Instant Pot Kerala Ground Meat Cutlets
I frequently prepare Kerala-style beef cutlets, a crispy snack that's ideal for quick munching. When my kids are at home and engrossed in card games with their friends, they often skip meals. Offering a plate of piping hot cutlets is a surefire way to capture their attention and have them forget about food for a while. The bite-sized nature of the cutlets makes them disappear within 2 minutes, providing a convenient distraction from the game.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil I like avocado oil
- 1 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 Serrano pepper minced
- 1- inch ginger minced
Spices:
- 1 ½ teaspoon homemade Kerala meat masala
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne optional
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 pound ground meat beef/lamb
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 ½ pounds russet potatoes peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped curry leaves
- 1 egg whisked well
- 1 cup fine breadcrumbs not panko. I use schar gluten-free breadcrumbs, but any fine breadcrumbs will work
- 1 cup oil enough to shallow fry the cutlets
Pickled Onion Salad (Challas)
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 1-2 serrano peppers thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt to taste
Instructions
To Make Cutlets
- Press saute, add the oil and once it’s hot, add onion and serrano pepper and saute for 7-8 minutes, or until the onions start to caramelize a bit.
- Add the ginger and saute for a minute.
- Add the spices, stir, then add the ground meat and vinegar. Cook until the meat is no longer pink (break the meat up with a wooden spoon).
- Add the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of water and give this a stir.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.
- Quick-release pressure.
- Open the lid, add the finely chopped curry leaves and use a potato masher to mash the potatoes into the meat until well combined.
- Allow the mixture to cool (russet potatoes will absorb any extra liquid). Once cool enough to handle, take a scoop of the mixture and roll it into an oblong-shaped patty and place the patty on a plate. Repeat until you’ve used all the mixture to form patties.
- Place the patties in the fridge overnight to firm up (this will prevent the patties from breaking when you fry them).
- Dip the patties into the whisked egg and then into the fine breadcrumbs.
- To shallow fry the cutlets, add oil to a frying pan (or dutch oven) over medium heat and once the oil heats up, shallow fry the patties in batches until both sides are golden brown (don’t be surprised if you see that the oil turns a bit dark as you continue to fry the cutlets).
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the cutlets and place them onto a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat until done.
- Serve with ketchup and pickled onions.
To make Kerala Pickled Onions (Challas):
- Combine the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well – the onions will soften as it sits (I like to make mine the night before serving).
- Serve at room temperature with the cutlets.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!