Kolkata has always been a haven for the foodies. Sweet or savoury, spicey or bland, meaty or veggie there is something for everyone. Street food of Kolkata is in itself a treasure trove of finger licking adventure for the taste buds. One of the common street foods of the bylanes of Kolkata is a cutlet. However this mundane dish is transcended into something esoteric, exotic even in some restaurants of Kolkata as the Kabiraji cutlet.
A cutlet as we all know is a type of croquette with various kind of meat or mashed vegetables as its central element. The word cutlet originates from côtelette, with côte meaning rib. This is from the fact that originally for making cutlets a thin slice of meat was used from the ribs or legs of veal. Prawn or shrimp cutlets are also made where head and shell are removed and then the meat is batter fried with the tail sticking out.
Bengali cooking influenced by the British from the days of the Raj has seen the development of a unique dish the Kabiraji cutlet. Although a chicken variant is available it’s the fish kabiraji as its popularly know that the Bengali will swear by. Needless to say this snack with an exotic name is as succulent as the name suggests. However the origin of the name is indeed very mundane. The name is a deconstruction of the word coverage. The end product usually happens to have the appearance of being covered by a crispy golden filigree, and hence the name coverage cutlet leading on to the bong version as kabiraji cutlet
Every food journey begins with a raid of the pantry but this one will of course start in a Bong’s favourite adventure ground the fish market.
To make a serving for about 5 people we will need:
- Bekti (bhetki) fillet: 10
- Mustard powder (yellow): ½ tea spoon
- Black pepper powder: ½ tea spoon
- Red chili powder: 1 tea spoon
- Chopped Dhania (Coriander) and Pudina (Mint) leaves: 1 tea spoon
- Eggs : 10
- Cornflour: 2 table spoons
- Breadcrumbs (optional): 2 tea spoons
- Milk (optional): 2 teaspoons
- Juice of one lemon
- Salt to taste
As in every other dish we will first need to make a few preparations before going about the actual cooking. To begin with the fish fillet are thoroughly washed and patted dry. This is now left to marinate for about 20 minutes in a lemon juice mix. The mustard powder, black pepper powder, red chilli powder and the chopped herbs are mixed thoroughly. A lil bit of water may be added to make an even thick paste. This is now evenly coated on each fillet. The fillets thus coated are left to stand in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. At the same time the eggs are beaten thoroughly in a mixing bowl using a whisker. Add the bread crumbs and corn flour to it. A dash of milk maybe added to make the mix rise on beating. This is now set aside.
In an open pan add cooking oil and heat it to very hot, now lower the flame and add a bit of the beaten eggs, about 2 tablespoons worth. Once this becomes fluffy add a marinated fish fillet and over it with the egg mixture. Keep deep frying on a low to medium flame. Once the fry turns golden remove from the pan, on to a tissue to soak away the excess oil. Now serve hot along with onion salad and mustard sauce (kasundi)
The golden fried crisp covered cutlet is sure to tickle your taste buds and is an ideal accompaniment for the most famous Bengali pastime-adda. So when you want to impress your friends over a hangout or just that exclusive me time on a lazy rainy afternoon with some songs and a book of your choice a kabiraji cutlet is sure to add to the feel good. But do remember to add my mother’s special ingredients to make this exotic dish even more yum. Sprinkle a bit of the smile and laughter you will have when You eat this in more than even measure and dash in a bit of love for those you cook and of course yourself and make this cutlet finger licking. Bon appétit.
