These oven baked mutton keema aloo cutlets have warm Indian spices, potatoes, and minced meat or keema for a delicious snack or appetizer that is so easy to make.
Cutlets were and are one of my favorite afternoon Indian snacks. They can be prepped ahead and popped into the air-fryer or oven to be baked for a delicious and healthy snack. This recipe uses minced mutton or really your favorite minced meat which is cooked in warming Indian spices like ginger, garlic, cumin, and coriander for a deeply flavorful cutlet. The meat is then mixed with fluffy aloo or potatoes which act as a binder that makes these easy to shape. Bread them in your favorite breadcrumbs and bake them right away or save a few for your next tea time.
What is Mutton and what are its substitutes?
This recipe is for mutton keema cutlets so what exactly is mutton keema? Well, the answer is not so straightforward. In India, mutton usually refers to goat as this is a popular meat source. However, in the rest of the word, mutton refers to a matured sheep aka a lamb that has reached adulthood. The word keema on the other hand means minced meat. So mutton keema is minced goat meat in Indian recipes.
I love getting minced goat meat when I have the opportunity to go to an Indian grocery. It has a nice rich flavor that isn't as grassy tasting as lamb or sheep. If I can't make it to an Indian store, my favorite substitutes in order of preference are ground lamb, ground pork, ground beef, followed by ground chicken/turkey. If using ground chicken or turkey, just note that it is leaner than other cuts of meat and may need a bit of oil or ghee added to get a similar taste as using fatty red meats.
Shaping Cutlets
You can shape your cutlets in various shapes based on your preference and time. The easiest shape to form is into a ball or round. However, I love creating flat patties, little nugget shapes, as well as hearts for my cutlets as well. The important thing to remember when forming fancy shapes is to make sure to compress and create a tight cutlets once breaded to ensure that the cutlets don't break apart. In addition, you may need more or less bread crumbs depending on the surface area of your shapes.
Using Air-Fryer or Oven to Bake Cutlets
The beauty of these cutlets is that they bake up so nicely. I often freeze a big batch and pop them into the air-fryer or oven to bake up. When using an air-fryer, the time to cook and brown is generally lower than baking in the oven. So make sure to check the cutlets at the half way point to gauge how fast the cutlets are browning. In addition, if you are taking the cutlets from the freezer and popping them directly into the oven, it may take an extra 2-3 minutes longer for the cutlets to warm all the way through. Although this is an oven baked recipe, you can definitely shallow fry this recipe as well!
Frequently Asked Questions
In India, mutton usually refers to goat as this is a popular meat source. However, in the rest of the word, mutton refers to a matured sheep aka a lamb that has reached adulthood. The word keema on the other hand means minced meat. So mutton keema in an Indian recipe refers to minced goat meat.
Absolutely! You can make and bread the cutlets and then freeze them. If wrapped tightly, the frozen cutlets will last 6+ months in the freezer and can be taken out and baked whenever desired.
My favorite substitutes for ground mutton in order of preference are ground lamb, ground pork, ground beef, followed by ground chicken/turkey.
Absolutely. Certain brands of air-fryers tend to brown food much quicker than ovens so check the cutlets at the halfway to point to see how they are browning.
Yes! These cutlets are delicious deep fried at 375F.
Indian Mutton Keema Aloo Cutlets in Oven
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground mutton or lamb or pork
- 1 ½ tablespoons ginger freshly grated
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon cilantro or mint finely chopped
- 1 cup potatoes boiled and mashed
- 1 egg
- 1.5 cups bread crumbs
- Vegetable oil spray
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Boil 1 cup potatoes until fork tender. Remove the skin, mash so that there aren't any big pieces of potato, and set aside.
- Using a mortar and pestle or a zester finely grate 1 ½ tablespoons ginger.
- Finely chop 4 cloves garlic
- Finely chop 1 tablespoon cilantro or mint leaves.
- In a medium bowl mix ground 1 lb ground mutton or lamb or pork, 1 ½ tablespoons ginger (grated), 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped), 1 tablespoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon sea salt until evenly combined.
- In a medium pan on medium heat saute the meat for 5-7 minutes until the mutton is cooked through making sure to frequently break down the mutton into small minced pieces.
- Add mashed 1 cup potatoes and 1 tablespoon cilantro or mint (coarsely chopped) to the spiced mutton and mix until the potatoes and meat are herbs are combined.
- Take about 2 Tbs of the potato mutton mixture (50g). You can simply roll it into a ball or flatten it into a round nugget. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
- In a small bowl, crack 1 egg and beat it. This will be your wet ingredients. In a wide plate or shallow bowl, add 1.5 cups bread crumbs. Designate one hand as your "wet hand" and one hand as your "dry hand". First dip the cutlet with your wet hand into the egg mixture and then transfer it to the plate with bread crumbs. Use your "dry hand" to sprinkle and coat the cutlet with bread crumbs. Make sure to lightly press the bread crumbs into the cutlet to ensure it adheres to the cutlet. Repeat with remaining cutlets.
- Once the cutlets are breaded take an extra step to Compress the nuggets tightly once again with both hands ensure their shape. At this stage the cutlets can be wrapped and stored in the freezer if you want to eat at a later time. Otherwise proceed to bake cutlets.
- Preheat the convection oven to 400F.
- Spray a layer of vegetable oil over the cutlets and place them in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cutlets are golden. You may need an additional 10 minutes more baking time if your nuggets were previously frozen.
- Enjoy with a side of cilantro-mint chutney or maggi hot and sweet ketchup.
Notes and Tips
- You can store the cutlets in the freezer once breaded and bake as needed for a snack. They will last up to 6+ months in the freezer if tightly wrapped.
- Cilantro-mint chutney is a great dipping sauce to pair with this dish.
- You can alternatively use ground lamb, pork, beef, or chicken for this recipe instead of mutton.
Shri Repp