Indian Chicken Patties

 Growing up in Cuttack, we were more like "Fish" people than "Chicken" people. If given a choice between Fish & Chicken, I'd pick Fish in a heart beat. 

I grew up eating a variety of fish recipes both Odiya & Mixed-Odiya like curries, pan-fry, chop etc. But after leaving Odisha for job, getting fresh water fish was a far fetched dream. Especially because I went to Mumbai & Mumbai is on the ocean hence no fresh water fish. All we had was salt water fish. They were adorably tasty.. there is no doubt about it but I was not a huge fan like I was of fish back home.

Like every non-veg food lover, I started to incline towards the next best option which was chicken and BOY was I in for a surprise. 

Back home in Odisha, we used to eat chicken too. Mother made the traditional Odiya style curry on Sundays sometimes & the whole house (including her Saree) will smell divine. She also made chili chicken (the Indo-Chinese style). But that's it. She did not experiment a lot with chicken like she did with Fish. Of course, she was a working lady at that time taking care of her office, her house, 4 girls (Me, my sister & two of my cousins who stayed with us for studies) & above all my father (Yes.. that is a different domain of expertise). 

Fast forward to 2004, when I came to Mumbai for my first job, I found chicken to be easily found and variety of other recipes with it like Tandoori, Tikkas, Kababs etc. I instantly fell in love. Since then till now, I have been a fan of chicken. 

But deep down, if you show me Fish & Chicken and ask me to pick one, I will (again) pick Fish in a heart-beat. 

So this recipe is a kabab but is made in the open pan because .. you know.. too lazy to wait for the oven to pre-heat. Also, it has veggies in it.. YES.. you heard it right, I sneaked in finely chopped veggies. You can call this a mix between Chapali Chicken Kabab & Meatballs recipe. I am happy to report that whatever this recipe is, it worked. It worked with the kids. It worked with the grown-ups and above all it worked for me. 

So here goes...

Ingredients

• 1 Lb ground chicken (We got it ground from the Butcher shop)
• 1 large white onion - Very finely chopped
• 2 Green bell peppers - Very finely chopped
• 1 medium tomato - Very finely chopped
• 1 bunch of green onions - Very finely chopped
• 1/2 cup grated carrots - Very finely grated
• 1/2 cup Cabbage - Very finely grated
• 1 inch ginger - Very finely grated
• 10 Garlic pods - Very finely grated (Note to self : Try Ginger-Garlic paste next time)
• Salt + Turmeric+ Garam masala + Chicken Masala powder + Hing
• Mustard Oil (To marinate & then to fry too)
• 2 tbsp Bread crumbs (Note to self : Next time use Rice flour to make it Gluten Free)

Process

• Mix all ingredients (except Bread crumbs) together in a large bowl. Give enough space for your fingers to move freely & mix them up nicely. 
• Cover & store in the fridge for 30mins to 1 hour. 

• After an hour (or so), take the mixture out, give it a good mix again & then add the bread crumbs & then mix again. 
• Heat a non-stick pan --> Add mustard oil & let it get hot --> Do not let it get smokey. That is not needed.
• While the oil is heating, get a bowl of cold water. You will need to dip you fingers in cold water before you make the patties with your hands. That way the patties won't stick to your hands. 
• Once oil is hot, very very carefully make small patties and place them on the pan.
• Ground chicken cooks very quickly. 
• Fry on one side & then flip the patties. Give it 5mins on each side. Let it brown a bit & then take them out.

Enjoy these hot patties with Daal+Rice or use in Burger or eat with Pakhala or make a tortilla wrap with it. Options are endless.