Makar Sankranta

Best wishes to you on the occasion of Makar Sankranta.
Or as we say in Marathi 'til-gool ghya good bola' which is a condensed way of saying
'May the sweetness of the jaggery sweeten our talk and may the unctuousness (snigdha-ta) of the sesame bind our friendship.'.

Til-Kobi (Sesame-Cabbage) Cutlets

In the fridge, there was an assortment of vegetables in various quantities that needed a fitting farewell.
Nothing more glorious than to end in a scrumptious cutlet, an all-time favourite savoury snack. For vegetables, that is.

Usually cutlets are either deep fried or shallow fried. But my kitchen is a fry-free zone, so I baked'em.

They were wonderful, the crust that formed was just perfect.
Most of the cutlets disappeared as is. With the others, the kids made a desi-burger.

The next time I make these, an accompanying chutney such as this or this would be nice.

Til-Kobi Cutlets
(the quantities are approximate)

4 cups cabbage, finely chopped
1 cup vegetables (carrots, beans, corn etc.) either grated or finely chopped
1 large potato, steam and grated
10-12 stems cilantro, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 -2 tsp garlic-ginger paste
1 tsp amchur
1-2 slices bread (more if required)
1 tsp sugar
salt, to taste
1-2 tbsp oil + more to drizzle on the cutlets
bread crumbs and sesame seeds for coating


Mix all ingredients except the bread crumbs and the sesame seeds.
Set it aside for 10-15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Depending on how much the dough sweats, add more bread slices to get a dough that can formed into cutlets.
Do a taste test and accordingly adjust the salt and amchur.
Form the cutlets and let them rest for a bit as you prepare two bowls, one filled with bread crumbs and the other with sesame seeds.
First, lightly coat the cutlets in the bread crumbs. Then, gently press the breaded cutlet in the bowl of sesame seeds.
Arrange the prepared cutlets on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Drizzle a bit of oil on each cutlet. (Do not use a pastry brush to brush the oil; it doesn't work. The sesame seeds get caught in the brush leaving you with a mess.)
Bake for 10-12 minutes, flip the cutlets and bake for another 10-12 minutes.

These cutlets are on their way to the Gateway City as my entry for Nupur's A-Z of Indian Vegetables series.