I love a good surprise in my food & I’m sure you love it too. This is one reason I love stuffed cutlets & pies as the element of surprise excites me & I just can’t wait to cut through them to see what is hidden inside. I feel like a little child who is eager & excited to open up a gift. I believe one should always keep the child alive in you!

Today’s recipe holds a surprise! These cutlets are great as a starter, is excellent with drinks & ideal in a lunch box. It is delicious as a mid morning or picnic snack. You can prepare a batch of these cutlets & store them in your freezer & enjoy whenever you want. They are awesome in a burger & you can serve them at parties as well.

Surprise your family & friends with these Hare Bhare Mutton Cutlets… 😀

Ingredients :

½ kg. Mutton Mince

2 tbsps. fresh Garlic paste

1 tbsp. fresh Ginger paste

3 fresh Green Chillies or to taste

¼ bunch fresh Coriander Leaves

1/3 cup fresh Mint Leaves

½ tsp. Garam Masala pwd. or ½ tsp. Kheema Masala pwd.

2 pinches of freshly powdered (1 Black Cardamom, 2 Green Cardamom, a flake of Star Anise)

A pinch each of freshly ground Clove & Cinnamon pwd.

½ tsp. Turmeric pwd.

Juice of ½ Lime

1 large Potato (boiled, peeled & mashed) (optional)

Salt to taste

Vegetable Oil for deep frying

For Dipping & Rolling before Deep Frying :

2 Eggs (lightly beaten)

Corn Flour

Bread Crumbs

For the Surprise Filling :

A mix of finely minced onion & mint leaves

Procedure :

Rinse the mutton mince quickly, just once; if it is freshly bought. If it is packaged hygienically then there is no need to rinse the mince.

In a masala grinder/processor, add the first eleven ingredients & pulse till it is well blended.

Transfer to a sufficiently large bowl; mix in the mashed potato & salt to taste. Make sure it is well blended.

Keep aside to marinate for about ½ an hour.

Take a handful of the marinated mutton mince & form a ball.

Create a hollow/ depression & fill in a teaspoon of the onion & mint filling.

Cover it gently with the mince to form a smooth, well shaped round cutlet.

Flatten slightly & make sure that the prepared cutlet does not ooze out the filling.

Prepare all the hare bhare cutlets in this way & roll in the corn flour & place on a tray.

Place the tray of prepared cutlets in the freezer for about ½ an hour to firm up.

After the cutlets are firm remove them from the freezer & first lightly & evenly dip & coat each cutlet in the beaten egg mixture & drain to remove excess.

Then roll the cutlet in the bread crumbs evenly & place on a tray.

Prepare all the hare bhare cutlets in this way & place the tray in the fridge for about 20 mins. to set.

Deep fry till lightly golden on all sides. Drain completely with a slotted spoon.

Transfer to a plate lined with absorbent tissue.

Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce or mint & coriander chutney.