Spicy potato croquettes with a warm tomato chutney

My mum is an incredibly fussy eater to the extent that when faced with a menu in a restaurant she will often get upset because there is nothing that she wants to eat.

When my parents first married, my dad worked in the City for an Arabic oil company.  As you can imagine in the 1960s the Christmas party was an extravagant affair with live bands, comedians and endless amounts of food and alcohol.   My mum declined all the food but a kind waiter took pity on her and returned with a plate of potato croquettes and tomato ketchup.  And so commenced my mum's love affair with croquettes which I think must be genetic as I find them comforting too. 

This recipe is my attempt to make croquettes even more appealing to my mum by spicing them up a little.

I'm just hoping that she won't start to cry when she sees the food on Christmas day!



Makes 10 croquettes (serves 3 -5 people as an appetizer)

Ingredients for the croquettes

• 1 medium sized potato (in the region of 200 grams) - peeled
• 1 clove of garlic - crushed
•  1 small green chilli - finely chopped
• 5 grams root ginger - peeled and grated
• 2 teaspoons coriander and cumin powder
•  1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 handful coriander leaves - finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 small onion - finely chopped
• Light tasting vegetable oil
• 1 egg - beaten
• breadcrumbs

 Ingredients for the warm tomato chutney

•  1 tablespoon light tasting vegetable oil
• 2 shallots - finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic - crushed
• 4 tomatoes (in the region of 275 grams) - finely chopped
• a pinch of crushed chilli
• 1/2 tablespoon of lime juice
• small handful of chopped coriander
• salt
• black pepper - freshly ground
• 5 curry leaves (optional)

Method for the croquettes

1. Boil the potato.  While it is boiling I make the warm tomato chutney (below).
2. When the potato is cooked, mash it into a mixing bowl.
3. Add the garlic, chilli, ginger, coriander and cumin powder, garam masala, salt, lemon juice coriander, sesame seeds and onion.  Mix well.
4.  Roll the mixture into 10 croquette shapes and place on a plate.
5. Pour enough vegetable oil into a frying pan to shallow fry the croquettes and heat the oil.
6. Now dip the croquettes in the beaten egg and roll in the breadcrumbs.
7. Test the heat of the oil by adding a pinch of breadcrumbs to it.  The oil is hot enough if the breadcrumbs sizzle as soon as they are place in the oil.
8. Shallow fry the croquettes, turning regularly to ensure that all sides brown evenly.  If you are cooking the croquettes in batches, add more oil to the pan if required.
9. When they are ready, place them on a plate lined with kitchen roll to soak up any excess oil.
10. Serve immediately with the warm tomato chutney.

Method for the warm tomato chutney

1. Heat the oil in a small pan.
2. Add the shallots and garlic and let them cook on a low heat.
3. When the shallots have softened add the remaining ingredients.  Stir well and place a lid on the pan.  Let the mixture cook for twenty minutes or until the chutney is thick and pulpy.  Place to one side until you are ready to serve.

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