Prawns Cutlets

Prawns are an all time favorite in my house. Being from Goa, fish is a part of our regular diet and we love it. However, nothing can beat the taste which prawns bring about to any dish. Whether it is served as an appetizer or as a part of the main course, it makes any meal special. One of my very good friends who is also a prawn lover would say very often “Prawns is the most tastiest thing made by God”. Do I agree? Yes, I think I do 🙂

Last weekend, we were having some friends over for dinner. The main course and dessert was quickly decided – Butter Chicken with Pav, Green Prawns Pulav and Vanilla Cheesecake. However, I just could not finalize the appetizer. I had prawns with me and thought of making Prawns Dangar.  However, since I had made it just a few days ago, I wanted to try something else this time. Just then, I remembered that a few months back I had seen a recipe on a cookery show on tv with a prawns-coconut mixture stuffed inside a mashed potato cover. Though I could not recollect the exact recipe, I thought of trying something similar. It was a huge hit and I had to make it again the next day as my daughter and husband loved it.

Serves: 2-3
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

 Ingredients:
Prawns: 1 cup small
Onion: 1 cup finely chopped
Scrapped Coconut: 1/4 cup
Tamarind Paste: 2 tsp
Coriander: 1/4 cup
Ginger: 1 inch piece
Garlic: 7-8 flakes
Green Chilies: 3 small
Potatoes: 4 medium
Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
Chili Powder: 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala: 1/4 tsp
Bread slices: 4
Curd: 2 tbsp (Optional)
Salt: to taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Grind together coconut, coriander, ginger, garlic and green chilies.
2. Heat a little oil in a pan and stir fry the onion till translucent. Add prawns and stir fry briefly till prawns become white.
3. Add the ground mixture (step 1) and tamarind paste to the onion-prawns mixture and mix well.
4. Add turmeric powder (1/2 tsp), chili powder, curd, salt and garam masala and mix well. Let cook for 1-2 minutes.

5. Boil and Mash potatoes. Add salt, turmeric powder (1/2 tsp) and bread crumbs made from the bread slices.
6. Divide the mashed potato into 10 parts. Flatten each part a little, stuff 1 tbsp prawns mixture and seal to make cutlet.
7. Shallow fry till golden brown on both sides.