Chicken cutlets are a family favourite. Serve them any time… you will always have takers.
Chicken cutlets with rice, rasam and papad is my ultimate comfort food! Use them in burgers. Or with pulao. Or serve them as a starter in a party! As a snack after exercise! It’s just delicious.
I hope you enjoy the video that will make everything much clearer for you.
Jump to RecipeDid you know that they are also simple to make, and what’s more, you can personalise them to suit your likes and dislikes too.
My grandmother’s chicken cutlets were legendary. It’s a family tradition to make these breaded yumminess! So I am glad to note all the secrets down here for posterity… but with my tested strategies for the busy person to make it easily.
Oh, by the way, if you are fond of mutton, you must also try out the mutton cutlets that have their unique taste and richness.
But for people who prefer lean protein, this recipe will be a go-to solution. The unbeatable combination of taste, health and also the sheer comfort of making it ahead makes it so. How empowering it is to have these chicken cutlets ready for frying when needed!
CHICKEN CUTLET RECIPE VIDEO
Making the homemade chicken cutlets on the stove top
It will be easier for you to break down the making of the chicken cutlets into 2 parts.
- The cooking of the mince and adding the ingredients to make the base for the cutlets
- Shaping and crumb-coating the cutlets followed by frying them
Preparing the Chicken Cutlet Mixture
This is the key step. Things fall into place once this step is done well. For making 18 medium sized chicken cutlets, I use 500 grams of chicken mince. To save time, I use the food processor for chopping up all the additions that go into the cooked mince.
It does help to save time if you do parallel processing. So I cook the chicken and fry the chopped onions, garlic, etc simultaneously. Add the grated boiled potatoes (which you, being strategic, had cooked along with your rice the previous day and stored in the fridge till needed!) lime juice, coriander leaves, salt and garam masala , and you are ready for the next step.
Only, plan how you want to finish the cutlets…shallow or deep fried?
If you plan to deep fry the chicken cutlets, then before shaping them, ensure that you
- add the coriander leaves to the chicken mince while it is hot, to wilt them a bit.
- give the chicken and onion mixture a whiz in the food processor before adding the grated potatoes
- add 3-4 tablespoons of beaten egg into the mixture.
Shaping and crumb-coating
Remember to taste the mixture to adjust the salt before you start shaping. Otherwise it will be heart-breaking… having to start all over again after all the cutlets are beautifully shaped!
Check out the variations and ways to personalise the texture and consistency of the cutlets from the notes after the recipe below.
Once the mixture is ready, you need to decide what shape you want your cutlets to have. Since I commonly use it as burger patties, I go for the thick, round discs. As starters or snacks, you may like to make the longish cylindrical shapes.
Once you decide, just go full steam ahead and shape them all. Remember to shape them firmly, with no cracks, Just press gently till the cutlet seems firm and holds the shape.
It is then time to dip each one in beaten egg.
Finally coat the cutlets with breadcrumbs. Check out the video for the easy steps shown visually. If any cutlet starts to crack, simply press it together again before coating it with egg and breadcrumbs.
When you want it to be really special, you can repeat this process to get a really thick breadcrumb (read extra crisp ) coating on the cutlets.
Make the cutlets upto this stage and store in the refrigerator in the coolest zone for upto 2 days in summer and 4 days during winter season. I don’t recommend freezing this.
Frying the Chicken Cutlets
The finishing touch is of course the frying. We want the cutlets to be golden and deliciously crisp on the surface. And the inside needs to be full of flavour and great aroma, soft and yielding to the bite.
There are several ways to get this.
Shallow Frying
I stick to shallow frying, drizzling oil on top and turning it over on the griddle to get it crisp on both sides.
As you can see in the video, heat a griddle. If possible, choose one with a slight depression in the centre. Add some oil.
Introduce 2-3 cutlets into the oil, let it cook for 2 minutes. Drizzle oil on the cutlets and turn it over. In a minute, push it to the sides of the griddle and leave them there while you fry a fresh batch.
Keep repeating these steps till they are all half-cooked in oil and then slowly frying along the sides of the pan. Check the video to see how this is done. Cooking them this way keeps the crust crisp without too much oil. You can also keep them ready in this half-cooked stage, to be finally heated up and served during a party.
Deep Frying
It is also possible to deep fry it, but remember to fry one first, to ensure it does not break apart in the hot oil. It can ruin the day!
The oil has to be hot but not smoking. The cutlets need to fry without getting jostled or disturbed till they are golden brown at the bottom. Turn them over gently and fry the other side.
In case they break or disintegrate,
- opt to shallow fry them.
- give them another egg plus breadcrumb coat and then deep fry them.
Serving the Chicken Cutlets
When ready to serve, heat the cutlets in either the griddle, an airfryer or the OTG. Do not microwave them unless you want a soggy brown coating!
It tastes great with all kinds of foods as I have mentioned earlier. Enjoy the video to see how easy this recipe is!
Happy eating!
Chicken Cutlets | Tasty Patty for Burgers
Course: SidesCuisine: indianDifficulty: Medium8
servings30
minutes30
minutesChicken cutlets are tasty, versatile and can be used with many kinds of foods. They will surely become your favourite way of adding lean protein to your diet.
Ingredients
500 g minced chicken
2-4 boiled potatoes, grated or mashed
3-4 onions, chopped
6-10 green chillies
1 entire garlic (peeled)
3-4 sprigs of curry leaves
3 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1 small bunch of coriander leaves
1 lime
1-2 eggs
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
Directions
- Use a food processor to chop the onions, chillies, garlic and curry leaves together.
- Cook the chicken mince in it’s own juices for 15 minutes on low heat, stirring regularly.
- Simultaneously, fry the onion mixture till translucent on low heat.
- Mix the onion mixture with the chicken mince.
- Add the potatoes, garam masala, coriander leaves, salt and the juice of one lime.
- Check the seasoning before shaping the cutlets.
- Beat an egg lightly. Now coat each cutlet with the egg mixture on both sides.
- Finally coat the cutlets with bread crumbs.
- Store upto two days in the fridge.
- Shallow fry or deep fry the cutlets when needed.
Notes
- In case you want to deep fry the cutlets, ensure you are very careful about the mixture, else the cutlets will disintegrate in the oil.
- Ensure there is no watery liquid in the cutlet… it should be like a soft dough.
- Add 5-6 tbsp of egg to the cutlet mixture to bind it before shaping the cutlets.
- Add the coriander leaves to the hot onion mixture to get it to wilt a bit and also lose any leftover moisture.
- Blend the chicken and onion mixture in a food processor to make it a smooth cutlet.
- For frying immediately, chill the cutlets in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Make the cutlets healthier by serving with a lot of vegetables, microgreens and lettuce leaves. Leave out the mayonnaise or use minimal quantities. There is enough flavour here for you.
- Check out the video for making healthy potato wedges.