Goan Beef Cutlet

It’s a snack. But it could also be a whole meal on its own. The Goan cutlet is essentially a generous slice of beef, well marinated vinegar and goan marinade and crumb fried . The ingredients for the marinade are a matter of choice and taste. But they can make all the difference between a passable cutlet and a great cutlet (costeleta in Portuguese), as does the quality of the beef. The slice of meat then gets an egg wash before it is dusted in bread crumbs (or semolina) and fried. Served with Goan bread poie/ pao, a little gravy or ketchup and some salad, the cutlet-pao (also available in a chicken variant) is currently Goa’s most popular street food.

The costeleta is definitely of Portuguese origin. But the cutlet-pao, its local adaption, is as Goan as the chourice pao or the ross omelette.  They are dished out by the dozens from street carts that sell cutlet-pao, sausage-bread, pork chops and beef chilly fry among other takeaways, and have created a street food culture here that would be hard to beat in quality and price

Ingredients

1 kg thinly sliced Beef 

 Marinade:

1 small bunch Coriander

6-8 Green Chillies

12 to 14 cloves Garlic

½ inch Ginger

1 ball Tamarind

2 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

2 tsp Pepper Corns

2 inch Cinnamon

8-10 Cloves

3 to 4 tbsp Vinegar

½ tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

2 Eggs

Semolina to coat cutlets

Oil for frying

Wash the meat and tenderize it using a meat mallet. Place a piece of steak between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and use a meat mallet to pound it out to about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with the rest of the steaks. Apply salt and vinegar and mix well. Grind all the other ingredients listed under marinade to a fine paste and apply the paste to the meat and marinate for 5 to 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

After the meat is marinated add 2 whipped eggs and mix well. Coat each meat slice with the semolina and keep aside. Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a large cast-iron skillet until hot  and fry the cutlets in batches for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until well browned. Remove and drain any excess oil with a paper towel-lined plate. Serve hot in a poie/pav with a salad.

Photo Credit: Lloyd Vas