Sprouts Cutlets

It's winter time, and there is always that urge to have a hot snack in evenings like Appe , Bread Poha, Upma, Peanut butter squares, Batata Vadas or a simple Maggi does good too. But what better than to make and serve something new? And there came a whatsapp picture from one of my pet-clients, now a friend, of Sprouts cutlets that she had made for her son's birthday!!! I couldn't help asking her for the recipe, since coincidentally i had sprouted moong in my kitchen. And there - my saturday evening snack was ready!!!

I made a few changes to the recipe she told me. She made a paste of the sprouts directly, i fried them which gave them a little crispier texture. I added a few other spices than red chilli powder and salt, just to give that zing. So, you can make it either ways, and trust me, you will have an explosion of flavours bursting in your mouth. I normally make Usal or misal or just dry sprout sabzi with moong and matki, but this one is a great addition to the snack menu. Do try it, it's quite simple.

And well, if you have guests coming over, you can make these well in advance and warm them in microwave- they don't turn soggy or lose their texture/taste even after long. So, here's how i made them (Thanks to Amita for the original recipe)

Ingredients:

Sprouted moong (Soak about 1/2 cup moong overnight, drain and keep in air tight container in refrigerator. It will automatically start sprouting, or else buy readymade sprouted moong. You can also use matki or any other sprouts)

Oil - 1 tsp and for frying

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida (hing) - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Green chillies - 2 -3 (Adjust according to taste)

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Garlic - 4 cloves

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Corriander powder - 1 tsp

Besan - 1 tbsp (Though the moong paste acts as a binding agent, i added this just so my cutlets turn out more crispier)

Corriander leaves - a few (chopped)

Chopped vegetables of your choice ( I used carrots, cabbage and french beans but you can add any like onions, capsicum, peas etc)

Recipe:

Chop the ginger, garlic and green chillies and crush them to a paste in a mortar and pestle.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and hing. When they crackle, add the chilli-ginger-garlic paste. Sprinkle the turmeric powder and salt.

At this stage, you can also add some chopped onions and fry if you wish to.

Now add the sprouted moong and on medium flame, keep frying them till they change colour (turns a little yellow).

Let it cool down. Now, make it into a paste in a mixer-grinder. Try not to add water, but if needed add a little water. 

In a mixing bowl, take this paste, add garam masala, corriander powder, besan, chopped vegetables, salt and corriander leaves. Mix together well.

Waiting to the fried

Now shape them as you like and deep fry the cutlets till the outer cover turns brown. 

They give a perfect texture of crispy from outside-soft from inside and are melt in the mouth when served with ketchup. You can also serve them along with some mayo-mint chutney.

Happy Cooking :)