Amaranth and Sweet Potato Cutlets
Prep 20 min · Cook 20 min · Servings not given in the source
Make
Ingredients
- amaranth flour — 60 g
- sweet potato — 100 g
- onion — 50 g (chopped)
- coriander — 5 g (chopped)
- lemon juice — 5 ml
- breadcrumbs — 20 g (the source allows semolina instead, for coating)
- red chilli and salt (as per taste)
- water (a little, to bind)
- oil (for shallow frying; not in the source's list)
Method
- Cook the sweet potato in a pressure cooker, cool it and mash until smooth.
- Mix the amaranth flour with the mashed sweet potato and just enough water to bind.
- Add the onion, coriander, lemon juice, chilli and salt, and shape into cutlets.
- Coat them in breadcrumbs (or semolina) and shallow fry until golden on both sides. Serve hot with mint-coriander chutney.
Fresh atta: grind small, use soon
- Millets keep for months as whole grain; flour is best ground as it is needed, because it turns rancid. (FAO, Sorghum and millets in human nutrition (1995))
- Bajra changes fastest: its grain stores for months, but its milled flour has a very short shelf life. (ICAR-IIMR scientists, Food Chemistry Advances (2023) (DOI 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100190))
- In an Indian study, untreated bajra flour stayed within the quality limit only about 2 days at room temperature. (ICAR-IARI, Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2016))
- Ragi flour keeps better than foxtail, barnyard or bajra flour (it carries less fat). (Planta (2024), review)
- Keep atta closed and cool: bajra flour kept best in polythene and worst in gunny sacks; grains should be dry and in airtight containers. (Chaudhary & Kapoor, J Sci Food Agric (1984); ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines (2024) (DOI 10.1002/jsfa.2740351113))
- Going off shows first as smell and taste — sour, musty or dusty, then bitter. (Lai & Varriano-Marston, Cereal Chemistry (1980))
So: buy the grain, grind a week’s worth at a time — less for bajra in summer.
Recipe from FSSAI, Healthy Recipes for Defence, PDF p. 51 (printed p. 49), written in our own words.