Prawn Cutlets..smash Them Up!!

Prawn cutlets…who doesn’t love them…I love all the versions – Bengali, Thai etc etc but don’t make them myself cause the thought of those beautiful creatures all smashed up by my very own hands doesn’t appeal to me…so why am I posting this? Here is why…picked up a couple of packets of frozen small size prawns…don’t know why, but I did (yes, the ‘don’t know why’ part is how I do my grocery shopping normally) …so when I thawed them and saw the size, for once I had no hesitation in mashing/smashing them up…one packet polished off on the weekend and one today…have got to get some more soon!!

Prawn Cutlets

Ingredients:

• Small prawns/shrimps, cleaned, ½ kg (I used frozen) 
• Fresh Breadcrumbs, ¼ to ¾ cup (remove the crusts of the breads and dry grind the bread in the mixer)
• Egg, lightly beaten, ½ - 1
• Salt, to taste
• Red chili powder, ¾ tsp
• Cumin powder, ¾ tsp
• Garlic cloves, 2-3
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped, 2 tbsp
• Green onions, finely chopped, 2 tbsp 
• Oil

Instructions:

Dump in the prawns, garlic, red chili powder, salt, cumin powder, coriander leaves and green onions in a food processor/chopper.
Pulse a couple of times (resist no matter what to do an additional round) the urge to and remove the mix into a bowl – you should have a coarse thick mix and not a wet paste like consistency.
Add in half a beaten egg, ¼ cup bread crumbs and mix well with a spoon. The consistency should be such that you are able to shape into cutlets but the egg and bread should not overpower the taste of the prawns – so start with less and then add more egg and/or bread crumbs if needed.
Wet you hands lightly and shape the mix into cutlets.
Heat oil in flat pan. Shallow fry the shaped cutlets on medium high heat till golden brown on both sides – not more than a couple of minutes on each side.
Munch on with the dip of your choice!!