Chicken Chop (Cutlet) Bengali style

Chicken Chop (Chicken cutlet) is a very famous street food item which most of the Bengalis miss dearly during evening snack time especially during monsoon and winter season and also when friends make a visit on weekends for pure "Bengali Adda". 

Though chicken chop/cutlet/Croquette are popular in many places but the preparations are different with respect to each place and so is the taste. The recipe I am going to share is one of those inherited recipes from my mother over the years and is very popular in my native place Agartala. It tastes awesome and easy to make too. Let’s go to the recipe.

Ingredients:

For stuffing (Pur)

• Chicken boneless 250 gms
• Onion 3 large (finely chopped)
• Garlic paste 2 tsp
• Ginger pate 2 tsp
• Green Chilli 5 to 6  chopped
• Turmeric powder 1 tsp
• Cumin powder ½ tsp
• Garam masala powder 1 tsp
• Potato Boiled (adding salt) mashed 3 to 4
• Mustard oil  3 tbsp
• Roasted cumin powder 1 tsp
• Cornflour 2 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Oil for frying

For batter:

• Egg 2 nos
• Corn flour 1 tsp
• Salt one pinch

For coating:

• Bread crumb 1 cup (I have used homemade as I don’t find it more often and making it  at home is very easy. Take 5 to 6 Rusk biscuit/ bread toast and blend it in mixture and you can get freshly made bread crumb)
• Salt one pinch
• Black pepper powder ½ tsp

Method:

1. Clean and washed boneless chicken and cut into very small pieces. Now take it in a pressure cooker and add 1 cup of water and ½ tsp salt. Pressure cook it upto 2 whistles. One the pressure is released pour it in a strainer and strain the excess water.
2. Take a pan and heat 2 tbsp of Mustard oil . Add chopped onion and fried till it turn golden. Now add ginger and garlic paste and chopped green chillis, turmeric powder and cumin powder. Fry the masala for few minutes and add little water while frying.
3. When the masala separates oil after frying, add boiled chicken pieces and  and mix it  nicely. Add salt and garam masala and then fry the whole filling for 6 to 7 minutes till the chicken is cooked properly.  Once cooked shift the chicken mixture in a bowl. And let it cool completely.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of mustard oil in the same pan and add ½ tsp of garlic paste. Now add the mashed potato, roasted cumin powder and 1 tsp of corn flour. Fry the mashed potato for 5 to 6 minutes til it gives a nice aroma. Shift the mixture in a bowl.
5. Take a small portion of mashed potato mixture and make a round ball. Now make small a case and stuff it with little of chicken mixture now carefully cover it to make smooth ball. You can wither shape them as round chop or oblong shaped chop as I have done.
6. Dip each chop in Egg batter and then roll into bread crumb coating. Now it is ready to deep fry.
7. Fry the chop in hot oil til it turns golden brown in color.
8. Remove it with slotted spoon on a tissue paper to drain excess oil.

Serve it hot and crisp and enjoy this delicious evening snack with tomato sauce or kasundi.