Dahi Ke Kebab (Curd cutlet)

 Dahi ke Kebab (Curd Cutlet)

Dahi ke Kebabs are a starter that we have all grown up with. They are a luxury present only on days where the entire family would go out to have a lavish dinner, be it when I was a kid or a mother, the tradition remained the same. The contrasting light sweetness of hung curd and crispy taste of its outer layer has always made me want to attempt this recipe. I was suddenly reminded of this sweet childhood aspiration when I went to Chennai six months back. We decided to have dinner at Chennai's J W Marriot to enjoy a relaxing night. During a pleasant conversation with the staff, it was revealed to the chef that I am a food blogger and he decided to offer two of his signature dishes, one of which were Dahi ke Kebab. The Kebabs were extremely light, soft and creamy from the inside, while the outer layer. managed to retain its crispiness. He was delighted to share his recipe for the Kebabs, which led to the invention of today's recipe. This recipe is therefore a mixture of our acquired recipes and brings in flavours from various states.  I hope you enjoy this recipe with friends and family during a party night and manage to bring the feeling of a lavish restaurant home.

Preparation Time :  30 min

Cooking time : 20 min

Resting Time : 8 to 10 hours

Ingredients : 

• Hung curd 200 gm
• Paneer 100 gm
• Roasted channa dal 2 tablespoon
• Bread crumbs 1/2 cup
• Cornflakes crushed 2 tablespoon
• Ginger grated 1 teaspoon
• Green chilly chopped 1 teaspoon
• Cheswnuts roasted and crushed 2 tablespoon
• Raisins 1 tablespoon
• Chat masala powder 1/2 tablespoon
• Red chilly powder according to taste
• Salt according to taste
• Fresh coriander chopped 1 tablespoon
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure : 

• First of all, let's take 500g curd and we will tie it in a muslin cloth for around 8-10 hours to remove any excess moisture form the curd. This would give us our hung curd.
• Once we are ready with our hung curd, we move to chopping green chillies, ginger and coriander. 

• Then we move on to dry roasting and chopping our cashew nuts and keep them aside for a while.

• After that we prepare our Kebab filing by grating Paneer and adding chopped cashews, raisins, grated ginger, chopped coriander, chat masala, red chilli powder and salt. We mix these ingredients to have our filling ready. 

• We then move on to prepare our Kebab coating by taking hung curd and adding a teaspoon of chat masala and roasted Chana Dal powder. After mixing these ingredients together, we find our coating ready to be used.
• Since we have both the filling and coating ready, it's time to add a crisp layer to our Kebabs. This can be done by taking a plate filled with a mixture of bread crumbs and cornflakes powder. Blended Dry Poha can also be used as a substitute for cornflakes powder. 
• We then proceed to wet our palms with water, take a small portion of hung curd mixture on your palms, spread it evenly, add a tablespoon of our previously prepared filling, cover it nicely with the hung curd mixture in the shape of a boll, roll it in the mixture of bread crumbs and cornflakes powder and repeat the same with the leftover mixture. 

• Once all the Kebabs are ready, take a Kadhai for deep frying the Kebabs on a medium flame till it is golden brown from both the sides. 

• When the Kebab is ready, take them out on a tissue paper so that the excess oil is removed. 
• Your Kebabs are now ready. Serve them with a warm cup of tea.

About the Group : 

Another reason for choosing Dahi ke Kebabs for this month's blog has to do with the group of passionate food bloggers that I have recently joined. The group is called "Shh! Cooking Secretly" and they manage to create a healthy environment for creativity and growth through their idea of pairing up the members and asking them to give each other a secret ingredient that aligns with the theme of the month. This month's them was "Different Types of Kebabs", suggested by Sujata Roy . She is a supremely talented blogger who loves experimenting with vegetarian foods and eggless baking. Since I am also a vegetarian and often experience a limitation to my choices for food. Sujata Chilly Rasgulla recipe  is a dessert that has always intrigued me. With the contrasting flavours of spice and sweet,  manages to introduce a delicious dessert.

For this month my partner is Sasmita Sahoo Samanta .She is an avid food blogger who excels in vegetarian and vegan recipes. Her Baked Masala peanut are a true delight to have as an evening snack and adds to a fluent conversation and scenic evening. Following the system that our group follows,  chose cornflakes powder and cashew nuts as the secret ingredients that I had to work with. Her choice for the ingredients led me straight to Dahi ke Kebabs and motivated me to share this recipe. Similarly, I chose green chilli and peanuts as her secret ingredients, which she skilfully included in Her Sago Kebab recipe. Got to learn so many variety of Kebabs this month. 

Tips : 

• If you feel that mixture is too sticky add Chana Dal powder 1 tablespoon extra
• I case if Corn flakes powder is not available use poha. Just take 2 tablespoon od dry poha and blend this in a mixer jar for a minute or two.