Potato and Cheese Croquettes

Potato and Cheese Croquettes is an unique deep fried mouth-watering crispy savory snack made with potatoes mixed with spices, herbs and  brilliantly coated  around a cheese stick and deep fried until golden and crisp. This is a small fried snack roll containing of boiled and grated potatoes, herbs, spices etc. This filling is encased over a soft cheese and deep fried making it crispy and crunchy on the outer side and soft and luscious inside.

This recipe is easy and very special because of the spices it calls for. Potatoes as such has a sweet, milk earthy taste, the fresh spices and herbs like chilli flakes, pepper powder, oregano, coriander leaves give an incredible kick to the crunchy snack. Most of the children or kids around the world dislike eating most of the vegetables and share a common interest and liking towards potato. Hence we find many of them munching on fast food snacks as French fries, potato chips, potato wedges, potato fritters and potato croquettes. 

The main ingredient in preparing all these above mentioned dishes is the magical potato. Eating these, you will hardly find anyone who really dislikes them. Croquettes are deep fried till golden brown and crispy. They look very appetizing and enticing to our eyes whiles its mouth watering too. There are many variants of many this potato and cheese croquettes regional wise or country wise. 

In country like Bangladesh, potato croquette or alu chop is traditionally filled with ground beef, peas or other savory fillings and often accompanied with a chutney or sauce. In Belgium Mashed potato filled 'kroketten' are often served as a side dish in winter holiday meals, such as Christmas. As fast food cuisine, varieties exist without potatoes but with cheese, beef or goulash, often in a filling based on béchamel sauce. 

The Dutch version of little balls, bitterballen, is also found in snack bars. A typical Belgian variety is filled with grey shrimp - 'garnaalkroketten'. They are typically garnished with a slice of lemon and some deep fried parsley. In China, sweet pumpkin-based croquettes are often served in conjunction with the Dragon Boat Festival. In India, potato croquettes are popularly known as Aloo tikki which is very famous in northern India and is often served with mint chutney or coriander chutney.

They are mostly eaten as snacks at home and are also popularly sold by road-side vendors. In the Indian state of West Bengal it is called alu chop similar to Bangladesh. Sometimes it is called a "cutlet" and eaten plain or as a fast food variation that is served inside a hamburger bun (like a vegetarian burger). Meat croquettes called 'kababs' are made with minced goat meat. Lightly spiced beef croquettes are a popular snack and appetizer among Goan Catholics owing to their Portuguese influence, though consumption of beef is not common in India except for places like Goa and Kerala.

Recipe of Potato and Cheese Croquettes:

Ingredients :

1. Potatoes (boiled & grated)        -    1 cup


2. Oregano                                   -       1 pinch


3. Marjoram                                 -       1 pinch


4. Chilli flakes                             -       ¼ tsp


5. Pepper powder                         -       ½ tsp


6. Parsley (chopped)                     -       1 tsp


7. Cheese                                     -       50 gms

Directions:

• Take a mixing bowl, add boiled and grated potatoes, oregano, marjoram, salt to taste, chilli flakes, pepper powder, chopped parsley and mix well.


• Take some mixture and put the cheese inside and make this into a dumpling and shape them into barrel.


• Take some flour, add pepper powder, salt to taste in a plate and mix well.


• Coat the croquettes then dip it in the egg mixture and again coat the bread crumbs, continue until all croquettes have been coated.


• Heat oil in a pan over medium flame, deep fry the croquettes till they are golden brown in color from all sides.


• Serve this with mayonnaise based sauce.

Tip: If you wish the croquettes to be crunchy and fluffed for longer period of time, coat them twice. Dip them in white egg, and then roll them in breadcrumbs. Dip one more time in white egg and apply breadcrumbs then fry. Potatoes are excellent tubers having rich source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, manganese, and dietary fiber. Potato is the most efficient food for energy production. 

The energy produced through potato gets stored as glycogen in muscle and liver; it functions as a readily available energy during prolonged, strenuous exercise. That’s why; it is an important part of players’ diet. Potatoes help to improve resistance to heart attack and stroke. The potassium content, available in potatoes, helps in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance in the body cells. Potatoes also help in normal functioning of heart and keeping a check on blood pressure. 

Do try this brilliant recipe and enjoy eating. To try more interesting and healthy dishes, do click on: https://www.vahrehvah.com You could always reach me at my below links: My Cooking Videos Indian Recipes Indian Food Regional Indian Cuisines VahChef Sanjay Thumma 

Enjoy Cooking! Keep Smiling…