It was in the year 1983 that I visited Hotel Windsor Manor in Bangalore for the first time.
Sitting in Nelson Room with my colleague on a summer evening, we ordered for chilled Lager and asked the steward what goes well with it as a starter.
He suggested Chicken Croquettes and we certainly enjoyed the crisp cigar shaped goodies with sweet and spicy mint chutney and ketchup. By the time we ordered for main course, we had already gobbled up three plates of Chicken Croquettes and washed them down with 2 bottles of chilled Lager each!
Over the years, I have tried them at many big restaurants but I always remember the perfect Chicken Croquettes that I had eaten at The Windsor Manor.
Other day, we had some relatives for dinner and I told my wife, let’s make Chicken Croquettes as one of the starters. We had a recipe book in which that dish was there but looking at the ingredients, I was little doubtful if it will turn out as good as the ones I had tasted for the first time. With little variation, we could come very close to the original but still not the same, though quite tasty and crisp!
This one is easy to prepare and is a sure hit with the guests, especially youngsters.
We had made about 90 croquettes that were consumed by our guests within a jiffy!
Let me show you how we made Chicken Croquettes that go well with sweet and spicy Mint Chutney.
Ingredients for Chicken Croquettes:
1. Minced Chicken – 200 Gms
2. Mashed Potatoes – 200 Gms
3. Ginger-Garlic paste – 1Tsp
4. Green Chilly – 1 minced
5. Onion – 1 small minced
6. Coriander Leaves – A handful chopped
7. Red Chilli Powder – 1 Tsp
8. White Pepper powder – 1/2 Tsp
9. Garam Masala powder – 1/2 Tsp
10. Lime juice – 1 Tsp
11. Salt – To taste
12. Bread Crumbs – Sufficient
13. Egg Yolk (Optional) – 1 Egg Beaten well.
14. Refined Vegetable oil – For deep frying
Method:
1. Mix ingredients 1-11 and keep in the refrigerator for one hour.
2. Make croquettes of equal size(Almost the size of index finger).
3. For faster preparation, dip in egg white, roll in bread crumbs and deep fry in hot oil under medium flame till golden brown and crisp.
4. If you are not using egg, roll the croquettes in bread crumbs, arrange them in a tray with layers of paper, keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours and then deep fry in hot oil.
5. Serve with Mint Chutney.
Ingredients for Sweet and Spicy Mint Chutney:
1. Mint leaves – A Hand ful
2. Coriander leaves – A Handful
3. Onion – 1 medium
4. Green Chilly – 1 – 2
5. Jaggery or Dates – 25 gms
6. Tamarind – Cherry sized ball
7. Jeera powder – 1 Tsp
8. White Pepper Powder – 1/2 Tsp
9. Green Tomato – 1 Small(Optional)
10. Salt – To taste
Method:
Grind all the ingredients in a blender to a fine paste adding little water if necessary.
Try this one during the holidays and kids will simply love it!
Sincere thanks to Prakash Kamath, Kanthavar for helping me with the pictures and also to my wife Meena for preparing the ingredients.
Author: Rajanikanth Shenoy- Mangalore