The Beetroot way with Cook Gourmet

When one of the healthiest vegetable gets a shape of a yummy cutlet, it just gets yummy for everyone. The red color with the crunchiness inside is what these beet-root Bengali veg chops are. To go along with them is an eggplant Raita, which is again something different and innovative.

Created by Chef Tejasvi Arneja, served by Cook Gourmet, prepare by you, yourself, this is a dish that you are going to fall in love with.
And guess what, this is what happened to us as well. We revolutionized a new burger with a Beetroot Bengali chop converted into a tikki for the same.

Easy to be prepared with the readily provided recipe and ingredients, Bengali Veg Chops are a perfect meal for an evening snack or for a morning breakfast. The crunchiness added to the chops with the help of peanuts is a cherry on the cake.

If we talk about the eggplant Raita, we generally don’t imagine such a combination of eggplant with curd but you know what, we just loved the innovation! Something really different and yummy. A must try for those who don’t like eggplants as this will change your perspective towards this veggie. We also have a mustard dip, that accompanies the chops and the eggplant Raita.

When we dig into the dish, we took a bite of the Bengali chop dipped into the mustard dip and then had a spoon of eggplant Raita. It felt like it’s coming from a great chef. A pat on the back and a special thanks to Cook Gourmet for helping us feel like a chef and enabling us to cook such a yummilicious dish.

Our innovation was to mix a little green peas in the mixture and then form the Tikki’s which were served in the cooked burger buns along with salad leaf, onion and cottage cheese slices. What we now have with us is a healthy burger

Recipe Name– Bengali Veg Chops with Eggplant Raita and Mustard Dip

Portion Size – 2

Preparation Time – 45 minutes

Chef – Tejasvi Arneja

Calories – 575 per serving

Description

Bengali cuisine is known for its subtle yet sometimes fiery flavors and for its plethora of desserts and sweet dishes. Fish, vegetables and lentils served with rice are a staple in this cuisine. One of the famous anytime snacks in the state of Bengal is the Veg-Chop! Made with beet-root, potato and carrot, this sweet deep fried patty just disappears in the mouth as soon as you bite into it. Here at cook gourmet, we serve it with an eggplant Raita and kasundi creamy dip to give it a place in our fusion food week.

Ingredients:

• Roast spice mix (½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp fennel seeds, 2 cloves, 1 green cardamom, 1 tsp cinnamon powder, 5 peppercorns, 1 dry red chili, ½ dry bay leaf, 1 green chili, 1 tbsp roasted peanuts)
• 160g beet-root, finely grated
• 120g carrots, finely grated
• 400g potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ bunch green coriander, finely chopped
• ½ cup curd
• 100g eggplants, sliced lengthwise
• 1 tsp Chaat masala
• ¼ cup cream
• 1 tbsp kasundi mustard
• 5 slices of crispy garlic bread
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (step 1)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (step 4)

For the coating
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp cornflour

You will need

• Non-stick pan
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Oil for frying cutlets

Directions

1. Cook the grated vegetables with the roast spice mix – In a non-stick pan, add 2 tbsp (30 ml) oil and heat for 1 minute, add ginger and cook for 1 minute. Now add grated beet-root and carrot, sauté well for 1 minute and mix in mashed potatoes, salt, sugar, roast spice mix and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes, on medium heat.

2. Cool the mixture and form cutlets – Cool the mixture for 10 minutes, then add cornflour and mix well, make 4 to 5 cutlets. Place them in the freezer for 5 minutes so that they set for deep frying.
While cutlets are in the freezer, in a bowl, add the flour with 1/2 cup (120 ml) water, the batter should have a thin consistency. In a separate bowl keep the bread crumbs.
Take the cutlets out of the freezer and dip them first in the flour batter and then in the bread crumbs.

3. Deep fry the cutlets – In a kadhai, add 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil (not provided, use any brand), heat the oil on high flame. Make sure that the oil is piping hot before putting cutlets inside.
Now deep fry cutlets for 10 minutes / or until they are crisp on high heat and drain the excess oil on the tissue paper.

4. Prepare the eggplant Raita and kasundi dip – While cutlets are frying, in a non-stick pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and fry the sliced eggplants with Chaat masala for 8 minutes on medium-high heat.
Whisk the curd to a smooth consistency with ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. (Salt, pepper not provided). Now mix the cooked eggplants with curd.
In a different bowl, mix the cream with kasundi and keep aside.

5. Final plating – Serve the veg chops with eggplant Raita, kasundi dip and garlic bread.