Cutless Pav!

Meat is an integral part of the Parsi dinner table. Whenever there is a vegetarian dish prepared, there will always be a plate of hot sizzling cutlets for the father or in my family’s case the son who simply won’t eat vegetables. These are loved by one and all and are a part of the menu at every Parsi gymkhana you’ll ever go to! A cutless, Parsi slang for cutlet, hot and crispy outside, juicy meat inside, just out of the pan sell like hot cakes at the local gymkhana and these are of course quickly washed down with a chilled Duke’s Raspberry or Ginger fizzy.

This was usually my staple after cricket practice at Marine Lines Parsi Gymkhana in Bombay. We usually sat on the sea facing ground in a sadra and jeans straight after practice showers. Ah bless the maiji who used to make these fresh especially for us. The patties going into the pan was perfectly synced with us going to the showers. When we’d walk out to the mess, there it was, ready to go.

For my cutless recipe you’ll need:

½ kg mince meat

2-3 slices stale bread

2 tsp red Kashmiri chilli powder

1 tsp Garam masala

½ tsp pepper powder

¼ tsp ground turmeric

1 cup coriander leaves

1 cup mint leaves

4 green chillies deseeded

Salt per taste

For the coating:

3 whisked eggs

Semolina or bread crumbs for the coating.

Start two to three hours ahead by breaking down the bread slices and egg into the mince and mix it well. Now start adding the dry and fresh ingredients and mix it up again. Put this in the fridge. This will let the meat soak in all the flavours. Honestly this can be done instantly as well. But marinading and letting it rest will only make them taste better.

Once you’re ready to cook, start making small meatballs. Ideally this would be a good recipe for meatballs that could go into your spagbol as well. Now, take 3-4 eggs and whisk them up. Spread semolina in a plate or in your work area. Flatten the meatballs into the semolina and give them a good egg soak. Add these into a pan with hot oil. Shallow fry these until they are golden brown on both sides. The cooking time would depend on the thickness of the patties. So, do a test with 1 to get a fair idea of cooking time.

My recipe of ‘cutless’ is of course my mummy’s recipe. In my house we usually had these with a tomato gravy, but my favourite is definitely the good old cutless between breads.

If you feel like going with a gravy, you’ll need the below for the tomato gravy.

1 kg tomatoes

2 large onions

2-3 green chillies

4-5 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

Ginger garlic paste

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ apple cider vinegar

Salt per taste

In a pressure cooker, add tomatoes, onions, cinnamon stick, cloves and give it a quick whistle on high flame. Let it cool off naturally and take out the ingredients. Leave some of the water from the cooker. De skin the tomatoes and put all the ingredients into a blender and make them into a smooth passata consistency.

Take a shallow pan and add oil. Add in the ginger garlic paste along with the dry spices and let it cook. Add some water so the spices don’t burn up. Now add the tomato paste to it. Leave it to simmer for about 20-25 mins till it thickens up. Drizzle it over the cutlets and enjoy with hot chapatis or sliced bread!