These Veggie Cutlets are deceptively healthy with a good dose of flaxseed and oats. Besides, it’s VEGAN and Gluten-free too!!

Urgh! I am turning into my mother. I am sneaking healthy ingredients into regular indulgences and claiming it was never there! Dinner time at the Dawsons was always a bit of hide n don’t seek. My mother has a certain mastery over culinary illusion, and she always pulled tricks on all of us. Leftover ‘poriyal’ (South Indian side of tempered vegetables) was converted into cutlets. Bitter gourd would mischievously find itself mixed in next day’s sambar (South Indian lentil stew). What’s worse, she’d chop it finely before adding it in, so it’d be more work for us to pick them out, and much easier to just look past it. Every day, dinner started with the same question: What’s in this? Seriously, what’s in this ma?? And the only reply we ever got was a smile. Oh she was evil, alright!

You know you’re an adult when the things your mother did (that you hated!) were starting to make sense. Oh and it’s not a happy feeling at all! In that sense, this cutlet was a bittersweet experience for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was DELICIOUS as hell – even I couldn’t taste the flaxseed and oats in there, and I know I put it there! But it made me feel positively grown-up, to attempt making deep-fried cutlets slightly healthier!

Veggie Cutlets (or for that matter, ALL cutlets) are best made in bulk – not just because it’s a super fun way to use up bits and pieces of vegetables left behind in the fridge, but also because it freezes well and is there for you when surprise guests visit!

There’s flaxseed and powdered oats in there. Can you tell? Shh! No one else has to know! Doesn’t look like much now, does it? Wait till it’s fried up!

Shape the vegetable mix into patties (about 1/4 cup each) as best as you can. How pretty are they!

And instead of the usual egg wash and breadcrumb roll, you dip in cornstarch+water and roll it in powdered oats! That’s right! Oats! Tastes just as crunchy and just as delicious, believe me!

And fry them up! I tried baking them, but cutlets were meant to be deep-fried. There’s no way around it, if you still want that sinful crust encasing the molten soft vegetables. Smother in a healthy smear of ketchup and enjoy hot!

When you make these (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here and will share it with pride on my social media feeds.

Note: You can make your own oat flour by simply processing oats in your blender. I used Quaker Oats quick 1-min cooking rolled oats in this recipe.