Vegetable Cutlets, Shalimar Indian Restaurant's Chicken Korma & Carrot Payasam

Last night Keith went all Indian on us and bammed up Vegetable Cutlets, Shalimar Indian Restaurant's Chicken Korma and Carrot Payasam for dessert. The cutlets are basically little patties which can be eaten with your fingers and served with tomato ketchup. They were a little spicy and delicious. The korma was nice and creamy but you may want to add a little spice to it for a little edge. The carrot payasam is extremely sweet but delicious and can be eaten by itlsef or perhaps drizzled over another cake-type dessert. A great effort all round. Here's the science!

Vegetable Cutlets

[Serves 4]

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil
4 onions finely chopped
2 cups mixed vegetables (cauliflower, beans,carrots) chopped fine
½ cups green peas parboiled
2 big potatoes boiled and chopped fine
2 small beetroots boiled and chopped fine
salt to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
oil for shallow frying



Grind to a paste:

2 tablespoons grated coconut
4 green chillies finely chopped
1 small onions chopped
4 flakes garlics chopped
1 teaspoon ginger chopped
2 cloves
1 piece of cinnamon
2 tablespoons coriander leaves chopped
salt to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions on medium heat for about 3 minutes or till they become transparent. Add the ground paste and fry for about 2 minutes or till aromatic and the raw smell has gone.
2. Mix in the chopped mixed vegetables and green peas. Stir-fry on high heat briefly till the vegatables are well coated with the paste. Cover and cook on low heat whilst stirring at intervals for about 4 minutes or till they are half cooked.
3. Add the boiled potato and beetroot. Sprinkle salt to taste and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat whilst stirring for about 4 minutes. Let cool. Stir in the lemon juice and chopped fresh coriander leaves. Shape the mixture into patties.
4. Heat a griddle and grease it with oil. Place 4-5 patties on the griddle and fry on each side (drizzle some oil while flipping the patties) till both the sides are golden brown. Fry the remaining patties in the same way.


Shalimar Indian Restaurant's Chicken Korma

[Serves 4]

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1" inch-square piece of fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 red chili pepper, minced
1 diced tomato
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream





Garnish:

Fresh cilantro to taste
2 tablespoons chopped cashews
2 tablespoons raisins


Method

1. Chop chicken breasts into several large, even-sized pieces. Set aside.
2. In a blender, purée ginger, garlic and 3 tablespoons water into a paste. Scoop out; set aside. (Rinse blender immediately or you will never, ever be able to make it clean again.)
3. Warm a large skillet a few minutes over medium-high heat. Add oil. When oil shimmers, add onion and cumin seeds. (Cumin seeds may explode like popcorn, so keep the pan lid handy.) When edges of onion brown, add chili powder, salt and turmeric powder. Stir in chili pepper, cook 1 minute. Stir in tomato and ginger paste. Cook until fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Add chicken pieces and 1 cup water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium, and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove cover, stir in cream and cook until sauce thickens slightly and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Sauce will be rather thin, like a curry. If you like a thicker sauce, simmer the dish covered about 30 more minutes.
6. Garnish with cilantro, cashews and raisins. Shalimar serves this dish over a vegetable rice or with an Indian flat bread.

Carrot Payasam

[Serves 4]

Ingredients

250g Carrot
200g Sugar
1 litre Milk
8 Cardamom pods
50g Cashewnuts
50g Raisins
50g Ghee/Butter
1 tin coconut milk









Method

1. Peel the carrots and clean them well and grate them.
2. Put the grated carrots in a mixer grinder and pulp.
3. Heat up a wok.
4. Put the beaten carrots and sugar into the wok. Stir well.
5 Add 2 spoons of ghee/melted butter to this mixture and continue stirring.
6. When it’s cooked, add some water and the milk.
7. Allow the milk to thicken.
8. Add powdered cardamom.
9. Fry the cashewnuts and raisins in the remaining ghee and add this into the payasam.
10. Finally, pour in the coconut milk into the payasam and simmer until it thickens which could take up to an hour to 90 minutes.