Paneer Cutlets

I am so excited by all the different ways you can make cutlets (a.k.a. tikkis or patties). There are the aloo ones I have made once before, then I tried the brown rice patties, and then I discovered this paneer version that I just had to try out. You can also boil potatoes, peel and mash them and add to mixture with paneer to make aloo-paneer cutlets. Since I was making for breakfast, I didn't really have time to boil the potatoes. You can probably boil the day before and refrigerate for later use. Here goes my experiment ...

200 gm paneer
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp green chili-ginger-garlic paste
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
Splash of lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp corn flour or all purpose flour
1/4 cup water

1. First, mix the corn flour with the water to make a thin paste. Set aside.
2. Crumble the paneer in a bowl or mash it with a fork.
3. Mix in the onion, dry spices, green chili-ginger-garlic paste, salt, sugar, lemon juice and chopped cilantro into bowl of paneer.
4. Divide mixture into equal portions and shape into golf size balls.
5. Flatten the paneer patties and then dip in corn starch paste (mentioned in Step 1,) and then in the breadcrumbs. Keep aside or refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
5. Heat up a skillet, add 1 tsp of oil and shallow fry patties until golden brown on both sides.
6. Serve hot by itself or as a filling between two slices of toast and slices of tomato and onion.

Conclusion: A hot mess! Always, always remember to follow the directions. I have no problem with the spiciness and taste factor, but when I tried to make it my own by blending all the ingredients together with the breadcrumbs, it did not turn out right. For those of you out there, follow the above directions of dipping in cornstarch and then in breadcrumbs before shallow frying. I will do the same next time, and hopefully it will turn out better!