“Potato Chops” Anyone

6 months ago

Saw this in the New York Times.

“Also known as potato chops, these treats trace their roots to the kitchens of Christian communities across India, Pakistan and Iraq, where they became a celebratory staple at weddings, holidays and family feasts. Golden and crisp on the outside, soft and savory within, potato chops are the ultimate comforting classic. Beloved as both a snack and a centerpiece dish, these shallow-fried patties are made by encasing a spiced ground meat filling — often beef or lamb — in a smooth, seasoned layer of mashed potatoes, then pan-frying until golden brown. (The spices often vary depending on the cook’s background or preferences.) The result is a satisfying contrast of textures: creamy potatoes that give way to a fragrant, spiced ground meat center. Making them is a labor of love: There’s some peeling, mashing and filling involved, and you’ll use more than one pan, but the reward is undeniable.”

Anyone make these? Sounds sort of like a knish if Otto Lenghi did knish?

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John Liu
Original Author

6 months ago

last modified: 6 months ago

Okay, I made these.

Deviations from recipe: lamb filling - garam masala, - ghee, - green chiles, + feta cheese, + red pepper flakes, + sunflower seeds, + zatar, + dill and potato ”dough” - cornstarch, + garlic powder, + heavy cream, + olive oil.

Looked cute. I don’t know how they tasted, SWMBO and DD ate them all, I was given one bite which was all potato :-(

You need fat in the mashed potato, otherwise it doesn’t hold together well. Maybe the cornstarch was supposed to be the binder.

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Comments (24)

orchidrain
6 months ago
Sounds very similar to the Papa Rellena that I make, except the above are flattened. My filling has always been beef.
plllog
6 months ago
Meat latkes!
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colleenoz
6 months ago
Look good!
chloebud
6 months ago
YUM!!!👍🏻
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
Made me think of knishes too 🙂

Or perhaps a mini cottage/shepherd's pie?
plllog
6 months ago
LOL! Nothing makes me think of knishes except the word "knish". Mel Brooks called them the Jewish neutron bomb--kills all the people but leaves the buidings standing. You're right, though. The height and potatoiness is kind of knishy, though knishes are made differently. Of course, I've never seen a meat latke before, and there are meat knishes...

JL, surely your daughter can perfect these, meat, vegan and Asian, and have them be a menu staple.
John Liu
Original Author
6 months ago
The recipe is filling with ghee, beef or lamb, cumin, onion, green chiles, garlic, cilantro, garam masala, ”dough” of mashed potato with salt and cornstarch, formed into “cultlets”, eggwash and bread crumbs/panko, then pan fry. I might have most of that. Hmm.
colleenoz
6 months ago
Sort of like a samosa with potato instead of pastry.
Still trailing
6 months ago
Our neighbor was from Banglador and made these all the time for snacks … 1978 I have her handwritten recipe and used to make them quite often. I gave most of my Indian cookbooks away to the local library sale a couple months ago. We eat Chinese stirfry almost exclusively now. My DH has the perfect set up and over 50 yrs experience so I sit back and enjoy!
John Liu
Original Author
6 months ago
I tried making them in the toaster oven. They didn’t come out nicely golden, even sprayed with oil. I think the oven would be a more efficient way to make them, using less oil. Perhaps a pre-heated oven would work.
Still trailing
6 months ago
I am traveling when I get home next week i will find Anjana’s recipe.
Islay Corbel
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
This chicken recipe looks tasty. I agree with her about putting nothing in the potatoes.....

Hers are very neat. I like the way she shapes them with the knife.

https://youtu.be/PjIw_iEy-Ks?si=2vDHR6mPA3PAwTdP

I've eaten Indian food all my life and I've never had one of those and I've never met a potato I didn't love....

I'll have to ask my nephew's wife. She's Punjabi so perhaps they don't eat them there. They sound right up my street!.
porkchop_z5b_MI
6 months ago
DH makes something like that with ground meat. He makes them so I have no idea as to the how or the what.
John Liu
Original Author
6 months ago
The NYT recipe has cornstarch in the mashed potatoes. What is that supposed to do? Is it a binder?
John Liu
Original Author
6 months ago
I made these again. Made a creamier mashed potato, and used Giselle at 385F with the last several minutes on top element on to brown.

Lessons: the mashed potatoes have to be stiff. Especially if you are frying; even baking, creamy potatoes will cause the potato cutlets to flow. And, Giselle did fine, which is good as baking is so much easier than panfrying.
plllog
6 months ago
Good work! (See! Witchcraft is just courage!) The bean newsletter just had a recipe that make a kind of pie shaped thing with mashed potatos and green beans--Must be a seasonal trend to reshape potatoes. ;)

My guess is yes, to the cornstarch as binder. Specifically, that gel thing it does. Potatoes release a lot of water, so wouldn't the cornstarch sort of suck that up and stiffen things?
party_music50
6 months ago
Thanks for posting about these! Stiff potatoes — Check. I will need to make these for BF. Seems like they offer all the things he loves, including being wrapped up in a crunchy fried coating. The only thing better for him would be if they came with gravy. lol!
lizbeth-gardener
6 months ago
These look like a fun project. I just viewed a U-tube from "Get cooking now" making these. It looks pretty simple, but definitely time consuming. A NYT comment recommended a starchy potato such as russett. It seems like just a potato pancake with a meat filling.
plllog
6 months ago
^^^ ::snicker:: That's what I said. :D "Meat latkes."
lizbeth-gardener
6 months ago
Except in a potato pancake there would be egg instead of the corn starch for the binder.
plllog
6 months ago
Oh! Latkes have both. :)
lizbeth-gardener
6 months ago
I was referring to the potato chop just having corn starch.
plllog
6 months ago
I know. I'm sorry. You're talking about cooking and I'm just being silly. My toe is healing but I'm still a bit punchy. Doesn't always work written out....

“Potato Chops” Anyone

John Liu
Original Author

Comments (24)

orchidrain

plllog

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“Potato Chops” Anyone

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