. Now switch off the flame, smear some oil and let it cool.
7. Once cooled down, grease your hands, roll into lemon sized balls and flatten them into either round disc-shaped or heart-shaped cutlets.
8. Arrange them on a greased plate and store them in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.
9. Heat oil in a pan or kadai, once it reaches the right temperature, drop them in small batches of 3 or 4, fry them in medium flame till it reaches golden brown,  drain them in kitchen tissue.
10. Crispy, crunchy Yam-Ridge gourd cutlets are ready to serve with Green chutney and Sweet dates tamarind chutney.

Notes:

• While trimming the outer covering of yam, apply some oil in your hands, as it may cause itchiness to your skin.
• I prefer steaming the Yam/ Ratalu/Karunaikizhanghu, as it absorbs less water and cooks to perfection. If you put them directly in water and cook or pressure cook, it’ll absorb too much water and your cutlet will not be crispy. Though it’s time-consuming (it took 25- 30 minutes depending on the freshness of the yam), the steaming process is best to prepare any starters which has to deep-fried. You put the yam for steam, and parallelly you can do other preparations.
• Cut the Ridge gourd/Turai /Peerkkankai into roundels enabling them to cook evenly while sautéing. For a vegan diet, avoid using ghee, replace it with oil.
• Spice powders, I mentioned above can be manipulated according to your taste and availability.
• Gram flour and roasted/ fried gram flour (chutney daal/ pottukadalai) are added for binding.
• Sauté the ground veggies with spices and combine well till it reaches a solid mixture stage and it doesn’t stick to the pan and roll into a solid mass.
• Let the solid mass cool down and then roll them into balls.
• Smear oil on your hands when shaping the cutlets to avoid sticking.
• Always, store the cutlets in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes before frying. It helps them to be intact and avoid disintegrating while being fried.
• Overnight refrigeration is also fine when you have a get-together or party the next day. Saves your time effectively.
• If you are a person who counts calories, then feel free to shallow fry, it works well too.