What is Mutton and what are its substitutes?
This recipe is for mutton keema cutlets so what exactly is mutton keema? Well, the answer is not so straightforward. In India, mutton usually refers to goat as this is a popular meat source. However, in the rest of the word, mutton refers to a matured sheep aka a lamb that has reached adulthood. The word keema on the other hand means minced meat. So mutton keema is minced goat meat in Indian recipes. I love getting minced goat meat when I have the opportunity to go to an Indian grocery. It has a nice rich flavor that isn’t as grassy tasting as lamb or sheep. If I can’t make it to an Indian store, my favorite substitutes in order of preference are ground lamb, ground pork, ground beef, followed by ground chicken/turkey. If using ground chicken or turkey, just note that it is leaner than other cuts of meat and may need a bit of oil or ghee added to get a similar taste as using fatty red meats.
Shaping Cutlets
You can shape your cutlets in various shapes based on your preference and time. The easiest shape to form is into a ball or round. However, I love creating flat patties, little nugget shapes, as well as hearts for my cutlets as well. The important thing to remember when forming fancy shapes is to make sure to compress and create a tight cutlets once breaded to ensure that the cutlets don’t break apart. In addition, you may need more or less bread crumbs depending on the surface area of your shapes.
Using Air-Fryer or Oven to Bake Cutlets
The beauty of these cutlets is that they bake up so nicely. I often freeze a big batch and pop them into the air-fryer or oven to bake up. When using an air-fryer, the time to cook and brown is generally lower than baking in the oven. So make sure to check the cutlets at the half way point to gauge how fast the cutlets are browning. In addition, if you are taking the cutlets from the freezer and popping them directly into the oven, it may take an extra 2-3 minutes longer for the cutlets to warm all the way through. Although this is an oven baked recipe, you can definitely shallow fry this recipe as well!
Other Snacks You May Like
Cilantro Mint Chutney Sandwiches Tomato Chutney Bruschetta Oven Baked Indo-Chinese Chicken Manchurian Wings Indian Chaat Nachos
