Chana Dal Cutlets
Chana Dal Cutlets is a tasty and very easy vegetarian kabab recipe. It is perfect as a family & friends get-together snack. It is great for game night appetizer. It is a vegetarian, vegan, glutenfree recipe.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Ingredients When Using Left-Over Chana Dal Khichdi
- 2 cups Left-over Chana Dal Khichdi we need dry khichdi. If it is too wet, then cook till it becomes thick and then refrigerate it further. We do not need fresh khichdi. A day old is good.
- 1/2 to 1 cup Besan / Gram Flour Dry Roasted
- 1/2 tbsp Ginger Grated or cushed
- 1 Green Chili chopped fine
- 1/2 cup Red Onion chopped fine
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
- 1/4 tsp Red chili Powder
- To Taste Salt
Ingredients When Making Cutlets from scratch
- 1 cup Chana Dal Cooked dry with turmeric and little salt, water drained
- 1 cup Rice cooked
- 1/2 to 1 cup Besan / Gram Flour Dry Roasted
- 1 tsp Ginger Grated or Crushed
- 1 Green Chili chopped fine
- 1/2 cup Red onion chopped fine
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 1/2 to 1 tsp Red chili Powder
- 1 tsp or to taste Salt
OIL TO DEEP FRY
Instructions
PREPARING for the CUTLETS
- These steps are going to remain same either you are using Left over Khichdi or making these from scratch. Good news is that you can use leftover chanda dal also for this recipe. Just drain the liquid and use the solids of the dal. Or just soak and cook 1/2 cup of dal with turmeric and salt and little water till it is soft and not mushy. After cooking, it will be about 1 cup. We need cooked dal without liquid.
- Take a bowl. Add all the ingredients together besides DRY ROASTED BESAN/GRAM FLOUR. Start mixing the ingredients together, mushing and bringing together like a dough.
- Start adding dry roasted besan/gram flour 1/4 cup at a time, till the ingredients are mushed and come together in a smooth dough. It might take 1/2 to 1 cup of Besan, depending upon how much liquid is there in your dal and rice. Adjust salt and other spices to your personal taste.
- Divide the dough in equal portions, small or large. Take each portion and roll into any shape that you like for cutlets or kababs. I made small cylindrical shapes. Finish shaping all the cutlets. Set aside.
DEEP FRYING THE CUTLETS
- Heat Oil in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, deep fry these on medium to high heat. IMPORTANT - Fry only 3-4 at a time. Do not over crowd the pan. Also, maintain the heat between medium to high. Keep the heat at HIGH when you add the cutlets. Fry on medium high Heat for about 1&1/2- 2 minutes till they are golden brown.
- Take these out on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve these hot with some Green Chutney and Ketchup or a dip of your choice.
NOTES
- You can add roasted semolina or bread crumbs also. But the addition of dry roasted Besan makes them very rustic and close to the texture of a kebab. It is more bite-ful and full of flavors.You can make these in Air Fryer or Oven at 375*F for about 15-20 minutes, till they turn golden brown. Rotate these in between few times for even cooking. The texture will be different though.