Recipe for Chicken Croquettes

Follow these steps to make the Croquette paste

• Make big cubes of the boiled chicken and place it into a mixer grinder
  
• Make a paste out of the boiled chicken cubes

  Note:- it will be more like a dry powdery paste
  
• Transfer the paste into a wide bowl
  
• In the same mixer grinder, add the chopped onions, capsicum and green chillies

  Note:- you can also cut the capsicum very fine and add it to the Croquette batter if you don’t wish to make a paste out of it

  I always make a paste of the onions and chillies as it helps to keep the croquettes moist
  
• Make a paste out of the onions, capsicum and chillies and add it to the chicken paste
  
• Now add in all the other ingredients mentioned under the “croquettes paste” 

  Note:- in this picture, I have made a very big batch of croquettes, hence the quantity looks more. 
  
• Mix all the ingredients well to form a nice firm batter

Follow these steps to fry the croquettes

• In a skillet, add oil for deep frying the croquettes and place it on medium high flame

  Note:- I always prefer deep frying my croqeuttes because it gets uniformly fried on all sides which make it look more neat and appealing  
  
• As the oil is getting hot, we go ahead and shape the croquettes. Take a small quantity of the Croquette batter and roughly make a cylindrical shape out of it 
  
• Place it into a bowl or plate full of semolina/rava or bread  crumbs

  Note:- I prefer using semolina/rava for croquettes as bread crumbs tend to darken faster
  
• Now roll the Croquette in the semolina/rava or bread crumbs and ensure the entire croquette is coated well with semolina/rava or bread crumbs
  
• Now take the coated croquettes and gently roll it on your palm to form a neat cylindrical shape
  
• This is how your croquettes should look before deep frying
  
• Now check if the oil is hot enough

  Note:- to check if the oil is hot enough, throw in a small piece of batter coated with semolina/rava. 

  Very Important note:- if the oil is not hot enough, the croquettes will break in the oil while frying. Also, croquettes fried in less hot oil tend to pull in more oil. This point should be kept in mind while deep frying any item.
• Now, If the oil is hot enough, add your cylindrically shaped croquettes into the oil

  Note:- depending upon the size of your skillet, add only those many number of croquettes into the oil. For example, my skillet size is 7.5 inches in diameter and I fry 8 croquettes at a time. This is a very important point to keep in mind because if you over crowd the skillet with croquettes, the heat from the oil tends to reduce which means the croquettes don’t get the desired heat to fry well which in turn may result in the Croquettes breaking or pulling in more oil. Also, the oil should not be Extremely hot or else the outer covering will get fried quickly and the inside will remain soft. One way to tell that your oil is extremely hot is when you can see a lot of smoke coming from the oil. This point should be kept in mind while deep frying any item
  
• Let the croquettes fry until they look nice and brownish(but not too dark). This may take around 5 minutes

  Note:- As soon as you put the croquettes into the oil, DO NOT turn them or stir. Wait for about 1 minute and only then turn them. If there is enough oil, you may not need to turn them. 
  
• Once done, place the fried croquettes on a kitchen paper napkin to drain off any excess oil

  Note:- Do not place them on a usual tissue paper as the tissue paper will still to the hot Croquette. This point should be kept in mind while frying any item. 
  
• Enjoy your croquettes nice and hot! 
• Some more Notes:

  It’s easier to work with this batter when made fresh. I always prepare the chicken Croquette batter on the same day that I want to make them. However, it can be stored in the deep freezer for up to 2-3 months

  The only difference is When you make the batter fresh, the batter is more firm and it is easier to shape the croquettes. When it is stored, the onions tend to leave water and the batter becomes a bit wettish and difficult to handle. In that case, you can add a slice or two of bread soaked in water and the water completely squeezed off. This way the batter will become firm. 

  You can also make cutlets using this batter

Follow these steps to make the Ginger Garlic Paste

• 1) Add the following into a mixer grinder*100 gms Garlic (skinned and roughly chopped)*60 gms Ginger (thoroughly washed and roughly chopped. Some people like to remove the skin of the ginger. I don’t. However, you can do it the way you are comfortable :)-Grind these two ingredients to a thick fine paste-Transfer this paste into an Air Tight container-As soon as the paste is ready, it will be hot, due to the pressure of the mixer rotation. Please wait until the paste has turned completely cool and only then cover it with a lid-Ginger Garlic paste should be stored in the refrigerator. It can be stored up to 15-20 days

Follow these steps to make the Jeerem Meerem Powder

•  1) – Add the following into to a mixer grinder*100gms Cumin seeds*100gms Pepper corns*50gms Cloves (if its too strong, you can add about 25-30gms)*50gms Cinnamon (if you don’t like the cinnamon flavor much, add only 30gms)-Grind all these ingredients to a fine powder-Transfer this spice mix into an Air Tight container -As soon as the powder is ready, it will be hot, due to the pressure of the mixer rotation. Please wait until the spice powder has turned completely cool and only then cover it with a lid-You can use Jeerem Meerem powder to make curries, chilly fries, cutlets, etc. Add the required quantity as per your taste(Please use only a DRY spoon while removing the Jeerem Meerem powder from the Air Tight container)-Jeerem Meerem powder should be stored in a dry place. It can be stored up to 1 year. 

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